Companies have always used celebrities as a channel between their
products and consumers. Endorsements on social media has exploded in recent
years. Celebrities with millions of followers on Twitter and Instagram
supporting a company's social media campaign can help gain brand credibility
and exposure instantly. You see it everywhere tweets on twitter and selfies on
Instagram of celebrities and self-made social media celebrities plugging
different products like detox teas, protein shakes, sunglasses and the list
goes on and on. Here's how celebrity endorsements can be misleading.
Celebrities are paid for their endorsements so how do we really know if a
product is one they would use if they weren't being paid for it? Most people
don't actually think about that because advertisements posted as selfies on Instagram or Twitter
usually doesn't indicate that the celebrity or personality in question has been
paid to promote the product. When you're watching TV and see Queen Latifah in a
CoverGirl commercial it's obvious that it's a paid endorsement, but if you look
on Instagram and see, let's say your favorite housewife of Atlanta endorsing
tea or a waist trainer, because it's mixed in with pics of everyday life it
seems like it's "hey guys, check this out, you should get one too",
rather than "hey I'm getting paid for this selfie with this product".
"A sponsored Instagram post with a top
fashion blogger can cost a brand anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 — nearly five
times the going rates just a year and a half ago. And that’s relatively small
potatoes for brands that reportedly shell out $100,000 to $300,000 for a single
sponsored Instagram post from Kylie Jenner."-Jezebel.com
For those consumers that
only buy a product because their favorite celebrity uses it, finding out they
only use it because they're being paid to can be a big disappointment to the
consumer. This is the main reason why I personally don't go off of celebrity
influence and go by friend and family reviews because I know 100% they're not
getting paid for endorsing.
