As social media networks increasingly dominate cyberspace, playing a pivotal role in keeping loyal consumers engaged and informed, cam models have had to elevate their virtual marketing game.
With brands driven by on-cam personalities as much as off-cam personas, top performers must foster bi-directional relationships that span numerous social media channels.
I use Instagram to post recent pics of my life and new outfits.
Recently, XBIZ asked a group of today’s top cam models, “What are your favorite marketing and social media channels and how do they help you connect with fans?”
Their responses yielded many similarities, but underscore the individuality of approach and unique level of personality that is the hallmark of these professional performers, providing insights for other models and an intimate glimpse of the business for fans.
Many 2017 XBIZ Cam Award winners agree on the value of Twitter for connecting with fans.
XBIZ Best Movie Cam Star Shawna Leneé (@ShawnaLeneeShow) calls Twitter her favorite social media channel and says she spends the majority of her day on this network chatting with fans and followers.
“When I am not on cam, Twitter is basically my offline chat room,” Leneé says. “We always have a discussion going there, so my followers are never bored!”
She told XBIZ she shares current news she finds interesting, advocates for causes that are important to her, and learns about her friends there as well.
“Twitter helps me connect with my fans in many ways. They are able to see my life from a different perspective, rather than what I just look like in photos and on video. I share almost every single thought I have onto my timeline,” Leneé adds. “If a fan wants to contact me, all they need to do is Tweet me. I respond to almost all of my notifications. I find Twitter to be a full-time job, but it also results in sign-ups and a great converter for affiliate money!”
XBIZ Best Trans Cam Model Kelly Pierce (@MrsKellyPierce) loves Snapchat and Twitter.
“I can really engage in one on one conversations with fans, which I think is important,” Pierce explains. “Engagement is what we as models should spend our time doing.”
Exclaiming “Twitter, Twotter, Twatter!!!” XBIZ Best Cam Model for North America Vera Sky (@VeraSkyLive) says the platform is one of the few social media platforms that allow sexually explicit content to be posted.
“Twitter is great because you can promote such a wide variety of things. Clip sites that you sell your videos on, your live cam link, your Snapchat, your custom videos, your website, there’s no limit!” Sky told XBIZ. “Twitter allows you to show another side of you, your personality, your opinions, your day to day life, which in itself, can get someone hooked on you, and your personality, in turn wanting more of you, which ends up turning them into a customer!”
XBIZ Best BBW Cam Model Raquel Love (@LoveRaquelxo) only uses two social media platforms to connect with fans — Twitter and Snapchat.
“My favorite of the two would be Snapchat because it’s more exclusive and one on one,” Love says. “It gives me the opportunity to get to know my fans on a more personal level and vice versa.”
XBIZ Best Fetish Cam Model Vicky Vixxx (@RealVickyVixxx) told XBIZ that Twitter is the best way to get important information to fans, calling the platform “fast and efficient.”
XBIZ Industry Trailblazer and virtual reality camming pioneer Ela Darling (@ElaDarling) prefers Instagram and Twitter.
“I like Twitter because there can be an open discussion where my fans can interact with me even if our profiles are not officially connected,” Darling says. “It’s a global community with massive network effects that offers excellent opportunities to interact. Plus, they don’t ban nude images, which is wonderful.”
“I like Instagram,” Darling adds, “mostly as a hub to post photos that are populated to other social media platforms.”
XBIZ Best MILF Cam Model Jenny Blighe (@JennyBlighe) says she really likes using Twitter the most to connect with fans.
“It’s the easiest way other than when I am broadcasting on cam via MyFreeCams,” Blighe told XBIZ.
Others point to Twitter as being the next best thing to cam time for reaching fans, but note there are attractive alternatives.
“As far as social media, Twitter is our main way of communication when we are not on cam,” XBIZ Best Cam Duo BlondeRider and RobxxxRider (@Blonde_RiderXXX) noted. “We also plan to be more active on Instagram in the future [while] Snapchat also helps out when we are not on cam and is more personal than the content on Twitter.”
Angels Studio pointed to its top earner on the ImLive network, UrCuteSarah (@UrCuteSarah), who says she does not have a favorite social media channel.
“I own a Twitter account that I use occasionally to promote myself, but in all honesty, I must say that social media never helped me connect with my fans,” UrCuteSarah says. “We connect when I am online mainly in free live chat.”
Among today’s top cam networks, CAM4 has earned a reputation for forward-looking approaches and an eye on the latest technology — a pursuit echoed by many of its top models.
Ava Moore, a.k.a. “Chiennette” (@AvaMoorex) told XBIZ her favorite marketing channels include her website Ava-Moore.com, where she offers live shows, videos, Snapchat and Pink Phone access, a shop and a diary.
