Those who know do it and sometimes teach. This is how the influencer Giulia De Lellis will sit behind the chair of Sda Bocconi, the business school of the Milanese university, on March 20. Although she can't boast of any particular academic merits (she didn't get a degree, but “she misses it and would like to get it”), the 28-year-old was invited to talk about her experience to the master's degree in Fashion, Experience and Design Management. A journey that began eight years ago, when – he tells everyone Corriere della Sera – a lipstick that sold out after being recommended by her.
The beginnings
De Lellis, who was working as a salesman in Pomezia at the time, saw the lucrative possibilities behind this episode: “When the first contracts arrived thanks to social networks, I was almost ashamed: with a bunch of messages, I could go beyond what I earned in store for an entire month. I started putting my savings aside, I said to myself: I have this fortune, I want to use it to create something of my own.” What finally happened: his brand Audrer, which became a case of study, reached balance at the start of the new year, against an initial investment of 500 thousand euros. To date, specifies the influencer, “between the Audrer team and the beauty influencer team there are 12 at total”.
Numbers
Giulia's fame came, even before social networks, from television: with Men and women before and the Big Brother VIP Then. But the public who witnessed the blossoming of her love story with the tronista Andrea Damante, or the fiery arguments with the columnist Alfonso Signorini, then faithfully moved to social networks to continue following her on a daily basis. So much so that he is now full of followers: “5.3 million on Instagram, 900 thousand on TikTok and 200 thousand on YouTube. The estimated weekly audience is 7 million users. Today, compared to when she started, she explains that the monetary value she is recognized for product sponsorship has increased tenfold.
The talent
But again, quality has a price: according to him, not everyone will be able to do their job. “There would be millions of influencers, all successful. But no: who knows why. It takes preparation, imagination, a pinch of luck. I have my own way of communicating: direct, frank. It's not that I publish a post and earn money: I think about the claims, the decor, I decide how to take the photos, the music. Details matter a lot.” Despite her expertise, she too has made many mistakes in the past. The latest was when she went on vacation to Israel with her (possibly ex) boyfriend Carlo Gussalli Beretta, from the gunmaker of the same name. The controversy arose after the sharing of some photos showing the two men with the IFD, the Israeli Defense Forces, one with the head of state, Isaac Herzog, and another again during an exclusive party in Solomon's Cave.
Tough times for influencers
But he ignores the question, speaking of the “increased aggressiveness” of the followers: “We have become subjects to follow but also to contest. Sometimes very strongly, very strongly. » However, he does not even consider the possibility of giving up his cell phone: “I love what I do, my field has so much potential. There are criticisms but also appreciations, satisfactions, people with whom a dialogue is established, who express affection. Someone is working with me today. What I do has also helped me emotionally: the Amatrice earthquake shook my family (an aunt died, other relatives suffered enormous damage, ed) and around this time my mother's family moved in with us. We were all going through a heartbreaking moment together. Turning on the PC and posting light content kept me going.”