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Existing in a predominantly digital landscape, Gen Z dominates social media apps – sparking insightful discourse, crafting new trends, and embodying the trailblazer nature that’s characteristic of their generation’s endeavors. Over 92% of Gen Z uses YouTube, with similarly large percentages also using Instagram, TikTok, X, and close to half of all Pinterest users are Gen Z. So, regardless of where your marketing strategy or interests lie online – targeting Gen Z reach can be incredibly helpful. Here’s ten of the most influential Gen Z content creators right now – including a few that are still largely accessible by even the smallest of brands and agencies.
Top 10 Gen Z Content Creators
1. Emma Chamberlain
YouTube Subscribers: 12M
Instagram Followers: 15.2M
TikTok: 438K (inactive)
Growing her platform and diverse influence across apps since she was 16-years-old, now 23-year-old Emma Chamberlain has become both a trendsetter and powerhouse in the online space. Transforming her content from daily vlogs, challenges, and collaboration with other content creators online to a new content style and aesthetic – Chamberlain has managed to evolve, expanding her reach across demographics.
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With travel videos, daily vlogs, and the occasional trend-focused clip on her platform, it’s Chamberlain’s unique editing style and personality that charms viewers. She has a huge influence on her followers, who take her fashion, beauty, and wellness recommendations in high regard.
Her collaborations are big news – as she’s often “picky” with the products, services, and brands that she chooses to endorse and share with her platform. Her coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee, is equally influential and inherently on-trend – even leveraging The Olympics season to promote their products, with the slogan “Coffee for Champions!”
2. Charli D’Amelio
YouTube Subscribers: 9.2M
Instagram Followers: 43.7M
TikTok Followers: 155.5M
Despite her recent shift in posting frequency on apps like TikTok – where she initially rose to fame – Charli D’Amelio’s influence across social media apps hasn’t wavered in terms of reach and engagement. With an average TikTok viewership nearing 10 million per post, she’s clearly not going anywhere. New collaborations, brands, and partnerships show that the D’Amelio brand remains strong, regardless of online discussions or debates.
@charlidamelio so exciting that @D’Amelio Footwear footwear is now available to shop in stores and online at @Lulus now! 😭🫶🏻 link in bio to check it out 💖 luluslovesdameliofootwear
Like many other TikTok creators that rose to fame between 2019 and 2020, D’Amelio has grown up alongside a great deal of her followers – learning and evolving, both personally and professionally online, as she goes. However, with those constant shifts comes experimentation – new content, styles, and aesthetics, that only recapture the attention of her supporters each year.
3. Bretman Rock
YouTube Subscribers: 8.8M
Instagram Followers: 18.8M
TikTok Followers: 17.3M
Bretman Rock is a prominent Filipino-American social media influencer known for his vibrant personality and makeup artistry. He rose to fame on YouTube in 2015 with makeup tutorials and beauty reviews, where his humor and charisma won over followers, however, his content has now shifted slightly.
@bretmanrock Smiski unboxing.. theses guys took a plane ride all the way from Japan
While his brand has expanded to include merchandise and a successful beauty line over the years, alongside impactful collaborations with major brands like Fenty Beauty, today Rock has indulged a new corner of the Internet. Today, Bretman Rock continues to captivate audiences with personable charisma online, but also through hosting and acting.
Beyond beauty, which he still makes space for on his channels, Rock uses platforms like TikTok to promote self-confidence, wellness, and LGBTQ+ advocacy, while also sharing clips from his new life on his Hawaiian farm. Viewers might get an equal sense of nostalgia and shock watching his new videos – with insanely picturesque backgrounds reviewing beauty products and eating lunch.
4. Jake Shane
YouTube Subscribers: 105K
Instagram Followers: 715K
TikTok Followers: 3.1M
A comic, podcaster, and lifestyle content creator, Jake Shane’s platform has only continued to grow more influential as he expands his partnerships, inner circle of connections in Los Angeles, and grows his following. He creates hilariously original skits, interacts with and encourages engagement on his posts, and taps into a unique side of TikTok that few lifestyle influencers achieve.
@octopusslover8 JUNDAY @Alix Earle @Ashtin Earle @john summit @kristin konefal @sallycarden
Not only does he have great content, he’s grown a loyal audience – characterized by a community feel, safe space, and friendship-centered platform that many social media users are yearning for in their parasocial connections. His podcast Therapuss has also reached an equally influential audience – garnering enough attention that he’s recently announced a nationwide tour for fans.
5. Alix Earle
YouTube Subscribers: 225K (Hot Mess w/ Alix Earle)
Instagram Followers: 3.7M
TikTok Followers: 7.1M
Understandably, Alix Earle’s success has turned the heads of many as she’s only continued to grow more and more influential on social media. Starting TikTok in college at The University of Miami, Earle never expected that she’d make social media her full-time career – until her success became too difficult to ignore.
