Instagram trends or more precise business models on
instagram arose during the last years and are widely used. When looking on
Instagram for fitness pictures or motivation you are going to find a world of
photos and videos produced to impress you. Girls or boys, they all want one
thing: likes and comments. Combined with just appraising their body, they show
their sponsors (if they have) and supporters. Furthermore they advertise their
own media channels on other platforms they use, in order to connect to “the
community” as they call it.
I am going to take a
Swiss natural bodybuilder, Patrick Reiser (Instagram: probrolifestyle) as my
piece of observation and example analyzing/ investigating the trend of
connecting media platforms and convergence of new media culture.
He started his instagram about 3 years ago and showed
himself training and posing in order to present results to his audience. Patrick
is supporting his YouTube channel (112.501 followers) where he posts workout
tutorials, VLOGs of events, Daily habits as well as food preparation and
supplements. This is connected with his own online personal training
(ShredSystem®, 250€), where you can get access to a wide range of workout plans
and online guidance for bodybuilding.
Source: Patrick Reiser, Instagram: probrolifestyle
Besides his own system Patrick builds up his own fashion
collection (probrowear), which is since it´s launch in September, 2014 a full
part of his instagram. Besides this, he is sponsored by ProFuel, which is a
supplement producer. Another sponsor is voltgear, which is a sport equipment
manufacturer. No picture, no video without showing any particular product,
which he uses and gets money for its advertisement. So, it´s not just looking
good anymore, it´s a complex business model, where different kind of tangible
products get advertised on various multimedia platforms, in this case
instagram.
Online there can be whole step-by-step guidelines be found,
how to use Instagram in order to increase your business. It´s not just a
platform of random funny or beautiful pictures anymore, it became a business
platform. Every hash tag is used because of a specific reason, every pictures
has a special purpose and message.
Does this get to us?
Can you earn real money with that? Let me ensure you, you can. With a
solid 100.000 followers you can earn from $5000 to $10000. There are people on
Instagram making $100000 a year! So
Instagram can be a fulltime job and this is media convergence. It is not for
casual picture sharing anymore, it´s become a new opportunity for serious
business. This leads myself to the question: How do I see Instagram with this
knowledge?
Source: Patrick Reiser, Instagram: probrolifestyle
I started to look different at the pictures people post,
when they talk about a product or anything they wanted to share with the world
so badly, that it might just be another $1500 for them. But that is okay, in a
time where many people define themselves through sharing their everyday life
with the whole world. It´s a new and good business opportunity, when you don´t
let it take over your life. Bad examples are the instagram model Essena
O´Neill, who quit instagram because it took over her life and she wasn´t
feeling like herself again. This is a perfect example for all the people on
instagram, who want to look perfect so bad for his/her followers, that they
sometimes take hundreds of photos just to find the perfect one.
Regarding Patrick Reiser, he has a leg to stand on besides
Instagram and does not just focus on this channel, but more on his bodybuilding
and that he has his friends around him that share his love for bodybuilding and
are “real life” friends and don´t just exist online.
This business via Instagram can be defined as “involves both
a change in the way media is produced and a change in the way media is
consumed” according to Jenkins about Convergence Culture in the media. People
just don´t look at the photos anymore to be impressed and entertained but to be
informed or subconsciously be catched by advertisements. Well done, Patrick!
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