Can the World Cup's viral stars turn social media fame into fortunes?

Image source, Reuters Image caption, Cape Verde's Vozinha celebrates with fans By Sakshi Venkatraman Published 17 minutes ago It took 90 minutes for Vozinha, Cape Verde's 40-year-old goalkeeper, to become a world-wide sensation with more Instagram followers than NFL legend Tom Brady. Vozinha's impressive performance against Spain in the World Cup group stage led to a 0-0 draw, a huge surprise against one of the tournament favourites. It led to Vozinha's 50,000 Instagram followers ballooning to 17.4 million, surpassing athletes such as Brady (15.5 million). World Cup stars, like Vozinha, can harness their new social media fame to generate lucrative financial opportunities. But media expert Mike Serazio said those prospects can be fleeting. "It's viral - it goes up very fast and it goes down equally fast," he said. Brooke Duffy, a digital and social media scholar at Cornell University, said influencers with millions of followers can demand payments that stretch beyond six-figures. A prominent social media presence can lead to brand partnerships and advertisers paying for individual posts. "Followers are a form of currency that matters now… more followers tends to translate into a higher income," she said. Social media offers a different path to stardom Image source, BOB FRID/EPA/Shutterstock Image caption, Tim Payne of New Zealand in action against Belgium Tim Payne, a defender on the New Zealand team, was dubbed the "least-known" World Cup player by one Argentine influencer ahead of the tournament. Valen Scarsini, known as 'elscarso' online, shared a video calling on his hundreds of thousands of followers to help boost Payne's profile. Payne leaned into this, posting more and engaging with the influencer. Over a few days, Payne's Instagram follower count grew from about 5,000 to nearly six million. He has a larger following, he pointed out, than the population of the country he hails from (New Zealand's population is just over 5.3 million). Unlike in the case of Cape Verde's Vozinha, Payne's new-found fame didn't come from his efforts during a match. It is a phenomenon that's becoming more prominent in the sports world, said Boston College professor Mike Serazio, who has researched the intersection of media and sport. "You have had, in the last five to 10 years, the rise of athlete-stars who are all hype, all social media following," Serazio said. "Their fame is not commensurate to their athletic talents." Serazio said that anyone who makes it to their country's national team is highly talented. But in previous eras, athletes had to be among the very best to book a television commercial or appear on a cereal box. "You simply don't need the mass media in the way that you did previously and athletes understand this," he said. "Athletes have been taking to social media and using it ambitiously to cultivate followings, to strike brand deals, to make money, to leverage their popularity." Will fame last after the World Cup? Viral clips are the directi