Besides showcasing his personal brand and preaching positivity, brands also have a prominent role in Khaled's snaps. Just a little more than a week into his partnership with Apple Music, the advertiser is being featured in a regular segment in Khaled's Snapchat story. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether a brand in Khaled's feed is a bona fide partner or simply a product he's into. The relationship with Ciroc is a long-standing one, his having partnered with the brand years before his Snapchat account took off.
So, it would reason that when he gives a shout-out to Listerine, the Johnson & Johnson brand is paying for that exposure. It isn't. The same goes for products like Palmer's Cocoa Butter. Such mentions are merely another glimpse into the personality's real life.
Social media mentions of Khaled by brands, media and celebrities have grown dramatically in a very short time. From November 2015, when he joined Snapchat, through January 2016, those mentions scored 936,000 actions (clicks, likes, shares) on Facebook, 356,000 on Twitter and 3.3 million via Instagram. In other words, precisely the kind of social engagement brands crave.
Check him out @djkhaled