Meghan Camarena has been a YouTuber almost as long as YouTube has been around. Camarena’s Strawburry17, at nearly 970,000 subscribers, was one of the first batch of 25 creators in YouTube’s NextUp program established in 2007. Fast forward to 2015, and her empire includes brand campaigns with the likes of State Farm and Skype, TV hosting gigs, and a new deal with Maker.
We caught up with Camarena at the Strawburry17 booth at VidCon Thursday to chat about where she goes from here.
LostRemote: You’re super special, you’re one of the only creators with booth space at VidCon this year…
Camarena: You know, my mom says I’m super special, so I guess if you’re saying that I believe it too.
LostRemote: Could you imagine, after being a part of YouTube’s NextUp program in 2007, that it would turn into something like this?
Camarena: I would have never imagined in a million years that when I uploaded my very first video that this would have gotten me to where I am today. People can’t even write this sort of stuff.
LostRemote: Brands increasingly want to be associated with creators like you, what makes you say yes to a brand campaign?
Camarena: I have to believe in the brand. That’s super important to me. It has to be something I’m passionate about because I’m the worst liar, so I couldn’t lie to you and tell you, ‘you should support this.’ State Farm was about safe driving for teens and that’s such an awesome and incredible message. And I really love the way they presented it. It was really simple and something that needs to be heard.
LostRemote: How are you using Facebook vs. YouTube, natively, for your videos?
Camarena: We dive into more longform content on YouTube. Facebook is about that smaller, compact video that’s easier to share. We haven’t started posting mini-versions of our YouTube videos to Facebook yet, but that’s something we’re looking into.
LostRemote: You landed this deal as backstage correspondent for truTV’s Fake Off. Do you plan to do more of those cross-over deals?
Camarena: I feel like television and the internet are becoming one in the same and I want to be at the forefront of that when it happens. I’m creating my content with 4K quality. I’m really putting a lot in to making sure the lighting is right. That the editing and coloring is right. So when that moment happens, I’m ready. And any opportunities that come with television, as long as it’s not reality…
LostRemote: Like hiking up a very long, cold road in Switzerland (as she and Joey Graceffa did on the Amazing Race)…
Camarena: Oh my God, don’t bring that up. I’m still getting over my frostbite from that. As long as it’s not that. I’m retired from being a contestant on reality TV.
LostRemote: You’ve got a new partnership with Maker Studios. Tell us about it?
Camarena: We just signed a big deal with them. They are supporting us and getting behind our brand. We’re giving them content for Maker TV in an exclusive window. They’re great. It’s Disney, Marvel, Star Wars! You don’t have to tell me much more. So, that’s right up my alley.