reality tv

"I get up to $10K a week." Exactly what reality TV stars get paid to be Instagram influencers.

 

When you enter a reality TV show there are two possible outcomes: prize money/husband/cookbook deal ect, or you become Insta-famous and suddenly have a platform to earn a few bucks.

Well.

Turns out it’s more than a few bucks and we should all immediately quit our day jobs and join the new season of Big Brother.

Here’s a flashback for you…the MAFS finale. Post continues after video.

Video by Nine

I mean we all know that if you’re a Kim Kardashian/Justin Bieber/Bella Hadid you can pull in stupid money. Kylie Jenner is the top-earning Instagram star according to Hopper, raking in $1.2 million per post. As we said, stupid money.

But how about our Aussie reality TV show folk?

Apparently Jessika Power of Married at First Sight fame is making between $8000 and $10,000 a week as a social media influencer spruiking everything from skincare to sex toys.

She boasts 215,000 followers and has a steady stream of clients wanting to engage her services, reports the Daily Mail.

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Jessika also told the publication she can do appearances at events and make several thousand dollars for just a few hours of work.

Late last year Jarrod Woodgate (of Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise fame) spilled how much his fellow reality TV show girlfriend at the time Keira Maguire was earning on the ‘Gram.

“She earns over $1,500 for every Instagram post. It’s no wonder she earns more than me, I’m on a really low family salary,” he told Who magazine.

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An influencer’s pay packet can comprise of a range of things: from a physical money transaction for a sponsored upload of a product to a free bikini/facial/car-to-borrow, even a holiday.

As former Big Brother contestant and host of Mamamia’s influencer podcast Social Squad Tully Smyth often jokes, “You aren’t a proper influencer until you’ve been to the Maldives.”

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According to Woman’s Day, The Bachelor‘s Megan Marx was overhead bragging about how she “got a free holiday to the Maldives because of how many people follow me on Instagram.”

 

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Who needs a holiday? Did you know that 2.4 million full-time working Aussies haven’t taken a holiday in over a year? I can seriously attest to what that feels like – I worked full-time for seven years with barely any time off and it left me DRAINED and tbh mentally stressed and depressed. June the 15th is @bookingcom ‘Book a holiday day’ and I encourage all of you to reduce the work-stress by going AWAY! And please, go with a site without dumb booking fees where you don’t get stuffed around, where you can INSTANTLY book. @booking.com has been my saviour over the years (love you). Check out the link in my bio and story for $40 off your booking! #BookAHolidayDay #sponsoredtraveler

A post shared by Megan Marx (@megan.leto.marx) on

She told the Daily Mail, “Over the last 18 months I’ve been working with resorts, hotels and tourism boards. Some are modelling jobs and others are free flights, accommodation and food in exchange for posts.”

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According to social analytics website InfluencerFee, Married at First Sight’s Martha Kalifatidis can charge $700 per paid post to her 288,000 followers. The website approximates a user’s worth by analysing their level of interaction and the amount of followers they have.

As WSFM reported in April before the site went down for repairs, fellow MAFS alumni Jules Robinson, who boasts 236,000 followers, can get $650 per post, while series’ villain Ines Basic can get $450 with 145,000 followers.

Listen to Tully Smyth on Social Squad. Post continues after podcast.

But while all of this “influencing” might seem super… easy to the average eye, Tully assures us it’s harder than it seems.

“Being an influencer takes an incredible amount of time and dedication. Sure, it’s fun. It’s not rocket science, but it’s also important not to undermine the hard work that is required to grow an audience in the first place,” she wrote for Mamamia.

“Then, we have to keep them engaged and interested by offering value, entertainment or inspiration and perhaps most importantly get them to stick around,” she added.

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Tully also reiterates that it’s a 24/7 job and she doesn’t have a team to bounce ideas off – it’s just her. She does everything herself and works around the clock getting it done.

“No, we’re not in the ER performing brain surgery but please don’t assume that means we’re not working hard. I can tell you now, I work harder and longer hours than I did as a journalist,” she said.

Despite the $10,000 weekly pay packet Jessika is earning it seems she also doesn’t think influencing is all it’s cracked up to be.

While talking to the Daily Mail, she admitted she wants to “focus more on a career away from Instagram and [find a] permanent job”.