A six year old is making an estimated $11m a year as a toy reviewer on YouTube

"Ryan, the 6-year-old "host" of Ryan ToysReview, a popular toy-review channel on YouTube, is also reportedly a multi-millionaire.
A family-run YouTube channel, Ryan ToysReview generated around $11 million in pre-tax income in 2017, according to Forbes' annual list of the highest-earning YouTube celebrities.
The raw estimate of $11 million tied Ryan ToysReview with the YouTube comedy stalwart Smosh for eighth place on the Forbes list."
Source:  The Independent, 10th December 2017

70% of brands have influencer Programmes on Instagram

Source:  Data from L2, reported in a blog post, 2nd October 2017
The top 3 categories are Luxury, Activewear and Beauty.

35 creators on Patreon make more than $150,000 a year

"Patreon’s novel idea of fans just directly paying the artists they love is having its hockey stick moment. Patreon tells TechCrunch that in a year, it’s doubled the number of monthly active paying patrons to 1 million, and the number of active creators to 50,000. It’s now on track to pay out $150 million to creators in 2017, which would make its 5 percent cut equal $7.5 million in revenue. That’s after paying out $100 million total since 2014.
Videographers, musicians, writers, illustrators, animators, podcasters, game developers and more artists are finding steady income through Patreon at a time when other platforms look shaky for creators.
After the PewDiePie scandal alerted advertisers that they were appearing alongside objectionable content, YouTube has started letting them filter out certain channels. The result has been a decrease in monetization for YouTube stars. Vine died. Snapchat has neglected creators, refused to offer them direct monetization options and now has seen view counts fall due to ditching auto-advance and competition from Instagram.
Meanwhile, Instagram doesn’t offer ad revenue splits with creators. Facebook has begun to give some video makers 55 percent of the revenue from ad breaks they insert in their clips, but the program has yet to scale. Ad-supported platforms often pay merely $0.10 to $0.0005 per view, so creators have to be broadly popular to earn a living.
Yet on Patreon, contributors frequently cough up $5 per month to each of their favorite creators, who make 50X to 10,000X more per fan than on ads. In exchange, creators offer the art they’ve made that month, reserving premium access and rewards to those who pay more. Thirty-five creators made more than $150,000 in 2016, and thousands earn more than $25,000 a year."

Source:  TechCrunch, 18th May 2017

A person with a million Instagram followers can get £3,000 per post

"“It’s the Kardashians who have trail-blazed, really. Everything they do is monetised,” Nicholls says, referring to the “royal family” of the reality television/social media kingdom. The result is a steady and largely effortless stream of cash for those with enough online “disciples”, as he calls them. A person with a million Instagram followers can get £3,000 per post, he explains, and another £2,000 to wear an outfit to an event. “Very quickly you’ve earned £5,000 just by going out,” he says.
Make-up bloggers Nic and Sam Chapman at a beauty and fashion festival in New York © Getty
The prices rocket as the number of followers increases. According to Captiv8, a US social media analytics company, payment for posts on Instagram can range from $800 for people with fewer than 250,000 followers up to $150,000 for those with 7m or more. The rates for Snapchat posts are broadly similar, Facebook carries a moderate premium and YouTube is the most expensive of all, with 7m or more followers resulting in an average fee of $300,000. And that is before you count the other branding opportunities available to social media celebrities. The new and old worlds are effectively one and the same, with fame in one spilling into the other."
Source:  FT, 4th May 2017

Average earnings for influencer posts on YouTube, Facebook & Instagram

Source:  Data from Captiv8, reported by The Economist, 17th October 2016
Note - I have no idea of the accuracy of this!

