To what extent has social media changed the way celebrities communicate to their fans?

Internet nowadays is permeating every facet of our world and every generation. It allows the masses to wrest control of fame from traditional media, creating micro-celebrities with the click of a mouse or swipe of a finger. Influencer, as known as internet celebrity or Wang Hong in China, is a nascent term to describe those who gain huge influence and have built favorable reputation by means of social media. In the cyber world, netizens just cannot help discussing about internet celebrities. What they have worn, what they have said and even how they live are magnifying by their followers, in which many of internet celebrities translate their audience’s attention into profit. Sina Weibo once summarized business models of Internet celebrity as follows: Create a pretty and fashionable self-image,

When analyzing the social make up and the issues associated with celebrities having the power to influences the public, sociological concepts can be applied. Sociology has taught us to be curious and ask the question why. It also takes a scientific approach when answering the types of questions

This scholarly journal article was written by Denni Arli, a marketing professor at Griffith University, Australia. Dr. Arli is highly qualified and experienced in conducting studies using different methodologies like depth interviews, systematic reviews and surveys. The article examines how features of social media impact on consumer attitudes towards social media and how this affects people’s loyalty to brands. The researcher found out that entertainment has the biggest impact on the attitudes of the consumers towards social media activity of a brand. The findings of the study also suggest that the informativeness and usefulness of social media positively affect attitudes of the consumers. The author of the article demonstrated that the attitude

The essence of my Research Project was to determine the effectiveness of using social media in the fashion industry. It was informed by my interest in social media and fashion. It attempts to analyze the success of social media for emerging brands. The focus of this investigation was further refined by an analysis of the current success of fashion across a range of social media sites. I recognized that my main research would be in the field of marketing because I wanted to see how a different way of advertising is effective. The main researched sources used were interviews and online videos.

“Often, when we think of the media, we consider the importance of the meanings of popular messages and images that are consumed by a mass audience.” (Kosut, 2012) With a third of the world currently involved in social media, it’s not surprising that it is rapidly becoming the cultural center of influence in our lives. So what are social media networks? Social media networks are technology-mediated tools for in which people exchange information in virtual communities. These communities have given birth to sites that cater to like-minded individuals of varies interests, nurturing an environment that grants access to a platform of ever expanding information. Companies use networks such as Facebook, Skype, and Twitter for marketing new products and trends. Consumers also and the sustainment of close relationships. Though social media is receiving credit for being a source of information and entertainment, it has also been highly criticized. The constant exposure to social media messaging and over saturation of gender specific materials is changing the conception of self-identity. Social media has both positive and negative effects on society. Let’s discuss some of the

Since social media is so easily accessible to everyone nowadays people don't care to go and grab the latest vogue for inspiration, they will go on their phones and check their instagram, twitter, Facebook or any social media account to see whats trending. In L2's Advanced IQ List, which positions form brands as per their site offerings, online business, computerized advertising and web-based social networking mindfulness, US ladies' dress planner Tory Burch beats understood worldwide extravagance brands, for example, Gucci, Hermes and Chanel. This shows the huge impact the influence of social media can have on the Fashion industry, the world is moving and progressing through social media and those who chose not to utilize this part of technology so widely used, are going to fall behind those who do. People who are very high up in social media have a very big platform to promote and influence others. Nowadays if you have a huge amount of followers you are practically famous with all eyes watching you. Fashion corporations want people who have this huge platform on social media to promote their styles due to the fact people are going to be strongly persuaded to want or to want to look like something if someone they keep up with on social media looks a certain way or wears a certain piece. Fashion trends from all over the world come to meet each other, merge, change and evolve through social media. The concept of the see

A study conducted by Greenwood (2013), sought to identify if frequency in which individuals utilize social media platforms were driven by the desire to be famous. This is inline with Davila et al. (2012) thoughts regarding corumination. Furthermore, this experiment takes the upward comparison mentioned by Vogel et al. (2014) and applies it intrinsically to adolescents. In order to remain relevant with their peers, adolescents will put on a façade in which they are living a glamorous life. The experimenter measured the participants attitude towards fame and the perceived perks of an elite lifestyle. Adolescents were given a form in which they identified their number of friends, the rate at which they post, how often they browse accounts, the number of celebrities they follow and the reason they have a social media account. Next, they were given a quiz, which measured their desire to be popular. Results of the study indicate that individuals who yearned to be famous were extremely active across all social media platforms in an attempt to garner admiration. Those who scored high on the desire to be a celebrity were the most frequent users of social media in order to garner visibility. Some of the tactics they reported using included promoting their skills or talent through social media postings and commenting on established celebrity’s photographs and status updates. The experimenter assessed that these attempts are to garner their 10 minutes of fame. Individuals who

