And the Oscar for Instagram shout-outs goes to…?
When Amy Schumer won an Emmy earlier this year, she thanked the usual suspects: her network, Comedy Central, and, as she put it, “all the suits who represent me.”
But Schumer didn’t stop there. She also gave a big thank you to, “the girl who gave me this smoky eye. I really love it.”
It was a classic Schumer laugh line. And as far as shout outs for eye shadow from the stage of an awards show…likely a first.
But over on Instagram, awards season is one long parade of thank yous to (hashtag) dream teams of hair stylists, personal trainers, make-up artists and the rest of the modern celebrity entourage. And this weekend’s Oscar extravaganza will be no exception.
“I think it’s natural when these people are just a big part of the celebrities’ lives, for them to infiltrate their Instagram feeds,” said Amy Odell, author of “Tales from the Back Row: An Outsider’s View from Inside the Fashion Industry”.
Lisa Jammal heads the social media firm, Social Intelligence Agency. She says there’s something else at work, too. “It’s really them being a good boss.” Jammal says a star’s permanent team gets paid for the work they do, and the Instagram call outs are legit pats on the back. “You want to work for a boss that is giving you a compliment,” she said.
But not all shout outs are created equal. Jammal says an A-list celebrity can get paid $20,000, $50,000, or even $150,000 for an Instagram post hyping a product.
On the flip side, some service providers will gladly give away their services for free to celebrities in return for a social media call out. “Instagram has become a career maker for the manicurists, spray tanners, shrinks, facialists and botox injectors in Hollywood,” said Jo Piazza, author of “Celebrity, Inc.: How Famous People Make Money.”
“Those people have built their brands off of celebrity thank-yous on social media,” she said.
Piazza says a single shout out on Instagram from the right celeb can be worth tens of thousands of dollars in business.
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