Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton are up to three times more valuable than social influencers

The pair made major waves on social media this year.
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Megan C. Hills10 December 2019

A new study has tracked the commercial value Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton have had this year and revealed the Duchesses have three times the impact on social media as influencers.

Data obtained by the London Institute of Photography analysed 466 Instagram posts published by media outlets, breaking down the social value of both duchesses, which royal moments were the most popular and which clothing brands profited the most from the exposure.

The Institute based its calculations on standard influencer rates from website Emarketer.

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In total, the pair brought in 5,839,669 likes on Instagram and $2,452,660 in potential social value - making for a per post average of $5,263.

With the birth of her son Archie, royal tour to Africa and additional stories, Meghan was featured more on brand accounts and across 281 posts, making for a total like count of 3,786,577 and total social value of $1.708 million.

According to LIoP, Meghan's social value was nearly three times more than that of a traditional influencer.

Her sister-in-law Kate was featured in over a hundred less posts with a total of 161, a total like count of 1,656,926 and social value of $695,908 in comparison. Her social value was seen to be twice as high as a standard influencer.

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The study also found which ten Instagram posts were the most liked. Meghan and baby Archie dominated eight of the ten, with the first official portraits of Archie, Prince Harry and Meghan coming in first (131,011 likes and $55,024 value) and sixth place (70,750 and $29,715).

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Photos of Meghan and Harry introducing Archie to Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland also took second (124,087 likes and $52,116) and third place (80,264 likes and $33,710).

Photos of Archie, Prince Harry and Meghan on royal tour prior to meeting Bishop Desmond Tutu also took fourth (70,037 and $29,415) and seventh (70,037 likes and $29,415). Kate Middleton’s appearance at Royal Ascot wearing a blue Elie Saab dress and white hat also made a big splash on Instagram, taking fifth (71,846 likes and $30,175) and ninth (66,971 likes and $28,127).

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The study also calculated which fashion brands profited the most from the extensive duchess coverage.

Wales Bonner came out on top thanks to the white trench dress Meghan wore for Archie’s first official portraits, with photos of her in the dress earning 657,093 overall likes and a value of $275,979.

Given that Meghan is also a major fan of Club Monaco, the brand also slid into second place with 265,849 and $191,401.

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Alexander McQueen, Michael Kors, Jason Wu, Erdem, Aquazurra, Givenchy, Veronica Beard and Oscar de la Renta filled out the rest of the top ten list in order.

In June, fashion search platform Lyst found that after the duchesses made a public appearance - the items of clothing they wore led to a massive spike in search. Following an appearance by Kate, relevant searches spiked by 119 per cent while Meghan was nearly double that amount with 216 per cent.

The Duchess of Cambridge - style file

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