Let’s be honest. We are all just trying to fit in somewhere. Possibly you are in high school hoping to fit in with whatever equates to the popular crowd. Maybe you are at work and want desperately to be invited to the bar when the books close. Or, who knows, maybe you are somebody who just doesn’t want to fit in trying to fit in with others who don’t want to fit in. This all boils down to our human quest to find a community to support and love us and tell us that everything is going to be okay.
Okay?
Influencer Houses?
An Influencer Houses is a community of like-minded people. These like minds are interested in creating content for TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. And what better way to be together and create this hamlet of brainstorming than to shack up in a nice house together. Their goal is to sell you something, whether it be a product or themselves.
Wait a second. Put down your phone. Do not start calling your friends just yet. I know it may seem like a good idea to start your own house, but I want you to ask yourself a few questions.
The Questions:
- How many followers do you have on TikTok or Instagram, or etc.?
- Do you even top a thousand followers?
- How about one hundred thousand?
- One Million?
If you answered yes to number two, then you have some work to do before calling yourself an influencer. If you answered yes to number three, here is a pat on the back. Great job. You are getting closer. And now the, literally, million-dollar question, how about your answer to question four? Yes? Yes! Great job, it’s time to start influencing the masses. Get on the phone, call your friends—but only the ones that answered yes to number four—and start packing your bags. But wait, who is going to pay for the house?
Hmm…
Your two best bets, if you are not independently wealthy, are to find either a management company or a brand willing to sponsor the house. You will pay them in content, and they will pay you with a place (a very nice place I might add) to crash and create. There are many management companies to choose from. A few of the more well-known agencies are Viral Nation, SugarFree, and Kairos Media, but don’t limit yourself, the number of agencies is mind numbing. If you would rather go the brand route, and keep it freelance, the sky is the limit. Brands like HelloFresh and L’Occitane have influencer marketing divisions in their companies. And Nike, I’m sure you’ve heard of them, has a recruiting brand manager who is trolling for the top influencers looking for a job.Â
So How Much Will This Cost?
We are talking Los Angeles here. Sure, you can have an influencer house in Dumpsville, USA if you would like, but people don’t want to see the garbage can, they want extravagance, fame, and sunshine.
The influencer house consists of two core things. The second thing is the house. I’m sure you can guess the first. The house needs to be pretty, meaning it needs to be a mansion with a pool, palm trees, sprawling lawns, and long staircases. This will probably run somewhere around 7 to 10 million if you are looking to buy a place. If you are looking to rent, $18,000 a month is a good ballpark figure. It is not cheap, but you have to spend money to make money.
Who Are the Influencers?
The list of influencer houses is LONG, and more are starting up every day. Probably the two most well-known are Hype House and Sway House. Hype House is the original TikTok collab house and Sway House is akin to a rowdy frat house, minus the school. Other new houses recently on the scene are the Kids Next Door, Drip Crib, Clubhouse, and the FaZe Clan. These various houses are spread all over Los Angeles County, from Bel Air, to Beverly Hills, and even Justin Bieber’s old house in Burbank.
Yes, No, Maybe So
So, is an influencer house worth it? The real benefit of an influencer house is collaboration. When you have more brains, you create a diversity in perspective. That diversity in perspective leads to more ideas. This all leads to the most important part of any business: creativity. All these people living together, getting to know each other, and creating a community is a great thing. This commune of Gen Z’ers will then create amazing content to help sell your makeup, shoes, shirts, phones, or music. And they WILL sell it; 5 million+ followers are nothing to sneeze at.
What are the drawbacks? The biggest drawback is cost. It is not cheap to buy or rent one of these houses and then pay utilities and taxes on top of that. Especially when influencers could just be brought in-house at a major company, foregoing the high costs. Over saturation is another problem. With the amount of influencer houses skyrocketing, you run the risk of audiences becoming disengaged, which is not a good thing.
To House or Not to House?
By nature, humans have a herd mentality. That mentality leads us to a deep desire for acceptance. How do we get this acceptance? Through community. When people feel safe and supported, they are liable to do their best work. Influencer Houses are a community of people working together on a common goal. In this increasingly digital world, some human contact might not be such a bad thing. So, time to get on the phone, call your fellow influencers, get a mansion in L.A., and get to work. Time’s a wasting!