Selena Gomez 'can get paid $550,000 for a social media post'

"Celebrity women are absolutely dominating social media when it comes to personal branding nowadays, and Selena Gomez is the queen bee of digital buzz. According to measurement company D'Marie Analytics, the top six social influencers are either female pop stars like Gomez, Rihanna, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift—or their last name is Jenner, and first name is either Kendall or Kylie.
Gomez currently stands in the No. 1 slot and, per D'Marie, is worth $550,000 per social media post when the messaging appears across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. That's $300,000 more than the analytics company said Kendall Jenner, Gomez, Swift and Cara Delevingne could probably charge last December.
Frank Spadafora, CEO of D'Marie Group, described the methodology behind Gomez's $550,000 figure: "The rate-per-post is her 'ad equivalent' value per post across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This may be different than how much she is actually getting paid when participating in social media campaigns. That is up to negotiations between her agents and the brands. This valuation is based on D'Marie's algorithm which measures 56 metrics including followers, post frequency, engagement, quality of post, click-thru and potential to create sales conversions from her social content."

Source;  AdWeek, 19th July 2016

Note - Caveat emptor - D'Marie doesn't actually know and is 'estimating' based on goodness knows what

Selena Gomez' 'Coke' picture is the most liked picture on Instagram

when your lyrics are on the bottle 😛

A photo posted by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Jun 25, 2016 at 2:03pm PDT

4.6m likes as at 21st July 2016
Earlier - Kendal Jenner's 'Hair' pic was previously the most liked, I think

A third of US Pizza Hut orders during the Super Bowl were made on mobile [+ other stats]

""Pizza Hut enjoyed record-breaking sales on the day of the Super Bowl, with orders coming from mobile devices representing approximately one-third of total sales, underscoring consumer demand for on-the-go food purchases during major sporting events.
The quick service restaurant chain reaped the rewards of the growing shift toward mobile ordering during Sunday’s big game, with smartphone-enabled sales accounting for one-third of total sales. Pizza Hut’s single-day digital sales record bodes well for its competitors, especially if food and beverage brands are wise enough to market to consumers during significant cultural or sporting events that typically involve plenty of get-togethers."

Source:  Mobile Commerce Daily, 10th February 2016

Other Super Bowl 2016 stats:

82% of Super Bowl searches happened on mobile

Flurry looks at app usage during the game - (lowest when Beyonce performs as people put down their phones)

2nd highest overnight ratings for CBS

Big drop in number of tweets and Facebook engagements - boring game?

Conan O'Brien's Team Coco YouTube Channel's videos have had 2bn views

"Conan O’Brien and his Team Coco YouTube channel have reached 2 billion video views and 3.5 million subscribers. It took five years to reach but, really, that’s a lot of post-late night viewing.
He still draws the youngest audience of any other late night show and is also drawing in traditional TV ratings along with his YouTube views. The show saw an 8 percent increase among adults 18-49 in December, versus November and a 5 percent  lift in January, versus December."

Source:  AdWeek, 26th January 2016

Harrison Ford is the world's highest grossing actor

"Harrison Ford has become the highest-grossing actor in the US after record numbers for his latest film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
According to Box Office Mojo, the 73-year-old actor has reclaimed the spot from Samuel L Jackson, with his films now boasting a total US box office of $4.7bn. His career highs have included both Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, as well as roles in The Fugitive and Air Force One.
Jackson had stolen the title after becoming part of the Marvel cinematic universe, with turns in the Captain America and Iron Man films, on top of a roster of hit films including Jurassic Park and the Star Wars prequels. His total box office is $4.63bn.
Tom Hanks ($4.33bn), Morgan Freeman ($4.32bn) and Eddie Murphy ($3.81bn) round out the top five highest-grossing stars
1. Harrison Ford – $4,699.5
2. Samuel L. Jackson – $4,626.4
3. Tom Hanks – $4,334.8
4. Morgan Freeman – $4,316.2
5. Eddie Murphy – $3,810.4
6. Tom Cruise – $3,587.2
7. Robert Downey, Jr – $3,539.3
8. Johnny Depp – $3,291.6
9. Michael Caine – $3,291.1
10. Gary Oldman – $3,279.3
11. Robin Williams – $3,279.3
12. Bruce Willis – $3,189.4
13. Stellan Skarsgård – $3,171.9
14. Ian McKellen – $3,150.4
15. Cameron Diaz – $3,031.7
16. Robert DeNiro – $3,026.5
17. Matt Damon – $2,948.8
18. Liam Neeson – $2,941.4
19. Will Smith – $2,841.7
20. Stanley Tucci – $2,824.6"
Source:  The Guardian, 8th January 2016

