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McKenzie Kimbrough
English 101
September 24, 2019
Compare and Contrast Essay
Jenner vs. Wang: A Comparison of Instagram Accounts
Social media is arguably the greatest invention of the twenty-first century. It has allowed
people to connect with each other all over the world. Additionally, it has given us a closer look at
the lives of celebrities, politicians, musicians and others of interest. Seeing famous people with
millions of followers, you can’t help but think, “How do celebrities gain such a large following?”
It has been proven that social media is a strong tool in building brands, influencing people and
selling products. Celebrities use social media very much the same, but also in different ways to
accomplish their goals. As an example, Kylie Jenner, reality star and beauty brand guru, and
Alexander Wang, world-renowned fashion designer, both use social media in a lot of similar
ways, yet differently. In comparing and contrasting Kylie Jenner and Alexander Wang, it is easy
to see how they utilize social media to highlight fashion, promote their brands and lifestyles as
well as sell products, and engage their large number of followers.
One common trait of Kylie Jenner’s and Alexander Wang’s Instagram accounts is that
they both post regularly about fashion. Kylie uses her fashion to show her lifestyle and promote
her brand. She also posts about fashion to highlight other companies. For example, Kylie
consistently uses Fashion Nova in her posts to promote their company and gain business from
them. Alexander also regularly posts about fashion. However, Unlike Jenner, Wang uses social
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media to promote his own collection. He uses his fashion to promote the modern culture around
him. Wang regularly showcases celebrities such as Lizzo wearing his fashions on his Instagram
account as a way of connecting his collections to pop culture.
Another similarity in Kylie Jenner’s and Alexander Wang’s Instagram accounts is that
they both utilize their social media presence to promote their brand and sell products. However,
Kylie Jenner’s products are beauty related and Alexander Wang’s products are strictly fashion.
Kylie uses her Instagram to promote Kylie Cosmetics and uses her IGTV to promote pop-up
sales and upcoming launches. She also uses her daughter, Stormi, to engage her audience and
highlight the new collections that are launching. Alexander Wang does the same thing to
promote his fashion but uses Instagram stories to sell his clothing. By posting Instagram stories,
it gives the consumer a chance to understand how they came up with the design and what it
means. He also uses Instagram stories to promote his new and past collections.
Kylie Jenner and Alexander Wang both have a significant following. However, Kylie
Jenner is well ahead with more than 147 million followers, while Alexander Wang has 5.3
million followers. One reason Kylie has a bigger following is because of her younger audience.
They have seen her on reality TV, grown up watching her and witnessed her become the
youngest self-made billionaire. Kylie regularly posts pictures of her daughter, Stormi, boyfriend,
Travis Scott, her sisters and friends. She uses her personal life to better connect with her
audience – giving them greater insight into who she is. Kylie also frequently collaborates with
famous YouTube stars and up and coming influencers. While Alexander Wang has millions of
followers, he does not have the same impact as Kylie. One reason that might be is that Kylie
Jenner shares many posts about her personal life while Alexander Wang does not. Wang’s
Instagram strictly showcases his product line, so his audience is not likely to connect with him
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on a personal level. However, Wang also uses YouTube stars and celebrities to promote his
brand and gain followers. He uses trends on the Internet such as the “bottle cap challenge”, a
viral challenge among social media users, to connect with his audience.
It is clear that social media has a strong impact on people today. Celebrities are certainly
benefiting from the tools social media provides. Kylie Jenner and Alexander Wang are great
examples of how celebrities use social media to endorse their brand, share their personal stories,
sell their products and involve their audience. As a result, they have been able to grow their fan
base and product outreach. Kylie Jenner and Alexander Wang both use social media to their
advantages, yet they successfully use it in different ways.