L.A. Weekly*Brand Partner Content*
Buying and selling social media accounts has become big business for some entrepreneurs. Riley Hillin is one of them, and he has turned this hobby into one of his main income streams.
By buying up exclusive Instagram handles, Riley was able to build up the accounts and then sell them for quite a bit once they amassed a few hundred thousand or million followers. Not only would he buy accounts, grow them, and then sell them, Riley would manage accounts for major brands. This form of digital marketing ended up being a boon for his clients.
By using his social media marketing skills to help posts go viral, Riley was able able to grow accounts both big and small beyond what they would have been able to do alone. Sports is one of the primary niches Riley set his sights on.
Riley chose to focus on the sports niche for a few reasons.
First of all, sports fans love sharing their opinions, which leads to a lot of engagement in the comments section. This is great for the Instagram algorithm placing content higher up on the Explore page and in peoples’ user feeds.
Second, sports fans tend to stay fans of their favorite competitors, players, and teams for a long time. In fact, they are often lifelong fans. That means they will continue to pay attention to the social media content related to their favorite competitors, players, and teams. You will rarely see sports accounts have high unfollow rates
Third, sports fans are all over the world. Even if a team is local to a place like New York, you are sure to find Yankees fans everywhere on the globe. People who love sports are going to be in numerous global markets, which helps keep those accounts receiving diverse engagement.
Finally, when it comes to sports, there is no other industry that can match its branding power. Think of all the merchandise that exists for various teams, players, and competitors. You can instantly have a successful account when you follow a particular “brand” like the Yankees. Everyone who sees the account will immediately have a clear understanding of what it is all about.
Followers of a branded sports account will also be more receptive to ads and sponsored posts. This is due to the fact that branding is integral to sports themselves. It’s part of how they operate. Regardless of what sport it is, it will be reliant on sponsorships to fund them. Fans are aware of this and accept it, which makes them more open to it.
By both buying and selling accounts, as well as building up accounts for various brands, Riley has been playing an instrumental role in the world of social media. He doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon, but instead plans to expand his digital marketing services to more brands and niches.
You can keep up with the latest from Riley by following him on Instagram @rileyh.
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