As a child of the 2000s, I grew up during the beginning rage of reality TV shows. I grew up with “Real Housewives,” “Big Brother” and, yes, even “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” When I saw my first episode of “Keeping up with the Kardashians” years ago, I –like many other people –wrote off the Kardashian-Jenner clan as a waste of time and fame. Since then, my frame of mind regarding the Kardashian family completely turned around.
The Kardashian claim to fame was the leaking of a recording from an intimate moment between Kim Kardashian West and now ex-boyfriend Ray J. That could put a dent in anyone’s career. Kim’s mother and future franchise mastermind, Kris Jenner, however, used it instead to catalyze a multi-million dollar career for not just Kim and herself but the entire family.
Kylie Jenner, who was just 10 years old when the tape-to-fame was leaked and “Keeping up with the Kardashians” premiered, is now the world’s youngest billionaire at 19 years old. The wealth of Kim’s “mistake” has trickled down through the family and this doesn’t just happen. The Kardashians are certainly a privileged bunch and a lot of the good that comes in their life seems to fall from midair. This doesn’t mean that work didn’t go into it though.
Even if one doesn’t like the Kardashians, they’ve heard of them. Each Kardashian sister has their own thing they’re doing, whether that be a business or modeling. The businesses they own continue to thrive based largely on the way they use their social media platforms.
Kim Kardashian West posts on Instagram at least three times a day, either about one of her businesses or a personal update. Their personal brands, their business brands and their family brand all work together fluidly to make them one of the most successful reality TV shows. The content that they post is generated for the demographic that uses Instagram the most and from there they grow to other platforms and demographics.
In the experiences I’ve had discussing the Kardashians with a range of people, most don’t think there is anything of value to gain from them. That isn’t the case, though; there is so much to learn. The Kardashians have mastered every form of social media and have used it to get their message out. Businesses, hell, even newspapers, could take a note from the Kardashian marketing book.
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