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Boitumelo ‘Boity’ Thulo

South African celebrities have found new ways of making loads of money apart from their primary jobs by endorsing certain brands or events using the pulling power of their social media accounts.

This new trend, which can earn public personalities up to R100 000 in minutes for posting messages on Facebook and Twitter, among other social media vehicles, is known as “influencing”.

Generations: The Legacy actress Thando Thabethe said she charges her clients R10 000 per tweet as an influencer.

Thabethe who has over 300 000 followers on Twitter and a million followers on Instagram said: “When brands want me to post about their products, that means my followers will see the tweet and their followers will see the tweet, so the reach is greater.”

Socialite and TV presenter Khanyi Mbau said: “I weigh my options depending on how much I lose on other competitive brands. For instance, if it’s Outsurance approaching me, I’d charge them based on how much MiWay might have given me previously.”

Mbau said she is also conscious of what brands she aligns herself with as people associate brands with people.

“So, it has to be a brand I can be able to associate with. You can lose out while endorsing a certain product because of its reputation in the market. I charge between R10 000 and R15 000 per post.”

Metro FM DJ Lerato Kganyago said depending on the brand, she charges a minimum of R5 000 per tweet.

“Also, I charge depending on the platform I’m using to promote or relay a message on the campaign. I charge more on Instagram and Facebook. Facebook is number one in terms of greater reach with Instagram being number two. Twitter comes last because some people are not on the platform.”

Some celebrities said they just don’t take in everything that comes to them.

TV presenter Boitumelo “Boity” Thulo said she takes only campaigns that are in line with what she believes in.

“It’s about brand alignment, something I believe in,” said Thulo.

Thulo said she charges R60 000 for five tweets.

“And that R60 000 is way less than the attention the brand is getting. Imagine posting a tweet for 3.5million users, that’s massive. The brand would be charged way higher than what I charge if they go on TV,” she said.

She added that her public relations team use a special social media tool to gauge the performance of her posts.

“Sometimes, we even charge based on what that tool tells us. We look at the impressions, the number of retweets and shares in other social media platforms,” she said.

Some celebrities, however, have not embraced the new money-making trend. Veteran actress Rami Chuene said she has decided “for private reasons” to avoid posting on social media for money.

Actress Khanya Mkangisa said she would not talk about how much she charges in public.

“I’m not comfortable talking about that because to me that is like talking about my salary,” she said. — SundayWorld