Since the inception of traditional media, brands have been approaching celebrities to endorse their products. They spend millions of dollars on these endorsements. This strategy has worked well for brands as these celebrities bring widespread attention to their products.
In recent times, social media influencers have become a trend around the world. According to the Social Shephard, 61% of social media users trust the recommendations of influencers when it comes to buying a product. That is why social media influencers have also become highly sought after for marketing purposes.
In this article, we are going to discuss the impact that these traditional celebrity endorsements and influencer marketing have, and the factors that create a difference in their impacts.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
An influencer is a person who has a following on social media due to his expertise in a relative field and can influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending it on social media.
Within this context, influencer marketing is the endorsement of a product by a social media influencer. They endorse the product by trying it out and sharing their opinions about their experience with their audience. This helps to clear out a lot of the confusion that people may have, which in turn makes them into potential buyers. For example, Charli D’Amelio is an American Tiktoker, who topped the list of being the highest-paid Tiktoker influencers of 2022 because of her incredible ability to create interest in a particular brand among her audience in a very organic way.
What is Celebrity Endorsement?
A celebrity is a very renowned person who got famous through traditional media. TV actors, singers, musicians, writers, philosophers, authors, and sports athletes, etc. are all considered to be celebrities.
Brands have been hiring these celebrities to endorse their products since the inception of traditional media. For brands, it was a huge boost to their sales as people love to use the products that their idols use. For example, Lionel Messi is synonymous with Adidas products, especially Adidas football boots, which his fans buy because Messi uses them. In this way, celebrities become the face of these brands. In return, they are paid heavily for these endorsements.
Celebrity Endorsement Vs Influencer Marketing: Differences
Social media influencers have gained fame mainly through social media platforms while the source of fame for traditional celebrities is via movies, music, sports, etc.
There has been an immense rise in the trend of social media influencers in recent years. Moreover, the Coronavirus has played a huge role in their success. People were stuck in their homes and the only way to connect was through social media. As a result, social media influencers also started to get opportunities to market more prominent brands. These brands started to approach influencers as they had the required range of audiences to promote their products.
Here are a few major differences between celebrity endorsement and influencer marketing:
Engagement with the Audience
A major difference between traditional celebrity endorsement and influencer marketing is that when celebrities endorse something, their ads are run on traditional media outlets, which is only for one-way communication. The audience can only watch these ads, but they can’t engage with them.
Influencers, on the other hand, can properly interact with their audience, answer their questions and clear their confusion. They are like a friend who is recommending you something.
Credibility
If a social media influencer is suggesting you something, you can believe that he/she might be using it too. On the other hand, if a TV superstar appears in an ad for something that is not of his/her standard, you won’t believe in its credibility. You suspect that they are doing it because they have been paid for it.
Some celebrities don’t endorse products that are against their values. For example, Virat Kohli doesn’t endorse soft drinks as being an athlete and a fitness freak, he knows that soft drinks aren’t good for health. He also doesn’t endorse fairness creams.
Expertise
Celebrities don’t need to have expertise in the brand they are promoting. Their followers look up to them and are willing to try everything they endorse. You may see a footballer endorsing cars, even though they may not be a motorhead themselves.
Content
In the case of celebrities, brands come to them with a storyline and content. Celebrities are just the face of their product, not the brain behind it. They just endorse it.
On the other hand, influencers create their own content and storyline. They are both the brain and the face of the brand. They have to be experts at creating quality content.
Reach
Celebrities tend to have a wider reach compared to influencers, who are experts in only a specific niche. This is a huge advantage for celebrities as brands can reach people of all classes, professions, ages, etc.
Why Do Brands Use Celebrity Endorsements?
Celebrities are famous people that can easily get the attention of the audience. Their endorsements can have a huge impact on the business of a brand.
- Global beverage giant – the Coca-Cola Company, lost $4 billion in the market when Cristiano Ronaldo removed two Coca-Cola bottles from the table during a press conference at the Euro 2020. This is what we call celebrity power.
- The same is the role of celebrities in the positive business of many brands. Many brands got fame from the celebrities who endorse their products.
- Indian cricketer Virat Kohli earns 12.5 crores for using the MRF stickers on his bat.
Why Do Brands Choose Influencer Marketing?
Brands use influencer marketing as they have a highly relevant audience. If a brand is about computer accessories, they can choose a social media influencer who is an expert in computers to promote their products.
Relatability
Social media influencers are relatable in ways that they are common people like all of us. If they are recommending you something that means that thing is related to us. They are just like their audience who are common people and everyday consumers.
Less Expensive and Reachable
Influencers are more reachable for brands as well. Celebrities are usually difficult to reach even for brands let alone audiences. Also, they are comparatively less expensive and affordable. Also, the audience can reach out to them and engage with them.
Create Quality Content
As discussed earlier that influencers create their content for marketing a product. So they are both the brain and the face of their content. That is why they create quality content.
Traditional Celebrity Vs Social Media Influencer: Which One Should You Choose?
From the above discussion, we can say that traditional celebrities and social media influencers, both are in demand for endorsements of the brands but it can be predicted that social media influencers are going to surpass traditional celebrities soon. It can be rightly said that when the perfect combination of individual, brand and brief is achieved, social media influencers are much more powerful than celebrity endorsements.
