Zendaya Audience and Industry

Question 1

Who is Zendaya’s social media feed targeted towards?

Answer 1

It’s tailored towards a young, primarily female audience, especially with the emergence of a Gen Z/Millennial culture. She targets them with strategic posts designed to resonate with their interests and values

Question 2

Which platforms is Zendaya on?

Answer 2

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. However, she hasn’t used Twitter since September 2023 and Facebook since 2020

Question 3

What does her declining use of social media platforms suggest?

Answer 3

The effect it may be having on her mental health and how she’s trying to prioritise herself. This may make her seem more authentic. However, she is now unable to show different aspects of her public persona on different websites, which may make her seem less personalised and her feed more controlled and centralized

Question 4

How might consumers on Instagram feel about the fact she’s stopped using Facebook and Twitter?

Answer 4

They may feel like they are being given exclusive content and so feel closer to her.

Question 5

What is Zendaya’s interaction and engagement like with the audience?

Answer 5

Despite opportunities for interaction, Zendaya’s actual engagement is controlled, reflecting a broader trend of managed celebrity-fan interactions.

Question 6

Why is Zendaya’s interaction with fans particularly limited lately?

Answer 6

On her Instagram, she spoke out in support for Gaza, calling for urgent relief for children. Many Jewish fans has resorted to speaking against her in comments saying, with one saying ‘Jewish fans are hurt and disappointed’

Question 7

What does Zendaya effectively balance in her posts alongside social advocacy? Which website is this particularly prevalent on?

Answer 7

Commercial interest. On Twitter the majority of her posts are promoting commercial interests and the films she’s been involved in

Question 8

What are some of the controversial effects that social media can have on consumers- how does Zendaya address this?

Answer 8

1. Issues with body image because a majority of female models are skinny and society has created this into a cultural code or a myth that this makes you more glamorous, because of society’s beauty standards - Zendaya doesn’t specifically promote body positivity and instead does more to highlight post-feminism and intersectionality
2. Social media can have a negative impact on mental health because influencers construct narratives that their lives are perfect - Zendaya conforms to this as her Instagram feed constructs a perfect life and her most recent Twitter posts shows her reposting birthday messages, portraying her as a popular women. However, this could be subverted by the fact she has stopped using Facebook and Twitter and her latest character of Rue in Euphoria faces many struggles

Question 9

What is social media?

Answer 9

Online platforms in which content is made, so that we can interact and share ideas and interests with others

Question 10

Where did Zendaya gain her fame?

Answer 10

She first gained fame for comedic roles in Disney Channel, such as in KC Undercover and Shake it up

Question 11

What did the Times Magazine name her in 2022?

Answer 11

One of the top 100 most influential people in the world

Question 12

What has Zendaya been in more recently?

Answer 12

more recently, she has transitioned to more serious roles such as Rue Bennett in Euphoria, for which she won an emmy and the Spiderman movies, Dune, Malcolm and Marie, The Greatest Showman and Smallfoot.

Question 13

What is Zendaya doing outside of acting?

Answer 13

Modelling: launched her first fashion collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger in 2019, which was inspired by female empowerment. She is currently the face of Lancome, Bulgari and Valentino. In 2021, Zendaya received the CFDA’s Fashion Icon award, making her the youngest recipient of this

Question 14

How many followers does Zendaya have on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook?

Answer 14

Instagram: 184m
Twitter: 20m
Facebook:19m

Question 15

What’s an example of Zendaya placing her fan’s mental health first?

Answer 15

Before Euphoria was released, she took to social media to say how proud she was of the season, but also pointed out that watching Euphoria, with its potentially activating content, might not be a good idea for everyone

Question 16

What is the importance of analysing Zendaya’s social media in A-level media?

Answer 16

It shows how social media is an effective mechanism for celebrities to build a personal brand and public image. It’s a great way to interact with fans because it seems authentic and resonates with the consumer

Question 17

How many likes did Zendaya receive on her pink campaign post for Valentino?

Answer 17

7.5 million.

Question 18

Which organisation has Zendaya been seen to work with to highlight her advocacy work?

Answer 18

GLSEN, who promote rights of LGBTQ+. She won the game-changer of the year award in 2017, which is awarded to those who have a significant impact on the lives of LGBTQ youth

Question 19

What are some examples of Zendaya championing LGBTQ+

Answer 19

-playing a queer character in Euphoria
-the Bulgari unexpected worders advert which showed clear sexual tension between herself and Anne Hathaway

Question 20

What product has been made of Zendaya that shows her ultimate message of female empowerment as an influencer?

Answer 20

She’s been made into a barbie

Question 21

How does Zendaya’s website promote her social media?

Answer 21

Her website offers little information about herself: while there is some background information at the bottom, each paragraph leaves us with questions, creating enigma codes and so make us want to know more about her. Similarly, where it lists her credits, it tells us very little about it and instead gives us links to other websites, forcing us to go and find out lots more about her and creates clickbait. There’s also a lack of pictures

Question 22

Who owns Instagram?

Answer 22

Meta Platforms

Question 23

Who owns Meta Platforms

Answer 23

Meta isn’t owned by one single individual, but instead a large number of investors. The main individual shareholders are:
Mark Zuckerburg - he owns 13.6% and is the fourth richest person in the world - almost his entire wealth comes from Meta, which he started in his university bedroom at Harvard in 2004
Michael Schroepfer - 0.02%
David Fischer - 0.01%

However, 79.65% of the company is owned by 4,716 institutional investors. The three largest are the Vanguard group, BlackRock and Fidelity Investments

Question 24

What products and services does Meta operate?

Answer 24

Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Threads

Question 25

How is Meta funded?

Answer 25

1. the vast majority of the company’s revenue comes from social media advertising, which amounted to 97.8% in 2023. In 2022, Meta had revenues of $39billion, with each Instagram user bringing revenues of around $312.
2. Platforms have also integrated an e-commerce system that allows users to buy and sell products; they take a commission for each transaction
3. More controversially, Meta collects your data, including demographics and behaviour, to sell to third-party companies who use this information to create more targeted advertising, develop new products and services, or swing election campaigns.

Question 26

How successful is Meta’s stock performance at the moment?

Answer 26

Meta has surged by 400% since October 2022, when it bottomed at $88. In April 2024, the stock price stands at $497

Question 27

How is instagram and social media regulated?

Answer 27

Regulated through a combination of:
-its own community guidelines (content of hate speech may see a user being removed from the platform)
-content moderation: human and automated moderators to identify and remove content that violates guidelines
-legal regulations, e.g. privacy, data protection and online safety
-oversight from government bodies such as passing new regulations and conducting investigations
-user reporting and feedback e.g. users can report inappropriate posts

Question 28

Who owns X?

Answer 28

X corp was established by Elon Musk in 2023 as the successor to Twitter. It’s a subsidiary of X Holdings Corp, which is owned by Musk. The Tesla CEO bought Twitter for $44billion. However, Musk isn’t the only owner with other investors, including the 2nd largest shareholder of X being Kingdom Holding company, which is owned by Saudi prince and billionaire

Question 29

How does Hesmonhalgh’s theory apply to companies like Meta?

Answer 29

1. Meta is diversifying itself and taking advantage of multiple media platforms - new media- such as Instagram, which focuses on social media as well as Whatsapp and Messenger, which are texting and communication apps. This is more likely to enable them to minimise risks and maximise profits.
2. Media companies have undergone internationalisation, expanding the market and reducing cultural risk
3. Meta has undergone vertical integration- how owning messaging apps, social media and virtual reality, as well as horizontal integration, by acquiring both Facebook and Instagram

Question 30

Her can we apply Hesmonhalgh’s theory to Zendaya’s social media?

Answer 30

The number of international brands and non-profits organisations working with her suggests these companies hope her star power will generate a desire for products and services. This can be done through the two-step flow of communication Her brand is beginning to become commodified

Question 31

How can cultivation theory be applied?

Answer 31

Given she is an influencer, people are likely to listen to her and so her work for advocacy and positive change are likely to become cultivated in the mind of the reader.

Question 32

What are some of the uses and gratifications of Zendaya’s social media?

Answer 32

Personal relationship- feeling of the authentic girl next door, but also someone to aspire to
Personal identity- you may aspire to be more like her and buy the clothes she advertises
Surveillance- want to keep up with recent trends
Diversion- escape from your own reality and enter hers as she conveys to have the perfect life

Question 33

How can Bandura be applied to Zendaya’s social media feed

Answer 33

The Sabido method- social learning theory has also been used in order to inspire positive change in media audiences. This should be shown through Zendaya as it’s hoped that her work of positive influence and change will lead to others wanting to advocate for this as well

Question 34

How can reception theory be applied?

Answer 34

Dominant reading states that she is a positive influencer trying to advocate and allows people to improve their personal identity for the better

However, the oppositional reading would suggest her message could be damaging as vulnerable users of social media could find her message damaging as they compare their own appearance and achievements to Zendaya’s

Question 35

How can Henry Jenkins be applied to Zendaya’s social media?

Answer 35

Fans have created fan pages on Instagram and Tik Tok, creating edits of her and her work through textual poaching. For example, her biggest fan page on Tik-Tok has 1.5 million followers, showing how fans are creating social communities and subcultures around her and her values of advocacy and female empowerment. People may feel like they are connecting with her via her Instagram comments, but this is a hyper-reality

Question 36

Is Zendaya’s product facing an end of audience?

Answer 36

Her product is somewhat facing an end of audience as her feed becomes more controlled and covers less platforms, meaning her content is less personalised given people less opportunities for interaction. However, this could be somewhat untrue as most her feed was on Instagram to begin with and gratifications are simply changing with less people experiencing personal relationships and more people looking for identity from her content.

many of her posts are partnerships with luxury brands and promotional pieces for her acting work. Despite the huge increase in user-generated content and the mass amateurisation of production, the media conglomerates and global enterprises can still exercise their power through these social networks to reach their target audience.

Question 37

What are the psycho and demographics like of the audience of Zendaya’s Instagram page?

Answer 37

The largest age group on Instagram is 18-24s, with a larger % of females (48%) compared to Facebook. Gen-Z and millennials make up two-thirds of their users. They are likely to be aspirers, as they wish to be like her with status, or they may be reformers as they want to see change in society and like Zendaya’s message of social activism.

Question 38

What are the psycho and demographics of Zendaya’s Facebook audience

Answer 38

The largest age group on Facebook is 25-34s, with 56% of the audience being male, which may suggest Zendaya has less engagement on this sight as she targets her smaller millennials audience and her female orientated content will have less appeal to men. Her viewers on here are more likely to be mainstreamers, who seek security, as they want to be in line with trends and be up to date with her social activism