Celebrity Endorsements and Social Media

Word-of-mouth is considered the most powerful, effective form of marketing. Sure, a celebrity endorsements draw attention, but the ultimate goal should be to get the brand or the new product into conversion. Marketing's most powerful media is recommendation, afterall.

An article in Ad Age touches on this very topic, and explores the power of social networking. Think of the social networking sites you're already apart of--Facebook and twitter for example. If someone posts a status or tweets about an amazing product that has changed their life or their new favorite restaurant, chances are you're going to be curious, maybe even a little intrigued. For example, just the other day I "checked into" Moonshine, my favorite restaurant in Austin on Facebook. Immediately, my friends started commenting about how much they loved it too and discussion began about their favorite dishes and what people should try. Just a simple post on my Facebook profile sparked discussion, and undoubtedly pushed someone to look up the restaurant or even try it.

Now imagine a celebrity tweeting about their favorite restaurant, or a new shoe they've fallen in love with. Their following is enormous. Take rap artist Drake, who boasts 3.7 million followers or Kim Kardashian, a reality TV star, who has about 10,000 followers. The whole purpose of "following" someone on Twitter is because you want to hear what they have to say. Their sphere of influence is huge, and this form of promotion costs nothing for a marketing campaign.




However, celebrity endorsements are often inhibited by constraints and contractual limitations. I believe it is critical for companies to utilize social networking as an additional platform for celeb endorsements and brand advocacy. According to Ad Age, 95% of social-media users agree and believe companies should have a presence in social media.

Social media enables consumers to adopt new behaviors and is the best way to get brand names, products, and services into people's conversations. It is a critical strategy that CMO's need to incorporate into their marketing campaigns because social media is the most effective way for consumers to "recommend" products to the greatest amount of people.




Works Cited:

Crutchfield, Dean. "Celebrity Endorsements Still Push Product." Ad Age. Crain Communications, 22 Sept. 2010. Web. 19 Sept. 2011. .