#moneyface

Do you know what the difference is between celebrity and influencer branding? This is a question I was never sure of until I researched it properly. 

It is easy to think celebrity and influencer marketing is the same due to their mass following on social media channels and how they promote themselves. However they are completely different… Here’s why:

Celebrity endorsement “refers to a marketing strategy whose purpose is to use one or multiple celebrities to advertise a specific product or service.” (Celebrity Endorsement | Definition & Meaning | Optimy Wiki, 2020). The branding is built on someone who is famous through music, TV, films, radio etc. For example Kylie Jenner, she is a famous celebrity known for the reality show ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’. Kylie Jenner has a huge social media influence with over 206 million followers on Instagram. One company that Kylie Jenner is associated with is ‘BOXYCHARM’. Every month she uploads a Instagram story of her revealing her BOXYCHARM box and what is gifted to her. The brand is associating Kylie to the product which will draw people into buying it. Here's an example of a video she uploads to her story: 

(Youtube.com. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1rMcA3uf1o> [Accessed 1 January 2021].)

An influencer is different as they start building their followers through social channels like social media, blogs, vlogging etc. There are many influencers who have become successful through vlogging on Youtube like KSI, Zoella, PewDiePie, Ace Family etc. 

An influencer who I have been following for ages is ‘Melissa’s Wardrobe’. She is a celebrity fashion stylist but also blogs about luxury fashion and lifestyle. Melissa is known for her very honest opinions of brands and she will  promote products she believes are good quality. She currently has over 196k followers on Instagram and is well known for her hashtag trend #MelMadeMeDoIt. Melissa has influenced many people into purchasing products she has reviewed or bought herself, from Zara clothing, Skincare products, Pat McGrath lip glosses etc. Myself, I have been part of #MelMadeMeDoIt as I have bought candles, perfume and a dress. I can say I have not been disappointed! In fact, to buy a perfume online I never smelt and for it to smell amazing, I will definitely use another of her recommendations. 

(2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.instagram.com/p/CHN_fL4pBdG/> [Accessed 1 January 2021].)

Celebrity and influencer branding has become a new way of marketing and it is expanding. According to MediaKix, brands are expected to spend £11.5 billion by 2022 on social media influencers. That is a huge figure!! 

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog called MoneyFace. 

I’ve found an interest in how celebrities and influencers use their selfies to brand themselves on social media. I have many questions like what is so special about the selfies they post? Why does it gain so much attention? How do they brand themselves? 

So I thought I would create a blog and answer these questions I’ve always been asking myself but also go into more depth. I will explore how far does their example of self-promotion and self-branding apply to everyone in the ‘job market’ or even in their online everyday life. If you have been asking these same questions, you have come to the right place!. 

Stay tuned and keep an eye out on my next blog post!