Next up in our talent spotlight we have someone who has been both brand side owning their own fashion label, and creator side having grown a huge audience on Youtube (111k subscribers) and instagram (366k followers!) dedicated to her luxury lifestyle content. Jerusha shares her experience of building a personal brand online as well as how brands can think about working with creators to drive consideration and sales.
As well as being a creator/influencer, you also own your own brand! Tell us about that.
By trade, I am a fashion designer & I have a self-titled fashion label called Jerusha Couture, & I also had my own boutique for four years. Not really knowing how to advertise for it, and at the time this new thing called ‘YouTube’ had just started so I figured I would put videos of my clothing line and fashion boutique on there… and here we are!
Does having a following on social help your brand, and how do you cross promote on your channels?
I believe any form of social media presence is incredibly strong for the development of your brand and the culture in which you would like to grow it. Nowadays nobody is watching TV and sitting through ads - they are all on their phones constantly so being on social media means you can reach them effectively. Also, the fact that you can control your brand's image and how you will portray your products all through social media and the connection & community you have with your clients is fantastic and unlike any other marketing channel.
Your channel is all about luxury. Tell us about how you got started creating content specifically for the luxury space, and why?
After promoting my fashion label for about two years I started taking my videos/blogs to different parts of Hong Kong where I had factories for my products. Once I was over there I started to see that one of the most important things about social media is creating a common understanding, a common interest, and a community that loves the same things. So I started to showcase more of the things that I loved, that I know my followers loved - so naturally it started with fashion & I started to share my shopping & purchasing experiences, things I had bought and loved, and take the Vlog with me on all my shopping adventures!
Which platform do you use most and why? Has that changed over the years?
My most active platform would be Instagram however my most or my traffic still comes from YouTube. Definitely since the growth of many different interactive platforms on social media, YouTube has tried to stay relevant in the ‘instant’ gratification that people receive on social media, especially on some of the newer platforms such as TikTok. The main way I have seen YouTube change over years is making videos shorter interactive/viewing time of viewers has become much shorter as they are used to viewing things like reels or tiktok videos. I’ve adapted my content on each platform to make sure it stays true to my style, whilst also making sure it performs best on what the platform algorithm is weighting at the time.
You started your journey on Youtube. Tell us about how you got started and why youtube?
I simply started filming videos of myself to promote my brand and my fashion boutique as this was the only way at the time I could work out how to create local advertising that really showcased the products! It was 2010, YouTube had just launched and as a personal broadcasting platform it was so so new. I was really learning as I went, trying different types of videos, seeing what my audience liked, and what really drove sales of particular items.
Do you use Youtube shorts?
Personally, I still stick with the original format of uploading full length videos just because my dedicated subscribers enjoy this content far more than the ’instant’ gratification of shorts. I like to create longer, more detailed videos and that is what my audience love about my page, so I create content that is going to be appealing to them and meet their expectations.
How can brands be using YouTube creators for campaigns? How is it different from other platforms like Instagram or TikTok?
I think the most important thing with any social media platform is to really understand what your audience, subscribers and followers are interested in seeing and develop content plans & marketing activities based on that. The span of interest, the attention span and the general commitment to a social media personality is definitely changing over the years dramatically. I truly think as a creator, creating a platform for your own personal brand will work perfectly if you stick to the integrity of your content. What I mean by that is if you are a tick-toker creating comedy content, then becoming a master of your craft on that platform is what will set you apart by being consistent on that platform.
I think that brands can then really clearly identify the right creators to work with on any campaign, as that person's unique tone of voice, specific content, will either be on brand for that campaign or not.
Whilst Youtube can be a bit more involved for a brand to use as part of their marketing, as you need to come up with more of a creative idea, script etc (compared to just posting 1 photo on instagram for example), it allows brands to tell more of a story, and share more about the brand and how the creator incorporates it into their content is really important. Youtube creators are experts at this, so if you don't know how to approach it, just ask them!
Tell us about your community online - does it vary from platform to platform? What is your audience demographic like? What do they like/dislike?
My subscribers, followers are incredibly loyal. I guess because of the years I have been a social media personality they have had the opportunity to see me at my most vulnerable, happiest, difficult times throughout these 12 years. What it creates is a level of trust between my viewers and myself. The second someone in life can relate to you there is instant trust they can see the side of you that is so similar to them that it makes them feel secure.
My viewers demographic is between 18-55yrs old across different platforms, because it is based around the ideal life of luxury consumerism. I get a mixture of men and women consuming my content, and following my pages, who have the desire to acquire the luxury items and most of my audience are people that are capable of purchasing these items and want information on them.
To add to that, content wise my daily life of Vlogs closes the gap between real life reality and luxury because I show myself in my real day to day life that everyone has, and I think that helps make my content and the brands I partner with approachable and attainable.
How do you decide which brands to work with?
I am very authentic with my brand collaborations, I am also very loyal to brands that I work with. If I believe in a brand, and I believe in their mission statement, values and products, then I stick with them over time, and prefer to work on longer term collabs because of this reason. Not only does this show my subscribers and viewers that I truly believe in the brand & product, it is just much more genuine, which is very rare to find these days! Followers don't want to see a creator chopping and changing between brands that they ‘love’ as that isn't authentic to how people engage with brands in real life.
What do you wish brands new about working with creators/influencers?
This is such a great question! I honestly tell brands and creator colleagues all the time that brands need to start realising that their customers and potential consumers would have far, far better interaction with their products if it comes from a trusted influencer or a blogger. Statistics have to show that a customer would trust the opinion of a real person any time over a paid ad, or paid actor promoting a product on the brands own channel. Creators & influencers have built such a trusted community over time, and research backs that when they endorse a product to their community, people are much more likely to engage with the brand and purchase their products. The second that brands realise this, it will be exceptionally powerful for how they think product placement & advertising.
What's the best/most memorable campaign you've been involved in?
Oh my gosh again a really hard question, I would have to say working with brands such as Laura Murcier, Farfetch and LVMH are always top of my list. One of the most world-famous luxury consignment companies Fashionphile booked me on an amazing campaign, where I was flown on a California trip to visit their boutiques, and create content for them, which was a really amazing experience. I have partnered with the company pretty much since they started so it was incredible to be able to showcase how much they have grown and take my audience on that journey with me.
What's your favourite type of content to make and why? (reels, stories, tiktok videos, blogs, static photos etc)
I love filming vlogs the most because it involves my daily life with my job, shopping, luxury brands but also my family, my businesses in property and design as well. It gives me the scope to showcase so much about myself and my life in a way shorter content doesn't.
What piece of content has performed best for you ever, and do you know why?
My best performing content will be any form of YouTube luxury collection unboxing review, mainly because this is my authentic original content I pretty much started with, so my followers just love it! I have been a part of the luxury community right from the beginning and people love coming to my page to see the latest items I am unboxing for them.
Who is your favourite person to follow on social media?
I subscribe to so many people in the Luxury Community on Youtube for the same reason they watch me - I love watching all of the same sort of content!! I love seeing new products and am inspired by their content styles.
What one luxury item should every person own?
Anything from Louis Vuitton. I started my luxury collection with LV and everybody needs a piece of this in their life!
What brand do you think is doing an amazing job of working with creators/influencers and why?
I think makeup brands have tapped into the fact that influencers and bloggers know exactly how to sell their product through authentic reviews and an authentic demonstration of how to use the items to create looks and talk to the things they like (or sometimes don't like) about items. I think it's worked really well for so many makeup and skincare brands and it's clear that working with influencers is the best way to create consumer success.
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