K atie c ouric

How to Achieve Your Career Aspirations ASAP
Recently I was working with an aspiring actress in Los Angeles. She’s very
talented but essentially an unknown with few credits. I asked her how
auditions have been going and she explained that she had a general meeting
with one of the top casting directors in Hollywood who told her that her
showreel was great, and that she was an excellent actress, but that she
would be doing herself, and the casting director, a huge favor if she could
have tens of thousands of Twitter followers. Although a Twitter following
has nothing to do with being a good actor, it would give her clout when the
producers had to make a decision about whom to hire.
The value of a strong following doesn’t only apply to unknowns. It
remains valuable at the higher levels as well. 
Game of Thrones
’ Sophie
Turner explains that she has been chosen for roles over better actresses
because she has more followers. In an interview with 
PORTER
magazine,
she explains, “I auditioned for a project and it was between me and another
girl who is a far better actress than I am, far better, but I had the followers,
so I got the job. It’s not right, but it is part of the movie industry now.”
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And social media numbers aren’t just desirable for individuals—they
apply to brands as well. According to a Wharton business school study,
social media popularity can demonstrate a start-up’s ability to build its
brand, integrate consumer feedback, and attract specific customer groups.
Therefore, some investors take it into account when deciding what they will
invest in.
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I’ve even seen how having a lot of fans has made a difference in my
own life from a validation perspective. Since my numbers have increased,
I’ve been able to leverage the influence for my own business. I’ve been able
to secure more clients and partnerships. I was flown to Sweden to speak and
run workshops at the IKEA global headquarters. I have secured speaking
opportunities at events like Web Summit in Portugal, the largest tech
conference in the world with seventy thousand attendees and speakers such
as Al Gore, Elon Musk, Bono, Werner Vogels (chief technology officer and
vice president of Amazon), and Dustin Moskovitz (cofounder of Facebook).
Social media numbers are becoming increasingly important and can
have a huge effect on your ability to get in the door and build important