Social Media Gives Rise to the ‘Celebrand’

By MICHELE MATTIA

With the rise of personal branding platforms, the celebrity social media scene skyrocketed over the past decade, allowing for a greater amount of self-promotion than ever before.

Branding on social media has become a new way for not only companies, but individual people, to market themselves online.  The creation of a personal brand especially has given rise to the “celebrand.”

Biggest Names in Branding

Most major celebrities, such as Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift, and Kim Kardashian essentially have their own brand, or name recognition, which is how they portray themselves to the public eye. Their brands are known in music, clothes, and on television.  For example, Kim Kardashian’s most successful year yet is 2014, earning $28 million over the last 12 months, according to Forbes’ contributor Clare O’Connor.  She landed at #80 on their Celebrity 100 list.

O’Connor reported that the Kardashian family is paid to tweet ads to their millions of followers.  Kim, the most popular sister, has over 24.9 million followers on Twitter and 20.5 million on Instagram.

That was the smallest way she earned her yearly salary, compared to her television show, public appearances, clothing and beauty lines and sales from her family store DASH.

Jennifer Lopez and Taylor Swift also exemplify branding to multiple platforms.  While J-Lo has become a major icon not only in Hollywood, she is widely known for her loyalty to Latina roots.  She also proves that with her 29.5 million Twitter followers, music, fashion line at Kohls, perfume, and judge on the hit show American Idol have been assets as well.

A study by Hubspot revealed “92% of marketers agreed that social media is important for their business, up from 86% in 2013” and  “72% of marketers are using social media to develop loyal fans.”  Since celebrities particularly have so much control over their brands today, their presence online has enhanced their careers exponentially.

Taylor Swift is taking the world by storm on social media with her most recent debut of album 1989.  She created a countdown to its release on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.  She even invited fans via social media to hang out at her multiple homes around the country to preview her latest album, where she baked them cookies and took Polaroids with them.  Over the years she has never lost her “girl next door,” lighthearted image who young women worldwide wanted to be best friends with.  She started as a brand name, from the beginning as a small-town country artist to her fame as the $64 million pop-starlet she is now.

 

Taking Fanatics by Storm
Fan response has proven to be the reason celebrities have been able to brand themselves so efficiently.  Many artists who already have a following find it easier to market a new album or their latest clothing line because they already know they can count on those specific people to help ‘sell’ them.

Anthony Pugliese, who is an assistant of radio legend Elvis Duran, has seen the development of artists due to the brand they communicate online via social media.  Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Vine, among others have taken over the social media scene and created a place where branding meets fan engagement.

“I think a lot of singers use hashtags before their singles are actually released.  Five Seconds of Summer definitely utilizes it very well because of their young fans.  When they pretty much tweet anything it becomes trending, so that’s kind of a big deal for them,” said Pugliese.

Whether it’s by sharing the link to an artist’s favorite music video on Facebook or participating in a trending celebrity hashtag, the celebrity/fan promotion relationship are well-built on one another.

Forbes contributor Seth Porges reported that since celebrities are essentially selling both themselves and their personalities, fan engagement on social media is extremely beneficial long-term.  They often gain a larger following by being active on their accounts.

Many celebrities have Generation Y and Millennials to thank for such a huge following on social media, especially when it comes to young stars.

Emily Lee, a senior at Pace University and pop culture aficionado said, “Social media is obviously a young person’s game.  If you look at young stars, like Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift or One Direction, they obviously have to build themselves on social media because that’s where their fans are,” says Lee . “So, if you look at One Direction specifically they’ve built their own career through Youtube and viral content.  Their social media matches their image and makes them more relatable to their fans.”

Branding the Bad

Even though online branding is creating an image for a celebrity, it doesn’t mean their social media presence is always a .positive one.  Some such as Amanda Bynes and Rihanna, have made news by feuding on their public Twitter profiles.

“I’m always up for a good celebrity Twitter feud.  I don’t really feel bad because they can choose how they want to be seen by the public and the crazy ones like Lindsey Lohan and Amanda Bynes have already taken on that image.  It’s like it’s expected of them to act out on their misbehaviors for the world to see,” said Natalie Rebisz, a junior at Seton Hall University.

When it comes to maintaining a social media presence, the good comes along with the bad, and who these celebrities represent themselves as to the public eye becomes apart of their character.  Just as everyday people are judged by their online profiles, celebrities self-brand themselves that way as well.