iJustine (Justine Ezarik) is one of the internet’s hottest personalities. Her 1,700 YouTube videos across her 5 channels have racked up more than 366 million views and she has a passionate fan base all over the world. Now 28 she’s making her mark on the mainstream media with acting and television presenting roles.

I’ve been looking at what makes her so successful, and what the rest of us can learn from her.

Her audience truly loves the content she gives them…
And they can’t get it anywhere else. Watch any of Justine’s videos and chances are you won’t ‘get it’. You might think they’re juvenile, vacuous, silly or simply downright annoying. It doesn’t matter what you or I think. What matters is that a big enough audience exists for her videos to be extremely successful. She is a unique personality with original thoughts and ideas and she isn’t afraid to lay it bare and put it all out there. Her audience appreciates that. In fact, they love her for it. And not only do they keep coming back to see more, they leave comments, ask her questions, and become inspired to create their own videos. Most importantly, Justine’s audience thinks her videos are so good and so important they share them with their friends. This is the single biggest reason for her success. Unique original content. Now think about how many posts you see on Facebook and Linkedin where people simply pass on or re-work thoughts that are already out there. The big value lies in being ‘the source’, or a thought leader. And to her audience, that’s exactly what Justine is.

She looks great…
When it comes to looks, almost everyone on the face of this planet falls into one of two categories. There are those who make the most of what they have, and those who don’t bother. Justine understands she’s working in a visual medium and puts some effort in to ensure she always looks her best. Why shouldn’t someone who takes care of their appearance, who works out, eats right and makes sure they wear clothes which suit them enjoy an advantage over others who couldn’t care less? You don’t need to be blessed with extraordinary natural good looks. Hardly anyone is and we all have our own ideas of what constitutes attractiveness anyway. But taking a bit of time (following some honest advice from a friend should do the trick) to understand what works and what doesn’t can go a long way.

She has high production values…
Years before she was dancing in the Apple store, producing song parodies and sharing her zany views on the world, Justine was hard at work developing her graphic design and digital editing skills. She has an incredible talent for production and her use of Final Cut Pro would put many so-called professional, full-time video producers to shame. She understands how to hold her (mainly young) audience’s attention, there’s rarely a wasted second in her videos and she makes incredibly creative use of the YouTube platform. She’s puts in the hours too. It’s not unusual for her to spend one full day, or sometimes two editing. As a result, her content stands head and shoulders above everyone else’s. Her videos are incredibly well-lit, with first class sound and everything she does has a gloss and a sheen that’s only possible because she has a rock solid understanding of what she’s doing.

She’s honest…
Authenticity is the number one quality guaranteed to get an audience on your side. You don’t need to be the smartest, most attractive, hilariously funny or the best singer. But you do need to be real. Justine is real and doesn’t care what people think. She puts herself out there and lives with the consequences. That shows a confidence in herself and a respect for her audience. While we’re on the subject of respect, compared to other ‘celebrities’, Justine strikes me as a good role model that understands the responsibilities that comes with tens of millions of views.

She engages…
Give people the opportunity to take part and many will. Justine frequently posts videos consisting entirely of her answering questions from her fans. She celebrates the whole internet community, rather than just her own work. It’s not all about her and as a result, a whole movement has gathered behind her.

She hasn’t sold out…
Despite the hundreds of thousands (and sometimes millions) of views, much of Justine’s work carries no advertising whatsoever. She only works with sponsors she feels a connection with and where product placement does occur it is subtle and tasteful. Despite her TV and film roles she remains committed to her YouTube output. There’s no pay wall, little in the way of branding and no email list to sign up to. There’s a bit of sponsorship and merchandise on her official website, but very little on the YouTube material meaning the majority of her followers never even see or hear a ‘call to action’. She’s not creating all this content hoping her business grows off the back of it. She’s creating this content because she wants to and because she’s good at it. Audiences can sense your motivation. And if they don’t like it, there’s a limit to how far they’ll go for you.

To find out more about the woman behind the phenomenon check out this brilliant interview which is part of the ‘Behind The Brand’ series..also worthy of further investigation. And who are the internet personalities YOU admire? Let me know in ‘comments’.