Forbes has released its first-ever “Top Influencers” global list, compiling the most popular social media icons from three categories Beauty, Fitness, and Home.
Each category will recognise the top ten superstars from each of those categories.
Key findings from the list are:
Zoe “Zoella” Sugg (#1 in Beauty) – The 27-year-old British beauty vlogger has over 11.6 million YouTube subscribers and a bestselling line of candles, lotions and accessories at U.K. chain Superdrug.
Kayla Itsines (#1 in Fitness) – Her “Sweat With Kayla” app generated $17 million in revenue in 2016 (according to App Annie), making the 25-year-old Australian the Internet’s undisputed workout queen.
Grace Bonney (#1 in Home) – The New Yorker’s Design*Sponge blog reaches a million readers a month, with brands like Ann Taylor, West Elm and 3M paying to partner with her.
“These social innovators are creating markets around their lives, and passions – and fulfilling a need for millions of people who want to hear from them versus a traditional brand sponsor,” added Christina Vuleta, Vice President of Forbes Women’s Digital Network. “It’s time to recognize the influencer economy as a legitimate entrepreneurial pursuit.”
According to Forbes, the 10 influencers who snagged top spots in each of the three categories have a combined social media following of 250 million people.
Tbis means that their combined following is larger than the entire population of Brazil, the fifth-most-populous country in the world.
To gather this and the rest of its data, Forbes partnered with social insight platform Captiv8 and influencer analytics firm Traackr.
It found that if any influencer has 7 million or more YouTube subscribers, that person could earn up to $300,000 for a single partnership.
In terms of social posts, the report found the top influencers could take home about $187,000 per Facebook post and $150,000 per Instagram post, far more than the average American’s annual salary.
“For years, Forbes has ranked ‘traditional’ celebrities, like TV and film stars,” said Clare O’Connor, a staff writer for Women@Forbes who edited Forbes’ Top Influencers list. “This year, we decided it was time to take a look at folks using social media to earn both fame and, in many cases, multi-million dollar fortunes. We’ll continue to track this burgeoning economy, which will evolve as platforms like Snapchat rise in prominence and brand new competitors inevitably emerge.”
Read the full list here: