[1] You may not believe it, but it is quite possible that you know, or even live with, a major influencer of music, TV, fashion, movies, and technology - a teenager. Don't believe me? Look at the billions of dollars companies spend every year marketing to teens, or better yet ask Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, or any of a number of people or brands made rich or famous by their popularity with teens. This is where PopCosmo.com [3]and it's creators, the mother daughter tandem of Kim and Chloe Gordon, come into play.
When the family relocated here, after moving all over the South for business, Chloe found herself in a predicament - she was in a new city and it was the middle of summer; so with no school in session it was not an ideal situation for meeting new people or finding out where there is to go and what there is to do in a place you're not familiar with. She did what just about anyone would do, she went online to find out about her new home, but quickly came to the realization that most of what she found catered to an older crowd, and from this and idea was born.
Originally intended to be a portal for teens to find out where to go and what to do, ideas kept coming and it evolved almost as quickly as it has grown since it's launch, amassing over 5,400 Facebook [4] "Likes" and nearly 700 Twitter [5] followers in a matter of a few months. With Chloe in charge of creative, and contributions from friends and business acquaintances, they now have an abundance of content on fashion, beauty tips, and trends, in addition to what there is to do and where there is to go for teens around Louisville. I was really impressed to find out that they have a firm grasp of using social media to their advantage as well. The ladies explained to me that they vary content amongst all their various outlets so that, for their fans and followers, its not just a constant rehashing of what they've already seen on the website, giving them reason to interact with PopCosmo on various fronts.
Kim and Chloe are making Louisville their home base for a website with world wide content and want PopCosmo.com to be a place where teens can come get unbiased reviews and pertinent information. There is no "pay to play" the ladies explained and went on to say that they will only review places and products that they stand behind, use themselves, or would recommend. If they interview someone about their business or product and aren't fully behind it, they don't write a review for it, which I think only adds to their credibility. They are currently non-profitable, but that is next in their plan of attack. Now that Chloe has the content stream revving, Kim says that finding revenue streams is her responsibility.
I was very impressed with these two business partners and their strategy. They understand that content can drive people to you, but its how you engage them once they're there that keeps them coming back. With their ever growing network, an under abundance of teen focused websites, and an audience that craves to be connected with and "in the know", don't be surprised to hear much more from these two savvy women over the next few years.
To connect with PopCosmo in additional ways:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/THEpopcosmo [6]
Tumblr: http://popcosmo.tumblr.com/ [7]
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/popcosmo/ [8]