“In my diary, I publish my erotic stories,” Moore says. “On my website, I created Club Ava where I present exclusive content, full access to the website, competitions [and more].”
“My Twitter is also a way to stay connected with my fans and to expand my community, which today amounts to 100K,” she adds, explaining, “I post a lot of video and pictures in general, five per day, and offer games to keep interacting with my subscribers.”
Moore says CAM4 is the only platform she uses for broadcasting live shows and is online almost daily.
“I announce my broadcasts on Twitter,” she explains. “CAM4 is like a social network for me and I communicate a lot by messaging with my fans.”
Sammy Shayne (@SammyStrips) says Snapchat is her favorite by far, but she is also very active on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram.
“I love to do takeovers on other popular accounts giving me a ton of exposure and new fans, which is the reason I tend to lean towards Snapchat as my main growth tool,” Shayne says. “For my existing fan base, it’s a chance to look into my day to day life, and get a much better feel for who I am as a person.”
“Each platform comes with its own viewers,” she adds, “so it’s important to have a presence on all.”
Like many of her peers, Yolandi (@Missjunngle) favors using Twitter and Instagram — and pays close attention to each platform’s rules.
“Twitter allows me to keep a daily contact with all my fans, from a breakfast smoothie to a shower after work, that way my fans feel closer to me,” Yolandi told XBIZ. “I can post the exact time I am connected to the cam and give warnings when the show is going to get hot.”
“I use Instagram more to expose myself as a model,” she adds, “but I don’t promote my shows or videos in order to respect the conditions of the app.”
“My favorite marketing tools that I use on a daily basis are Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat,” Layla Savage (@xLaylaSavagex) told XBIZ. “These avenues are a great way help me to get in touch with my viewers, interact with them on a whole different level and are an easy way for them to see what I am up to in my day-to-day.”
Lady Serra (@LadySerra69) is another model that says she uses Twitter on a daily basis.
“I like to get to know my fans and let my fans get to know me, so I use Twitter to interact with my fan base by posting about my daily life and letting them know when and if I will be on cam,” Serra says. “Plus, I post my sales on there too.”
She also likes to take pictures and share them with her fans, leveraging the individual strengths of her preferred platforms.
“I use Instagram to post recent pics of my life and new outfits,” Serra told XBIZ. “I find that these two types of social media help me establish a connection with my fans because they get a glimpse of my world outside of camming.”
Sofia Star (@SpanishStarX) enjoys Twitter’s reach to her more than 23,000 followers, as it allows her to interact with these fans quickly and at any time.
“Twitter is porn-friendly, the only thing you can’t do is have nude profile photos. That one is a big no-no as I found out with a suspension,” Star confided. “I also have my own website, SpanishStar.es, where my fans can find the latest on what I am doing and get in contact with me via email — which is more intimate [than Twitter] as there is no 160-character limit.”
“I have links to the sites I work on, what videos I have available and my photos,” she adds. “There are also links to my wish lists, which allows my fans to treat me to some wonderful gifts.”
Lala Capri (@Lala_Capri1) says fans can get information on everything she’s doing via Twitter, where she posts daily, telling XBIZ, “there you can get in touch with me for inquiries, get the link to my CAM4 and SextPanther profile, know when I’m online for a live show and keep up with my latest videos.”
One of the industry’s most recognized brands, Jasmin is known for the elegance of its models and the elite presentation of its high-end platform. This sophistication is shared by many top models that have learned to leverage social media.
“My favorite social media is Twitter,” Alis Ribeiro (@AlisRibeiroLJ) told XBIZ. “It helps me to let my fans and favorite members know about myself, to keep them updated on all I do, my trips, my hobbies and my tastes; it allows me to show that I am a real girl and not just a fantasy I attract and make them fall in love with.”
“I show my fans the best part of me,” Ribeiro adds, “the sweetest and cutest side of Alis Ribeiro.”
For her part, Demmi Dee (@Demmixx1) has always used Twitter to connect with her fans, calling it “pretty useful.”
Guilty Caprice (@GuiltyCaprice) says when it comes to social media, she’s all in.
“I love interacting with different types of people, always knowing the trends and, why not, having my own fans. I tried a lot of social networks and ended up with sticking just with Twitter because it’s more open-minded and preferred by people in the U.S.,” Guilty Caprice explains. “I can really express myself, share my thoughts and feelings and keep in touch with people following me.
“Spicy detail,” Caprice adds, “I can be a real stalker for a few male actors and fashion-related accounts. Of course, it’s always good to have new fans, so follow me!”
Megan White (@Megaan_Whitee) explains that social media has been the game changer in almost everything that surrounds us and is one of the best ways for models to gain new fans, advising other models to maximize their results by being different.