Now, with a podcast under Alex Cooper’s Unwell network, collaborations with major brands like Poppi, Revolve, and Rhode, and a massive platform of loyal followers – it’s clear she’s not going anywhere.
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With success to the likes of Charli D’Amelio on TikTok, Earle has grown popular with her eccentric charm and personality – not changing her content or attitude, even with her massive spike in fame. Still planning events and parties to hangout with fans, she’s bridged the divide between many content creators’ connections with their followers – crafting a one-of-a-kind community of “Earle Girls.”
6. Brianna LaPaglia
YouTube Subscribers: 133K (Plan Bri Uncut)
Instagram Followers: 1.1M
TikTok Followers: 2.1M
Previously the pinnacle of the college party scene on social media, Barstool’s Brianna LaPaglia has had a refreshingly honest rebrand in recent years. Despite maintaining her popularity at Barstool, with her beloved podcast “Plan Bri,” with co-host Grace O’Malley, her content outside of work has been a mix of comedic relief – as funny as she’s always been – with vulnerable chats about her life, growing up, and finding her place in adulthood.
@ihatebriannachickenfry Todays outfit was cute
Retiring her nickname and original TikTok account Brianna Chicken Fry, she’s turned a new leaf online – tapping into a new audience of people, followers, and similarly confused twenty-somethings navigating adulthood. Especially when it comes to relatability with Gen-Z audiences, LaPaglia’s authenticity shines through – making her one of the most influential content creators of the generation.
7. Madeline Argy
YouTube Subscribers: 609K
Instagram Followers: 2.9M
TikTok Followers: 7.8M
Originally posting comedic, candid videos, which resonated with a wide audience enamored by her authenticity and charm, Madeline Argy’s recent endeavors have been more influential in labeling her as a top Gen Z content creator. Exploring popular themes of personal experience, lifestyle, and pop culture, her witty, yet personable style resonates with younger Gen Z audiences. Especially since being introduced as a founding creator of Alex Cooper’s Unwell network, her platform has only grown more massive.
Able to easily connect with viewers on a personal level, while blending humor and insight, Argy’s primary audience is Gen Z viewers – connection and community is what they’re yearning for. Especially following her recent public break-up, her support has only grown larger – as she’s delivering content that many can honestly relate to, despite their lifestyle differences and divide on social media.
8. Avery Cyrus
YouTube Subscribers: 1.1M
Instagram Followers: 885K
TikTok Followers: 9.3M
Making a delicate mix of comedic and adolescent content online, Avery Cyrus has built an unimaginable platform off of “shock value.” However, alongside her videos – often capturing the attention of younger generations of users – she’s able to bolster a kind of vulnerability and playfulness that also captures older audiences of Gen Z users.
Sharing inside looks into her experiences with queer dating, navigating adulthood, and finding her place online – it’s not just traditionally “entertaining” content that she’s platforming, it’s also the reality of her life. With a delicate balance of both, she’s not only captured young user’s attention, but also an older demographic of loyal fans.
9. Brooke Schofield
YouTube Subscribers: 216K
Instagram Followers: 927K
TikTok Followers: 2.2M
Brooke Schofield, the co-host of the “Cancelled” podcast with Tana Mongeau, has grown massively in recent years following the evolution of her content and connections in the industry. Especially alongside Mongeau, Schofield’s influence has radically changed – reframing her personality and charisma in an entirely new way, to entirely new audiences.
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With a mix of wellness and lifestyle content, brand partnerships, and collaborations on her platforms, there’s something for everyone – but it’s no surprise that her content is tailored towards Gen-Z. Looking for connections and community? That’s exactly what users can find on her pages – especially as she opens up about vulnerable experiences like break-ups and navigating adulthood.
10. Chris Olsen
YouTube Subscribers: 36K
Instagram Followers: 1.9M
TikTok Followers: 13M
Chris Olsen, a 26-year-old content creator, has become one of the more notable social media influencers of our time – with an incredibly wide variety of content, styles, and collaborations across his career so far. Originally taking off in popularity following his relatively public split with creator Ian Paget, Olsen took the opportunity as a chance to grow his platform.
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Of course, “grow” is exactly what his platform did – as he now platforms major collaborations, vlogs of incredible trips, and concerts galore. Often taking the time to chat with his audience, getting vulnerable about the struggles of online fame and navigating adulthood, his community is centered around unity.
Like the other Gen Z content creators shared on this list, their success is stemmed from the relationships they share with devoted followers. Not only do they create engaging, entertaining content, they make sure to build impactful communities and safe spaces for their viewers to congregate – bridging the gap between online fame and the average user.
