Each month, industry news media organization XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry's most influential female executives.
Aria Nathaniel, the internationally adored Princess of Pornhub steering the colossal social media traffic of the mainstream-famous MindGeek brand, is a force to be reckoned with.
I think if I was acting or being two different people it wouldn’t come off as genuine and I’d lose my connection to my fans and followers.
Tasked with keeping millions of followers engaged (over 1.4 million on Twitter and more than 7 million on Instagram), “Pornhub Aria” is arguably one of the most influential influencers on the planet. But rather than get swept away in a whirlpool of analytics and algorithms trying to follow a manic kaleidoscope of trends in a Big Data maelstrom, she instead focuses on just being her naturally pretty, witty and gritty self.
Through the universal power of memes, celebs and humor, Aria infuses the Pornhub accounts under her purview with sassy hilarity, eliciting reactions spanning non-adult personages like the Meme Lord and Tesla founder himself, Elon Musk, and the crème de la crème of XXX stars — many of whom enjoy the perks of the site via posting their own Pornhub and Modelhub videos.
To spotlight the eccentric engineer of lots and lots and LOTS of Likes, XBIZ stepped behind the curtain for this exclusive interview with our Woman of the Month.
XBIZ: Tell us about your journey into the adult industry, and how you became Pornhub’s social media maven.
Aria: I was recruited by a former team member here, about five years ago. I was never in social media before, but always loved it. I took the job a bit hesitantly, as I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into, but it turned out to be the best decision I ever made.
XBIZ: What are your primary duties for the company and which platforms take up most of your time?
Aria: My main duties are running all the social media platforms, assisting on the marketing team and being a brand ambassador. I do all our major events, I conduct interviews with celebs and industry talent … I do podcasts and am the friendly face of the Pornhub brand. I would say Twitter probably takes up the most of my time, because I spend hours on there interacting with followers and catching up on daily news.
XBIZ: Discuss the greatest challenges in following the terms of service for Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Aria: It honestly has not been a challenge for me, as my general rule for these things is to be as safe-for-work as possible.
I like to be as approachable on all platforms as I can be, while still celebrating the fact that I’m Pornhub-the-brand.
XBIZ: Explain the way you harness the inherent strengths of these platforms, and the unique ways their audiences engage with content, to promote Pornhub.
Aria: I think, for example, with Instagram, it’s just important to use high-quality photos with a fun caption so that people feel comfortable commenting. It works especially well with branded merch.
I think with Twitter, people really identify Pornhub as a funny meme account with a hint of sass … which honestly is exactly what I wanted!
However, I use both of these platforms to promote all of our campaigns and collaborations that we do in my own unique voice.
XBIZ: How do you interface with the rest of the Pornhub team to coordinate social media campaigns for upcoming projects?
Aria: We’re actually a very small team so it’s not so difficult. We have weekly meetings where we coordinate what’s coming up that week and then I’m off to execute my duties! It helps that we’re basically all BFFs!
XBIZ: Which of your marketing initiatives have proven to be surprise hits, as far as audience engagement?
Aria: What always surprises me most is how successful our April Fools Day stunts are! I always get a twinge of panic that people won’t think we're funny or we lost our skills … but so far, so good.
XBIZ: From mainstream banter with Elon Musk to more industry-centric interaction with stars, how do you balance catering to both sides of the aisle for maximum traffic?
Aria: I don’t really come from a traffic perspective when I’m working on social media. When we get big engagement like that, it’s bound to have an effect eventually, but it’s not my number one goal. I really just keep very up-to-date with pop culture and trends and do what feels right to me in that moment. It has generally worked out. I know my audience.
I’m also friends with a lot of people in the industry, which always makes for fun content. But I absolutely adore getting rises out of celebs! A great balance.
XBIZ: What is the value of pushing general brand awareness (via memes, humor, etc.) to get the Pornhub name out there, versus more targeted posts with links to products?
Aria: I think, especially early on, it was more difficult for people to want to engage and follow Pornhub as a brand. That’s where I thought, "Let me make this as approachable as possible."
What does the internet collectively love? Memes, celebs and humor! And also, porn, so it really works well for us.
XBIZ: Discuss the ways you measure the overall success of posts to keep the Pornhub team informed on both tangible ROI metrics and intangible brand supremacy.
Aria: I have a weekly report where I monitor certain important metrics — things that are less exciting like follower counts and engagement percentages. But for me personally, the best way to know I’m doing a good job is interaction with mainstream people. Those tend to go viral and that for me is the most important.
XBIZ: How do you blend putting a personal touch on the company’s social media presence via your “Pornhub Aria” brand and real-life photos? Talk about what distinction (if any) there is between your online persona and offline personality.
Aria: There is no distinction. I am Pornhub Aria. It’s not an act I put on.
I think that’s why we’ve had success … it’s recognizable that I’m a real human being with real thoughts, personality and a sense of humor. I think if I was acting or being two different people, it wouldn’t come off as genuine and I’d lose my connection to my fans and followers. That, to me, is the most valuable thing I have.
