HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY PARTNER WITH CELEBRITIES

Find below our top tips on how to successfully partner with celebrities.

Curated by Mau, a Senior Digital Marketing Specialist at eDigital.

HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY PARTNER WITH CELEBRITIES

Lately, all types of brands have been partnering with celebrities and very popular influencers to push their messages to their target audiences. These bloggers, media personalities and fashion or sports stars have large social media followings and clout, which allow brands to connect to customers in authentic ways.

Knowing how to work with influencers and celebrities is a fantastic skill to build and hone in during your marketing career and below you will find our top tips for it.

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TOP TIPS WHEN USING CELEBRITIES FOR YOUR INFLUENCER CAMPAIGN

Partnering with a celebrity to endorse a specific brand has always been an effective way to get consumers’ attention. Now, thanks to the fast rise of social media, landing a well-known name for your influencer campaign has become a bit easier, more accessible and less expensive.

That’s according to a new report called “The Future of Celebrity Marketing,” conducted by Celebrity Intelligence, a research firm, in partnership with Econsultancy. Over 300 marketers were surveyed and it was found that Hollywood celebrities continue to be in high demand when it comes to brand endorsements. About 69 per cent of those marketers confirmed they were actively working with a celebrity.

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THE NEW SOCIAL MEDIA CELEBRITIES

What’s most interesting, however, is the rising influence of social media celebrities. About 50 per cent of marketers agreed that film stars are most relevant, though celebrities with a presence on platforms like Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram are gaining traction.

Meanwhile, researchers also pointed out that short-term, campaign-specific contracts have become increasingly popular, giving smaller companies with less of a budget more opportunity to work with influencers.

Social media has made working with celebrities more accessible because you don’t have to pay a huge sum of money for that celebrity to be your brand ambassador.

It’s the difference, in other words, between commissioning Kim Kardashian-West to post two photos to Instagram, versus paying her millions as part of a multi-year endorsement deal. A short-term contract also insulates your brand–in the event that a celebrity makes a gaffe, for instance, or commits a crime–and you want to terminate a partnership.

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WHY SOCIAL MEDIA CELEBS ARE GAINING TRACTION?

It’s not surprising that social media influencers, who’ve gained fame through posting frequently online, have become more popular.

If you compare Brad Pitt to a social media star, there’s probably going to be a massive difference in sales. But social media influencers give you more engaged audience fans are reacting more (sharing on Facebook, re-tweeting on Twitter) to any single piece of content posted. That bodes well for your brand over time.

The Glamour U.K. featured YouTube influence Tanya Burr on its December 2016 cover, coinciding with YouTube’s 10-year anniversary. Print sales that month was up five to 10 per cent. Much of that was driven by Burr’s promotional push on social media.

Analysts also point out that the distinction between traditional film stars and social media influencers depends largely on the campaign itself, and what your company’s initiative is.

“Brand marketers are still critical of the audience they’re trying to connect [with], and how they consume media before ultimately deciding which type of celebrity to collaborate with,” says Ryan Stern, co-founder and CEO at Collectively Inc., an influencer marketing agency based in San Francisco, California.

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HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT CELEBRITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA OR INSTAGRAM

For the most part, businesses and agencies agree that celebrity partnerships are worth a sizable investment. More than half of agency respondents said they were spending between USD$12k and USD$130k on campaign-specific contracts, while roughly one in four companies said they spent up to 30 per cent of their marketing budget on celebrity engagement.

It’s still important for marketers to commit time and resources to discover a celebrity’s interests, tastes, and endorsement history before signing them to a campaign. Most of the marketers surveyed (66 per cent) by Celebrity Intelligence conducted manual research through platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Choosing the wrong partner comes with the risk of seeming inauthentic – which could drive away customers over time. Just because someone is trending that week doesn’t mean they’ll work for your brand.

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QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD BE ASKING BEFORE PARTNERING WITH CELEBRITIES

According to a study by Tomoson, blogging is the top platform for influencer marketing. When you’re searching for an influential blogger, there are a couple of areas to check.

Are they getting a consistent number of visitors to their blog?
Are they producing relevant, engaging content that their fans like to share?

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CONCLUSION

The direct association of celebrity endorsers generates customer knowledge and recognition of its expertise and product-endorser fit. A great celebrity partnership can build brand preference and trust.

eDigital can help you conceptualise, plan, develop, run and optimise successful digital marketing campaigns that generate leads and sales for your brand.

Our digital marketing services include:

Strategic planning for social media and other digital marketing channels.
Online advertising management and optimisation: Google Ads Search, Display, Re-marketing and social media advertising.
Training: social media marketing training and digital marketing training.
SEO strategy and execution. Including content development:articles, stories, eye-catching and SEO-optimised visuals.
Celebrity and influencer marketing campaign strategy.
Brand development. Logo creation, brand personality development and design of marketing materials.
Consumer contests/competitions/giveaways.
Email marketing. Dip sequence design and deployment.
Conversion rate optimisation. It is also called “path to purchase” optimisation.

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