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Influencers in the office: how Youtube videos on Japanese pop culture led Beckii Cruel to agency life

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By Charlotte McEleny, Asia Editor

July 14, 2017 | 6 min read

It’s a logical step for social media agency credibility but having influencers on the payroll is becoming commonplace.

Beckii Cruel

Beckii Cruel is creator liason at Social Circle

Just this week Visual Amplifier’s co-founder Aaron Brooks put pen to paper to discuss why agencies needed to work with influencers, citing their own relationship with Tasha Lam, who works as a talent director.

One of the most recent influencers to make this transition is Beckii Cruel, who works with The Social Circle as a creator liaison. Cruel’s journey to success has been an unusual one from start to finish, as a girl from the Isle of Man who toured Japan after becoming specialised in Japanese culture.

The Drum spoke to Beckii Cruel about the journey from her bedroom to the agency office.

Tell me about how you started to create content, what inspired you to do it?

I began in 2007 - I’d been watching YouTubers since the launch of the platform itself, and I’ve always felt compelled to create content myself in everything that I do. I remember being on Bebo, and not being satisfied that I just had a profile - I wanted to make my own custom skins for profiles. So making videos was just an instinct that I always had. Watching creative and inspiring YouTubers was a big inspiration.

Did you carve out a niche or audience? How did that inform what you did?

I never intended to really grow an audience - I began when I was so young, and when YouTube didn’t really have careers for anyone - it was just a hobby we all shared. However through my videos, I was making content which was fairly niche - dance videos to Japanese pop music. It was just my passion, but I unintentionally ended up carving a niche for myself as well!

You became very much linked to Asian countries like Japan – how did that come about?

I’ve always been interested in Japanese pop culture, and when I found that other girls were posting dance videos, I wanted to join in. Once my videos went viral and I was invited to come and perform in Japan, I fell in love with the country and the culture even more.

Do you believe content has borders?

I think that my story in particular would plead it does not! I was a 13 year old girl from a tiny town on a small island in the Irish Sea, yet people from across the world and all over Japan really found something in my content!

How did you stay in tune with an audience so far away?

The internet. Coming from an isolated community myself, I always turned to the internet for more things than most. The only option I had to communicate with my audience was through the same means that I reached them in the first place! I also studied Japanese to better communicate regardless of language barriers.

How did/do you work with brands?

Right now, I love to make dedicated videos in collaboration with brands - whether that’s making a fashion haul, or creating a video around a certain book, for example. I’ll only work with brands which I believe in - but I’m also cautious not to be exploited by any brands either. I know how much budget they have for marketing, and how much they’re prepared to spend on traditional media - and I don’t think it’s fair to short-change social influencers, especially when it’s often a more effective means of marketing!

What can brands learn from this?

I hope they can learn that a relationship between a creator and viewer is sacred. It’s built on trust, and if a brand impedes too much on this, whether it be through conflict of creative control, or too much hard sell ad-read lines, not only will the campaign fail, but so will the creator’s career. It’s all about being transparent, and finding a balance that suits everyone.

Tell me about your role at Social Circle now, and what that entails?

Working at Social Circle, I’m the creator liaison, so I’m in charge of making sure the company first and foremost understands an authentic creator’s perspective. I’m also helping with the vision, development and content for our new platform. And I also organise community outreach events, to put a face to a name, and listen to what the wider community currently cares about, and determine how we can best help them.

Is the link to Asia an important part of this?

We have visions for connecting with creators all over the world, and I want to aid that process. The brilliant thing about the internet is that our communities are all becoming closer and closer. I really love, and believe in the work we are doing together at Social Circle, and I hope we can bring its benefit to creators all over the world, and especially in Asia.

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