By: Grace Gurley
Have you ever heard of Jojo with a Bow Bow? If you don’t have a child or teenager in your life, you may not have heard of the marketing master Jojo Siwa. This teenage girl and her mom grew a spot on reality TV into a brand with a net worth of over $17 million. How did she do this?
Becoming a Household Name
Jojo got her start on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition and Dance Moms. She was quickly a fan favorite with her bright bows. In 2016, Siwa released a line of hair bows in a collaboration with fashion accessories and jewelry company, Claire’s. With the brand her mom had been carefully crafting, they created an empire. Jojo’s team marketed through her reality shows, YouTube channel, Instagram, and interviews, making Jojo a walking ad.
She Was the Product
With Jojo’s face being the product, any project she did added value to her company. Her face began popping up on dolls, shirts, hair products, a makeup line, and more. Jojo’s strategies, effortless integration, and use of the “living brand” concept made promotion almost unnecessary, given that she wore her signature bow and hairstyle everywhere.
Her YouTube content has obtained millions of views. She posted videos unboxing her merch and testing her toys, creating engaging content to sell her products. Not only was she gaining exposure for future projects, but she was also making money and promoting her brand every time she posted.
Clever Strategies
The team behind Jojo, and her business savvy mother Jessalynn, used classic marketing strategies to launch her to the stars. Some examples include:
- Using haters for content. Jojo’s hit single “Boomerang” went viral with over 900 million views on YouTube. The song was her reply to haters calling her brand “childish”
- Consistency. Jojo was constantly putting out new content. From daily posts on social pages to new projects with Nickelodeon and guest star roles. She constantly kept her face in front of consumers.
- Family-friendly. The Jojo brand is parent-approved. The team took care to groom her content, so anything released was appropriate for all ages. Keeping content specific to kids creates new streams your content can run on.
- Keeping content fun. All of her content was upbeat and designed to keep viewers smiling.
Closing
Through it all, Jojo says her key to engaging fans is her authenticity. Keeping up with her family-friendly branding, she has to be authentic. Taking a note from her book, we should all aim to market our branding or company to any and all outlooks. The sky’s the limit for Jojo and her team.
Grace Gurley 