Twitter is acquiring Niche, a New York startup that matches social media stars with advertisers, helping Twitter tap into the lucrative world of Internet celebrity.
Niche was founded in 2013 and helps hot creators on platforms like Vine, Instagram and YouTube to make money by matching them with brands that want to reach a similar audience.
Vine has become popular for uploading short videos and some of the most popular creators have millions of followers. Niche has served as a link between those creators and advertisers.
These users have helped brands including Hewlett-Packard, Coca-Cola and others sell their products using photos or videos, sharing the advertisements with their large number of social media followers.
By acquiring Niche, Twitter gains a talent agency for the digital age. Niche’s service might also help Twitter’s appeal to advertisers who want to reach a younger audience on new platforms. That could help Twitter to grow its crucial ads business.
Baljeet Singh, director of product management at Twitter, said in the company’s announcement,
“As more users and creators use different products as a way to share what’s happening in their world, brands are also looking to partner with those individuals in hopes of generating moments that resonate with the people they are trying to reach,â€Â
Niche says it has more than 6,500 creators in its network including photographers, visual artists and fashionistas. It helps them earn revenue through its partnerships with more than 100 brands including Coca-Cola, Aetna and BMW. Niche also provides analytics services across desktop and mobile.
Twitter declined to disclose how much they acquired the startup for but a source familiar with the deal said it was between $45 million to $50 million.
