Celebrity Endorsers and Social Media Influencers

Social media influencers have been at the peak of pop culture for the past few years, everyday people suddenly becoming celebrities and influencers for Millennials and Generation Z. Calling themselves creators, influencers now exist in every industry and have widespread, highly engaged followings; many companies are eager to work with them to build their brands. This text offers an overview of influencer marketing, focusing on collaboration between organizations and influencers. Brand managers, agency professionals, new influencers, and students will particularly benefit from this book, gaining practical advice and learning from examples in areas such as the Creator Economy, typology of influencers, and considerations for campaign design. A valuable introduction to the influencer marketing ecosystem and the influencer marketing relationships framework, Celebrity 2.0 shows how content marketing, native advertising, and influencer marketing can effectively come together. Chapter 4 dives further into influencer marketing, exploring theories about how it may work. One theory is source credibility; if a celebrity has source credibility, they can effectively endorse a product. Source credibility is made up of trust (how well the consumer accepts the endorser's message), expertise (the degree to which the consumer views the endorser as knowledgeable), and attractiveness (if the consumer sees the endorser as physically attractive). Attractiveness can also be impacted by likability and whether or not the endorser is viewed as relatable. The matchup hypothesis describes how congruence is necessary between a social media influencer and a brand in order to have a positive impact; the meaning transfer model claims that endorsers bring pop culture to the endorser-brand relationship. A description of how Generation Z views influencers is provided, and the necessity of building the influencer's relationship with the audience is discussed.