Kendall Jenner's 'Hair' Portrait is the most liked picture on Instagram

Posted in mid-May, 2.6m Likes by 29th June 2015

Earlier - Kim Kardashian's wedding portrait from 2014 has had 2.4m Likes

The estimated top YouTube earners of 2014

"Here is OpenSlate’s top 10

DC Toys Collector
Ruler of all “unboxers,” evidently beloved by children everywhere.
Estimated Annual Earnings: $4,860,207.60
Total Subscribers: 3,213,200
Monthly Views: 379,932,270

Taylor Swift
The best-selling recording artist of 2014.
Monthly Estimated Earnings: $342.565.71
Estimated Annual Earnings: $4,110,788.52
Total Subscribers: 10,216,561
Monthly Views: 341,711,430

PewDiePie
The Swedish John Madden of video games.
Monthly Estimated Earnings: $333,210.86
Estimated Annual Earnings: $3,998,530.32
Total Subscribers: 32,990,682
Monthly Views: 323,333,040

LittleBabyBum
Animated nursery rhymes.
Estimated Annual Earnings: $3,462,340.80
Monthly Estimated Earnings: $288,528.40
Total Subscribers: 1,349,540
Monthly Views: 270,031,260

Get Movies
(Distributor of a Russian-language animated programs like Masha and the Bear.)
Estimated Annual Earnings: $2,712,715.32
Monthly Estimated Earnings: $226,059.61
Total Subscribers: 2,573,419
Monthly Views: 225,495,870

MOVIECLIPS Trailers
Estimated Annual Earnings: $2,746,876.80
Monthly Estimated Earnings: $228,906.40
Total Subscribers: 5,946,861
Monthly Views: 218,276,340

Spinnin’ Records
Massively successful Dutch EDM record label.
Estimated Annual Earnings: $2,516,189.52
Monthly Estimated Earnings: $209,682.46
Total Subscribers: 7,762,108
Monthly Views: 200,102,550

WWE Fan Nation
Wrestling clips from today and yesteryear
Estimated Annual Earnings: $2,350,169.28
Monthly Estimated Earnings: $195,847.44
Total Subscribers: 4,673,996
Monthly Views: 189,586,350"

Source:  Data from OpenSlate reported by Fusion, 20th January 2015

The 'Kim Kardashian: Hollywood' app generated $43.4m revenue in Q3 2014

"Despite being totally free to download (and play), Kim Kardashian's super addictive smartphone app "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" is raking in MILLIONS. $43.4 million, to be precise—and that's just for the third quarter.
According to a Q314 earnings call report from the game's developer, Glu Mobile (via Daily Dot), KK:H made more than 10 other Glu-owned apps combined. While not necessary to play, in-app purchases can be made to make advances in the game. Over 22.8 million people have downloaded it since it was released in June, and collectively, it's been played for more than 5.7 billion minutes (though, whether the players are willing to admit that is another story)."

Source:  Elle, 9th November 2014

YouTuber Zoella has 14.3m video views & 84m minutes of watch time a month

"14.3 million average video views monthly
Over 5.8 million subscribers
83.6 million minutes average watch-time monthly"
Source:  Case study from YouTube, January 2014
Note - I'm guessing that it's much higher now

