Robots taking over the world is a fear that once stemmed from sci-fi cinema that got people thinking. Now it has gone from a far fetched thought to a potential reality thanks to radical developments in science, engineering and artificial intelligence.
While humans are probably still many years away from walking among robots on the street, running into them in the gym, or dining next to them in a restaurant, social media is one place where H2R (Human 2 Robot) interaction is evolving at a rapid pace.
Millions of people around the world are taking to Instagram to follow and engage with a new wave of online personalities: virtual influencers.
What Are Virtual Influencers?
By definition, virtual influencers or CGI influencers as they can also be called, are fictional computer-generated ‘people’ who have the realistic characteristics, features and personalities of humans.
They are becoming a real force to be reckoned with in the influencer marketing industry, with more of them emerging on Instagram every week and more brands queuing up to get involved with this futuristic means of marketing.
How Do They Work?
Of course, virtual influencers don’t actually ‘exist’ by the traditional meaning of the word, so how do they work?
Behind each of them are clever creators – brands and individuals with a keen eye for technology – who remain faceless. They are the ones responsible for growing their Instagram platforms and moulding these virtual figures into the internationally recognised influencers they are quickly becoming.
The creators choose the way they look, dress and act. They also decide who they hang out with, date, fall out with and collaborate with on Instagram. Best of all, they get to keep the money these influencers make from their brand deals.
These creators then edit their influencers onto whatever backdrops they want. So, if they have created the type of influencer that likes to travel, then all they need is a high-res backdrop image of some far-flung location and the virtual influencer can tick it off their bucket list.
Meet Kyra, India’s first virtual influencer with almost 100K followers; check her viral posts here
The Top 3 Virtual Influencers to Follow
Okay, so enough about who they are and what they do. Let’s meet the top five individuals sending the digital world into overdrive…
1. Lu do Magalu
In 2020, Lu do Magalu was the most followed virtual influencer. Currently, she is also the virtual human with the most visibility in the world, making it easy to understand why she would top this list.
She boasts more than 14 million followers on Facebook, close to 5 million followers on Instagram, more than 2 million YouTube subscribers and over 1 million followers on Twitter and TikTok respectively. Though, her fame and reach is mostly limited to Brazil from where she originates.
She made her first appearance more than a decade ago on behalf of Magazine Luiza, one of the biggest retail companies in Brazil, to market iBlogTV on YouTube. Since then, she has been featured in product reviews, unboxing videos and she has also shared software tips on behalf of this retail giant.
2. Lil Miquela
Miquela Sousa, or better known as Lil Miquela, is a virtual robot model who has worked with some of the top fashion brands like Prada, Dior and Calvin Klein. She also released one single, “Not Mine”, in 2017 and debuted her first music video, “Hard Feelings”, at Lollapalooza’s online festival earlier this year.
This freckled Brazilian-American beauty was created by Brud, a startup based in Los Angeles. She has close to 3 million Instagram followers, dubbed as “Miquelites”, 2.5 million TikTok followers and more than 27,000 Twitter followers.
3. Barbie
Barbie needs no introduction. It was only a matter of time before this blond-haired beauty from the late 1950s took to social media to dazzle more fans. Her biggest following is on Facebook, but she also has huge followings on the other platforms, particularly on YouTube where she assumes the role of a Vlogger.
She boasts 1.8 million followers on Instagram, 10 million subscribers on YouTube, close to 300,000 followers on Twitter, and more than 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. For example, her Instagram post in support of the Black Lives Matter movement received over 40,000 likes.
Despite being computer-generated, she was featured on the cover of the computer graphics magazine CG World in July 2019. Since then, she has continued to take the online world by storm and has been featured in many articles about the rise of virtual influencers.
Source : influencermarketinghub
