The social media platforms are filled with Instagram models, adult performers, cam models, content creators and probably 136 other species of stars and influencers in search of followers, fans and subscribers. While there are many ways to create and market a brand, I want to talk about one rule that should apply to all of those aspiring celebrities — and to you, if you see yourself on that list.
For this exercise to make any sense and any difference, we’re going to rule out those people who are only creating private adult content to get a quick thrill or to pick up a few extra bucks, but don’t want to publicly disclose their actions due to family, career or other personal reasons. For everyone else, we’ll assume this is not just a passing fancy, but that you’re really set on making this a career, or at least a solid income-generating stepping stone to help you build one.
Mind you, it’s fun and cute and creative to have a cool handle, but at the end of the day, you can either have just a cool handle or you can start thinking long-term about building a brand.
For this article, we’re going to invent a model. We’ll call her Amber Jones, give her an IG handle of @HotIGModel with 25,000 followers and a fairly active OnlyFans page listed under AmberJXXX with around 320 subscribers.
At this point, Amber is starting to gain some real traction and is on the precipice of turning it all into real income. She’s gaining followers, her OnlyFans page is making just under $5,000 a month and she’s made the decision to take it to the next level.
Now what?
Well, she has discovered that @HotIGModel is not an available username on Twitter and her OnlyFans username doesn’t match. Not to mention, she’s also thinking about getting branded merch and setting up a Fansly page, as well as establishing a presence on a few other platforms.
The next move Amber makes is important.
She needs to change every single one of her handles to @AmberJones and if she can’t get that username on every platform, she needs to find something containing AmberJones that she can get. It doesn’t matter whether that’s @AmberJonesXXX or @AmberJonesModel or @SexyAmberJones; they would all be fine, because they all represent the brand.
But wait, why can’t she use @HotIGModel as her brand?
Nobody said she couldn’t.
We all know Frank Sinatra and “Old Blue Eyes” are the same person — well, except the half of you who don’t know who Frank Sinatra was. That’s the difference between 1962 and 2022 — holy crap, I’m old — but I’m still smart enough to know how to keep up, keep relevant and keep earning. So just give me a listen.
Our girl Amber can use whatever she thinks best personifies who she is and what she does. The point I’m making is about consistency. Look at it this way: we all know who Jennifer Lopez is, but what if she was Jennifer Lopez in music but Jenny Ortega in movies and JLo Perez everywhere else? See, we want to make it easier for people to find and follow you, not more confusing. Our girl is still Amber Jones, so why make it so damned hard to follow her?
This situation usually comes to pass for three different reasons.
1. A model may not know any better. Nobody could ever blame the average IG user for not knowing anything about branding — I mean, the other day I asked a model with 450,000 followers if she had a logo and she replied “What’s a logo?” so not everybody knows the business side of this. That makes for a very uneven playing field.
2. A model didn’t plan ahead. A few years ago, when you and your college sorority sisters were doing Jell-O shooters, somebody snapped a pic of you in your bra and posted it on Instagram. That photo got 25,000 likes and you got a little rush from all the attention so you posted another pic, then another and now you have 345,000 followers, a Twitter account and an OnlyFans page. Oh my gosh, now companies want you to post their products and to use your page for advertising, but you have three different social media accounts and three different usernames.
3. A model got just plain lucky. Well, it’s easy to look at No. 2 above and understand the concept of getting lucky. A few years ago, we were all still going gaga over Twitter and Facebook, and OnlyFans was so far in the future it wasn’t even a blip on the horizon. Then Instagram overtook Twitter and Facebook, the pandemic accelerated premium social media sites, and now you sit in the enviable position of having a huge following. But, you find yourself struggling with ways to monetize that following other than getting naked. Which is totally okay, but you didn’t expect to become so popular.
Mind you, it’s fun and cute and creative to have a cool handle, but at the end of the day, you can either have just a cool handle or you can start thinking long-term about building a brand. Think about it this way: a handle is whatever you want it to be, but you are the brand. You see, it doesn’t really matter what you call a shoe, it’s still a shoe. Likewise, you can call yourself @HotIGModel or @GiveMeAllYourCash, but you’re still “Amber Jones” at your core, so why make it complicated? Use @AmberJones and your brand can then follow you no matter what you do. Today it might be Instagram or Twitter influencer; tomorrow it could be commercials, music videos and a role in a Netflix series. So if you’re going to be the brand, then be the damned brand all the way.
Danny Ferretti has over 25 years in the marketing industry and is the co-founder of GFE Model Services and FanGear.vip, a company that specializes in collectible calendars, branded merchandise and other model-centric printed products. For more information, contact sales@gfemodelservices.com or visit GFEModelServices.com.