The five most influential figures among Americans aged 13-18 are YouTube stars

"U.S. teenagers are more enamored with YouTube stars than they are the biggest celebrities in film, TV and music.
That’s the surprising result of a survey Variety commissioned in July that found the five most influential figures among Americans ages 13-18 are all YouTube faves, eclipsing mainstream celebs including Jennifer Lawrence and Seth Rogen. The highest-ranking figures were Smosh, the online comedy team of Ian Andrew Hecox and Anthony Padilla, both 26.
Despite having minimal exposure in the mainstream media, another comedy duo, known as the Fine Bros., Benny and Rafi, finished a close second, followed by the Swedish videogamer who has the most subscribers on all of YouTube, Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg — otherwise known as PewDiePie. Interestingly, the highest-ranking non-YouTuber is Paul Walker, who tragically died in a car accident late in 2013.
The survey, conducted for Variety by celebrity brand strategist Jeetendr Sehdev, asked 1,500 respondents a battery of questions assessing how 20 well-known personalities stacked up in terms of approachability, authenticity and other criteria considered aspects of their overall influence. Half the 20 were drawn from the English-language personalities with the most subscribers and video views on YouTube, the other half were represented by the celebrities with the highest Q scores among U.S. teens aged 13-17, as of March.
A score was then assigned to each YouTube and mainstream star based on how they fared in respondents’ answers to the questions, and the resulting number was translated to a 100-point scale. The top five — and six of the top 10 — were YouTube stars."

Source:  Variety, 5th August 2014

The top 10 were:

Smosh

The Fine Bros

PewDiePie

KSI

Ryan Higa

Paul Walker

Jennifer Lawrence

Shane Dawson

Katy Perry

Steve Carell

Shakira is the first person to reach 100 million 'Likes' on Facebook

"Shakira has become the first person to attract more than 100 million fans on Facebook, becoming the most "liked" celebrity on the social network in the process.
The Colombian singer, who recently performed at the closing ceremony of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, stands ahead of Eminem and Rihanna, who have amassed 91.9 million and 89 million fans respectively.
The number of fans a person has on Facebook is measured by how many people have chosen to "like" their page and follow updates from it."
Source:  The Guardian, 20th July 2014
See her page here

Kim Kardashian's wedding photo is the most liked picture on Instagram

Anna Todd's One Direction fan fiction has had over 800m views on Wattpad

"In the latest book acquisition to come from Wattpad, the popular online writing and reading community, Simon & Schusters’s Gallery Books imprint has acquired After, a three volume novel serialized on the site by Anna Todd, in a mid-six figure deal that includes world and audio rights. The new adult series was acquired by S&S’s Adam Wilson in an auction brokered by Wattpad’s head of content, publishing Ashleigh Gardner.
The first book in the three volume series will be released in print and e-book editions beginning in November 2014 with subsequent volumes released in January and March of 2015. The original version of the novel will remain on Wattpad.
Todd began writing After on Wattpad a little more than a year ago and the book has grown into a phenomenon attracting more than 800 million reads on the Wattpad site. The book has also garnered Todd a large following on social media. In April this year, Wattpad signed a deal with UTA, the talent agency, to represent film and TV rights for the novel."

Source:  Publishers Weekly, 27th May 2014

Note - I'm assuming that 'reads' is Wattpad-speak for 'views'

Samsung donated $1 to charity per re-tweet of Ellen's Oscars Selfie

"While we were a sponsor of the Oscars and had an integration with ABC, we were delighted to see Ellen organically incorporate the device into the selfie moment that had everyone talking. A great surprise for everyone, she captured something that nobody expected. In honor of this epic moment and of course, the incredible response of nearly 3 million re tweets, we wanted to make a donation to Ellen’s charities of choice: St Jude’s and the Humane Society. Samsung will donate 1.5 million dollars to each charity."
Source:  TechCrunch, 4th March 2014

Between them One Direction & its members have nearly 25 million Twitter followers

"One Direction is the most followed UK band on Twitter with more than 14 million followers. Each of the members also have their own accounts with between ten and 15 million followers each:
One Direction (@OneDirection) - 14.3 million followers
Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles) - 15.4 million followers
Niall Horan (@NiallOfficial) - 13.4 million followers
Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) - 12.2 million followers
Liam Payne (@Real_Liam_Payne) - 12.3 million followers
Zayn Malik (@zaynmalik) - 10.0 million followers
Between them, these accounts have a total of more than 24.8 million unique followers - more than the population of Australia. There is also a dedicated Twitter account for the movie - @1DThisIsUs, which has more than two million followers."
Source:  Twitter UK blog, 21st August 2013
For comparison, Justin Bieber has 43m, Kity Perry 41m, and Lady Gaga 40m