The explosive growth of social media has ushered in a “new era of marketing,” where celebrities and influential figures use posts on their personal accounts to advertise brand products.
These people already have a large numer of loyal followers and a fan base that tends to “imitate” what they use. The popularity and virality of the posts are also widespread. The more credible and reputable the star, the more likely the product is to reach consumers and earn their trust.
As brands recognize that traditional advertising (TV, newspapers) is no longer as effective as before, major global companies have shifted strongly toward collaborating with celebrities on social platforms. This is also why new concepts such as KOLs and influencers have emerged, and naturally, top superstars as V have become “golden faces” in the eyes of brands.
Now, social media is not only a tool for celebrities to interact with fans or maintain their fame, but also a source of enormous income through brand promotions. Although BTS members in general, and V in particular, do not accept one-off paid advertisements for multiple products, many of their Instagram posts are still part of their multimillion-dollar brand ambαѕѕador contracts.
On the other hand, the enormous estimated amount for each Instagram post if V actually did accept single paid ads has left people in αωє. Not only that, V has proven his level of influence by surpαѕѕing even top stars on the platform like CR7 and Messi in advertising value. Of course, the revenue and prestige that luxury brands gain far exceed the money they spend on contracts with global K-pop superstars like V!
The major кσяєαn newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun calculated that the value of a single post on V’s personal Instagram account is 1 billion KRW (about USD 765,400)—higher than any other celebrity or influencer in the world.
Compared to those mentioned, the advertising value of V’s Instagram post is two, three, or even four times higher. Specifically, one post from V is valued far above global stars who have used Instagram for years, such as Cristiano Ronaldo (USD 451,000), Kylie Jenner (USD 514,000), Selena Gomez (USD 226,000), Kendall Jenner (USD 362,000), Zendaya (USD 528,000), and Leo Messi (USD 308,000).
Kyunghyang Shinmun based this calculation on the number of followers, likes, comments, views, and engagement rate per post. They also compared V’s posts with other prominent accounts that can be monetized, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi, Ariana Grande, and more.
V’s engagement rate per post is remarkably high—up to 32%, with an average of 12.9 million likes each. Even with comments disabled, which significantly limits interaction, the rate remains outstanding. His dominance is evident across all metrics—likes, video views, followers, and popularity—earning him the title of “King of Instagram.”
A video of V dancing in a jazz bar reached 20 million views in just 13 hours, the fastest record ever for an Asian artist on the platform and the second fastest worldwide, behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
He is the only Asian to make it to the official list of the '20 Most Liked Posts' on the platform. He's on the charts with celebrities with between 100 and 400 million followers. Taehyung also continues to demonstrate the fastest follower growth on the platform since the first day of account opening.
Remarkably, V only created his Instagram in late December 2021—just about three years ago—yet he has already set multiple world records: fastest to 1 million, fastest to 10 million followers, and so on. Currently, he boasts over 69.3 million followers.
Although his account is not the most-followed artist account worldwide, @thv is the highest-valued account in terms of advertising on the platform. A striking comparison is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has the most-followed personal Instagram account (opened 13 years ago) with 664 million followers, but still ranks behind V in ad value.
V does not take on small, one-off Instagram advertisements. All product-related posts he shares fall under his ambαѕѕador roles, with compensation wrapped into major contracts rather than per-post fees. Naturally, the payout for an ambαѕѕador contract far exceeds USD 765,000, and securing V’s approval is an extremely rare opportunity.
So far, only CÉLINE, Cartier, Coca-Cola Zero (кσяєα), and Compose Coffee have appeared on his personal Instagram account. Yet brands still treat every one of his posts as a “treasure,” competing fiercely for the chance to collaborate with the superstar!
