Subscribe

SA social media star joins UK's Influencer

Kgaogelo Letsebe
By Kgaogelo Letsebe, Portals journalist
Johannesburg, 22 Aug 2017
Young social media entrepreneurs Ben Jeffries and Caspar Lee.
Young social media entrepreneurs Ben Jeffries and Caspar Lee.

South Africa's YouTube millionaire Caspar Lee has been appointed as chief innovation officer of UK-based social media marketing agency Influencer.

The 23-year-old will join a young team, with the average age being 22 and the CEO, Ben Jeffries, being just 21.

Influencer is a data-driven platform that uses big data to connect brands with content creators, referred to as micro-influencers, with a high social media following.

Jeffries's business strategy is based on teaming up brands with one of these macro influencers, underpinned by a large team of micro influencers who target local areas. The company has signed just over 1 000 content creators with a combined following of 300 million.

Jeffries says: "We are delighted to have such a highly creative entrepreneur on board. When we opened discussions with Lee, he was very passionate about Influencer as a brand and the growth we could achieve together, so it seemed the perfect fit for him to join the team. As someone who is extremely respected within the social media space, his involvement and investment in the agency is a huge step in our plans to becoming the largest influencer marketing company in the world."

A London-native by birth, Lee moved to SA as a child, but has been residing in London since 2013. Lee's career trajectory surged in 2011 when he created his self-titled YouTube channel. In 2012, he created a second channel MoreCaspar, which has had well over 500 million video views, making his pages two of the most subscribed channels on the site.

To date, he has over nine million followers across his two channels, 3.7 million followers on Instagram and 4.67 million on Twitter.

In March, Lee was named one of the top 10 most powerful social media stars of the year by MTV and most recently was invited by the Queen of England to support the Queen's Young Leaders ball.

"As CIO, my core responsibilities include leading the strategic and business direction for our clients, which include Uber, Badoo and Withings, among others," says Lee.

"I've been doing this since 2011, a few years just after YouTube was launched, so I'm hoping that my connections, experiences and expertise will prove to be an advantage for the platform. As part of my immediate plans, I aim to expand the platform and make it as accessible to as many brands and creators," he explains.

Lee believes engaging and partnering with positive content creators is definitely the path marketing strategies are exploring. "As the world progresses technologically, we are going to see more eyes on screens and more people creating content.

"Brands should already be thinking about partnering with influencers. Although it's also important for brands to afford influencers freedom to create authentic content as this cements a trust relationship between influencer and follower. The creator always knows best and I hope to inspire the brands to allow the creators to have more freedom in what they do."

Share