This is how much Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge’s social media influence is actually worth
By now, we are well aware of the influence wielded by the Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Sussex, from putting designers on the map to launching full-fledged fashion trends. Simply by way of them donning an item in public, it can sell out minutes later.
A sunglasses brand worn by Meghan Markle, for instance, reported a 1,000 per cent increase in sales following the royal’s unofficial endorsement. While a pair of jeans she wore last year for a royal engagement caused such a surge in demand that the small denim company was forced to move to a bigger factory to cope with its three-month waiting.
Now, according to new research, we can put a dollar value on the duchesses’ influence. The London Institute of Photography analysed every picture of the royal women in the past year and found Kate and Meghan have generated a collective influencer value of $2.4 million (£1.9 million), placing them among the world’s most powerful online personalities.
“The royals are talked about all the time and we wanted to see how they relate to social media and fashion,” said lead researcher Damon Culbert, as per Vanity Fair. While both royals were powerful influences on social media, Meghan “came out on top”.
Culbert explained: “It’s her first year as a royal and it has been a very busy year with a marriage and the birth of Archie. It goes to show that the Duchess of Sussex’s online presence is highly valuable to audiences around the world.”
Researchers analysed data from six fashion Instagram accounts with a focus on the royals, finding 281 photos of Meghan, which gathered 3.8 million likes, and 161 pictures of Catherine, which gathered 1.79 million likes. Each like was calculated to be 0.33 pence.
To put this into perspective, Kylie Jenner, the highest paid earning influencer, reportedly earns up to £1.5 million per post. While neither royal receives any money for their images on social media, Culbert pointed out that these posts were “still very influential” because they are able to curate their public image by how they are seen and photographed.
Safe to say, it looks like the “Kate effect” and “Meghan effect” won't be slowing down any time soon.
You Might Also Like