“You need to do something new every single day, to post something different,” White says. “Try not to lead a comfortable life. Escape the comfort zone and it will be great. Be unique!”
She told XBIZ that although at the beginning of her career she used Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest, after a few months she realized that only two of them are important for connecting with fans.
“In my opinion, Twitter is way more interesting than any other social media channels, and yes, it helps me a lot to keep in touch with my fans. They are so excited to see another kind of photos with me,” White recalls. “For example, I remember posting a photo in the morning, without make-up, with me drinking my coffee and it [received] very good impressions. Fans simply want to see you in other ways than ‘glamorous and baby doll.’”
She says she likes Instagram because of its hashtags, and that it has connected her with many fans.
“There are so many people around the world that before bed, they scroll through Instagram,” White concludes. “I think that Instagram is something like … being a child, picking up the book and preferring the beautiful illustrations to the written words. It sparks the imagination.”
Top Stripchat models such as Angelaxxdemir, DeliciousAngel, IsabellaEtthan, sweetreya_love97 and SweetRoxxy, all agree that Twitter is a fabulous way to keep in touch with fans, bringing new visitors to the streamlined and stylish cam platform.
Stripchatter Angela Demir (@WildLovelyAngel) told XBIZ she still walks in baby steps on social networks.
“I really like Twitter a lot since it offers a wide variety of means to establish a connection with many people who are interested in the cam model industry like model promoters, sites, colleagues, etc. Plus, it provides all the necessary tools to help promote yourself,” Demir says. “On Twitter, I share more about my shows and my personal life, even when I’m not streaming.”
She explains that she uses other social media too, such as musical.ly, where she has fun creating videos — funny or sexy, and notes a surprising media she uses to connect with her fans is a blog.
“I started it for fun, however, I’ve been very surprised at the growing number of people signing up and visiting it,” Demir explains. “There, I share photos from my daily broadcast, and they can read more about my life. I also included a private section that fans can access after they buy access with tokens on Stripchat.”
Miss Delice (@DeliciousAngell) told XBIZ, “I can say that my absolute favorite is Twitter. It helps me a great deal to promote my image overall, including the sites I work on, accounts, my pictures and videos, and at the same time it helps me to stay connected with my fans. Whether I’m taking some time off, or I’m online on a site performing, I feel it’s the best way to keep my relationship ongoing and strong with fans.”
Isabella Etthan (@IsabellaEtthanX) says Twitter helps show fans her life “behind the cam” to create a deeper bond with them.
“For me, it’s important to make sure all my fans understand I think about them even when I am not streaming,” Etthan told XBIZ. “I also like to send my members gifts, like personalized photos or videos from time to time. Their smile is my greatest satisfaction — and I do make them smile often so I am very satisfied with my performances.”
“On Twitter, I keep in touch with users even on a daily basis, post photos and videos in my spare time, and make live sessions,”
Reya (@Sweet_Reya) reveals. “Most of my fans use Twitter, so it’s been the best option for me to stay connected with them.”
Roxxy (@Roxxy_Sweet) likes Twitter because it has no censorship and represents the perfect tool for a cam model to promote herself.
“It also helps me a lot to keep in touch with my users outside the website,” Roxxy told XBIZ, adding that her second favorite social media channel is Snapchat, “because I can snap photos and videos, then send them in real time, so my followers know what I’m doing at that exact moment.”
Fan favorite ImLive enjoys an enviable reputation for stability and success, with a polished approach that popular performers mirror while engaging with their fans.
“I recently began using social media to promote myself,” MsKristine (@MsKristinex) told XBIZ. “Instagram and Twitter have shown to successfully increase my fan base. The more my fans see me and are able to interact with me, even with a simple ‘like,’ the more connected they feel. This connection is what leads them to become regular ImLive members.”
She emphasizes that she uses social media strictly for posts.
“I do not give my fans attention through private messages,” MsKristine explains. “[Instead] I make it easy for them to follow my link to ImLive (KristineCam.com) when they are ready for my personal attention in private.”
“Twitter is my first choice, always,” SabrinaGrey (@SabrinaGrey) says. “I really like to use it to keep in touch with my fans.”
Likewise, HottyTEEN69 (@HottyTeen69) says Twitter is definitely her favorite social media network.
“I love connecting with my fans via Twitter. I’m there at least a couple of hours a day,” HottyTEEN69 told XBIZ. “Basically I go on Twitter before I go online on ImLive and after I go offline. It is hard work but I’d say I handle it pretty well.”
Twitter isn’t the only media making waves with ImLive’s fan favorites.
“My favorite social media channel to connect with my fans is Snapchat,” explains MalibuBomb (@IamMalibuBomb). “It gives a more personal touch and the sexy videos and pictures I post always get fans in my chat room, sometimes even instantly.”
