If you have any form of social media- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube ect, chances are you follow one or more of your favorite celebrities. Whether you love Chrissy Teigen’s sassy comebacks, Kanye West’s bizarre meltdowns, Ashton Kutcher’s work with taking down human trafficking or just simply knowing what is going on in the world, social media has the ability to give you quick information with a click of a mouse or a finger scroll. Celebrities use social media as a tool to help define their personal brand.
For example, one of my favorites, Chrissy Teigen. She has a heavy presence on Twitter and Instagram where she’s known for “keeping it real”. She responds to fans, is often sarcastic and funny, and also voices opinions that matter to her. She makes herself more personable, and someone I definitely would love to hang out with. If you don’t believe me, check out Buzzfeed’s article dedicated to a few of Teigen’s memorable posts: Chrissy’s Social Media
Celebrities are their own personal brand. Any celebrity you can think of; Katy Perry is a brand; Jonah Hill is a brand; Snooki is a brand. Whether they make music, star in movies and television shows, or write books, celebrities use social media channels to create and manage their brand.
The Kardashian family is a prime example of building a brand empire. They started out as a low-socialite family. Once Kim started made her way into a more public eye, a little home made movie shot her into every headline of every tabloid. Her and her manger/mom, Kris Jenner, spun this with situation with the help of the media, and have turned the Kardashian name into a collective billion dollar name. Kardashian Money
They have built an empire and use social media frequently to help promote their brands such as clothing, makeup, and perfume, as well as their reality television show. Their social media influence, to sum up in one word, is impressive. Check out Forbes article: Kardashian Social Media Influence
Just like a brand, celebrities also have a reputation and online presence to maintain in order to increase and maximize their audience. Once celebrities get to a certain audience size, that enormous group of followers becomes a great place to market your new movies, music, and events. Companies are now utilizing celebrities on social media to create posts sponsoring their brand. This technique is being increasingly used in the fashion industry. For example, Instagram inspires decisions in at least one fashion category for 42% of women ages 18-29. Knowing that customers are looking towards Instagram and Pintrest for fashion inspiration, companies are putting their products out their via celebrity sponsored posts to help market their brand.
Social media is a continuously growing tool that helps everyone, whether it’s a celebrity, individual, or a company, stay in contact with on another. Celebrities rely heavily on social media to keep accessible to their fan bases, as well as help companies promote their products. With the slope continuing to grow, it’s hard to see if social media will ever take a dive down.
Courtney Moody 