“I personally like Twitter, however, I am fairly new to it so I don’t have a big fan base there just yet,” MAMMICHULA (@IamMammichula) says. “The most powerful social tool I am currently using is ImLive’s Free Live Chat because it exposes me to thousands of people and I get to live chat with them.”
Helping to educate and empower models, professional studios such as AJ Studios provide the needed infrastructure to give performers a private, profitable and safe place to work. One way that the models of AJ Studios help elevate their exposure is through the power of images by using photo sharing sites to build connections between them and their fans.
“I use Instagram a lot (@Tifany17daniels),” Tiffany Daniels told XBIZ. “I love sharing pictures with my followers and I also love following other models.”
“It’s amazing to see all the positive messages I get daily,” Daniels says, adding, “Every woman loves to be complimented.”
Vanessa a.k.a. “Elettra” (on Instagram @Vanessa_Vidal11) told XBIZ she loves Instagram.
“I love being able to share life stories with my fans and getting replies from them. Every morning before I go online I share something with them, and they always have some kind of feedback,” Elettra explains. “They make me feel beautiful before I even go online.”
“Twitter and Instagram are great for making people know my work, my efforts and to create traffic to my room when I’m online; but Snapchat is the real channel for me,” Anastaxia Lynn (@AnastaxiaLynn) told XBIZ. “I have two accounts, one public and one Premium. In both, I share my schedules, info about me and deals like discounts on videos or photosets, and of course, a lot of funny and naughty content on my premium account.”
Lynn says she really believes that in addition to the time she spends on cam, social media is one of the best ways to get new friends and new contacts.
“In days off, there is no better way to tell my friends how my day is going or how I’m feeling than my Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat accounts, and of course to know how their day is going,” she explains. “The relationship I have with my members isn’t just camgirl/client, it is friend/friend, so I try to chat with them a while every day. We share our achievements and even our sadness.
A cam site with a devoted user community, CamWithHer.com models are focused on social media as the key to attracting fans looking for something special.
Like many of her fellow performers, CamWithHer exclusive Layla Lynn (@LaylaLynnCWH) is also a fan of Twitter and Snapchat for marketing.
“They both make it easy to connect with fans by letting them know what time you will be on cam, share your outfit that day, entice them to get shows, share any news ... like when I upload a clip to CWH or a new fan club video,” Lynn told XBIZ. “These social media channels make it easy to stay in touch with the guys, even when you are not actually ‘logged in’ to camming.”
Alexandra Steele (@AlexandraSCWH) says that with nearly 90,000 followers, Twitter is her main source of social media and offers her a fairly broad base to connect with.
“Each time I log in, a message pops up in my Twitter timeline, so it helps fans know exactly when I’m on. I ensure I post loads of goodies in terms of pics and little clips that users can’t really find anywhere else, and I interact with them!” Steele explains. “This is the biggest thing — both when online in a chat room and in social media — It’s how I grew my account to that extent.”
She told XBIZ she had a decent Instagram account that got hacked a few months ago, and subsequently closed, so she’s starting over at square one posting a lot of little clips and whatnot in her story @Alexandracwhgirls.
“Also, I do several takeovers on the CamWithHer Snapchat each month (CWHGirls). It’s really good exposure and hey, the guys like it, so why not?” Steele says, advising fans, “Follow it now. You know ... for inspiration!”
She notes that CamWithHer.com has a public forum where she posts a lot as well, calling it a “great way to connect with fans, and for fans to find out a little more about us models.”
“We have private sections that members can access that contain loads of sexy content. Several top models have their very own model forum, myself included. We'll post our own little topics in there, and again, lots of photos and such,” Steele explains. “Our company also offers something unique called a member chat. Models can sign up for these and basically, they’re hour-long group sessions, where models can interact with their fans directly. These go into archives which members of the site can access and watch again and again if they so choose.”
Katherine Knowles (@KatherineCWH) enjoys Twitter because it enables her to chat with so many of her fans at once and lets her “show all of my followers the outfit I’ll be wearing, about content updates in my Fan Club and other possible upcoming opportunities to see me live.”
“I also really like Snapchat because of all the fun filters! It’s almost something a little bit more intimate and I can get a little bit naughtier (or a lot :P) on than other social media platforms,” Knowles explains. “As I am trying to keep my Twitter as decent as possible and less revealing, my premium Snapchat is the right place to see all the other sides of me.”
Reading through these responses, it’s clear that many of today’s top cam models rely on the same small handful of social media channels to connect with their fans. Visiting these girls’ Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and other outlets reveals, however, that rather than being “all the same,” the unique nuances each display convey the poster’s personality — and in a personality-driven profession such as camming, this is the most important thing for building an audience and developing relationships.