Recognizing and understanding the evolution of the current celebrity system through parasocial interaction is the focus of this study. This paper utilized an empirical generalization literature review through content analysis. For future research, a qualitative method using a sample survey of fans and celebrities will be employed. The benefits and drawbacks of the relationship between fans and celebrities were studied in regard to parasocial interaction. From the literature review, four primary empirical generalizations emerge: parasocial interaction is seen universally and performed across platforms, amplifies with increased participation, help fans meet emotional needs and amplifies feelings of social loneliness. These findings

A human brand can be applied to celebrities, who are well-known and in and of themselves considered “brands.” By having a human brand, a person can use this interpersonal relationship between their own “brand”, and for example, the brand of a company, to promote their product etc. successfully, to the benefit of the person and entity. The relationship is mutually beneficial, as celebrity endorsements and sponsorships are prevalent in today’s society through social media. They are able to measure this using “netnography”, specifically using the research through the channels Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, which is the research technique that “explores how social media interactions form the human brand identities among celebrities involving different stakeholders.”

From the research of consumer’s segmentation behaviours, there are type of consumers who use social media such as “entertainment seekers” and “social shoppers”. (McDonald 1996) The several studies states that they have achieved a

Further research into the understanding celebrity image and its components led me to a study conducted by Choi and Rifon (2007) developed a study limiting the use of ‘image’ to that of celebrity. The purpose of the research reported in their paper was two-fold: first, the study identified image components of celebrities and developed a scale for measuring them and second, the study explores the relationship between the image dimensions and credibility perceptions of the general public. The results revealed only one significant relationship from Factor I, “Genuineness” to the trustworthiness dimension. All other relationships examined in this study were found to be non-significant; no further attempt was made to rectify the theory, as this was not a theory based study. Choi and Refin do analyse the limitations of their study, and also provide suggestion into future research. It is of their opinion that qualitative data on celebrity image dimensions would build the strength of their quantitative findings. These past studies have provided a platform for further studies, in which more applicable results can be found. The use of celebrity endorsers by businesses, have a very clear aim, in that they want to increase the appeal their brand has.  Underlying the use of celebrities is the belief that the profile and

2. What is social media? In order to understand the impacts of social media on the fashion industry, it is important to understand the concept of social media and it’s emergence. It is a platform for social interaction, which allows users ease of accessibility and scalable publishing techniques. From using web based platforms to broadcast media dialogues into social media dialogues, O’Leary et al (2011, p.2) define such media as “…online sites that support and encourage interaction. Marketing messages turn from one-way, top-down messages into a dialogue between a brand (like your business) and a customer. This idea of interactivity differs from other types of digital messaging, such as banner advertisements.” Social networks started as a place to connect with friends in an easy and convenient way, it gave people the opportunity to connect with new people too and to build relationships. Today there are a number of customized applications being made on the social platforms, whose main purpose is to promote the product or brand. As social media is proving to be both cost effective and highly efficient in expanding and maintain a huge audience, organisations find they are shifting more towards social marketing. As such socializing platforms become an increasingly popular

While these mobile opportunities were enticing, Ms. Bornstein still had to make a business case to Suliteanu. It would be necessary to define key metrics to measure the success of social media, video, and mobile for 2011 and beyond, as part of her long-term strategy for Sephora’s online media spending. To measure its return on investment, Ms. Bornstein reviewed a Third Party Social Media Evaluation Framework (Ofek & Wagonfield, 2012, Exhibit 14). Using this framework, Ms. Bornstein could measure the current investments Sephora was making in its social media and make three key arguments in her proposal. First, Sephora successfully generated a wide range of interactions with its social media (See Appendix, Exhibit 1). According to the third party, consumers could be sorted into three categories based on their levels of engagement: Advocates, Followers, and Searchers. Using a conversion rate, Sephora can see clearly that its social media participants turned into buyers. Ms. Bornstein must direct her attention to these metrics as they provide the most straight-forward return on investment numbers for Sephora’s social media outlet. Second, Ms. Bornstein already knows the value of its Facebook followers. Sephora entered the Facebook scene in 2008 by creating a Facebook Fan Page. By 2009, it had 300,000 followers and by September 2010, it had 812,000. Based on the analysis of an

Social Media is a forum that is heavily influenced by consumers and has become a very poplar way of doing business and expanding it and making people aware of your business. According to Oxford Dictionary social media is “Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.” (Oxford Dictionary, 2015)

Using this explanation, this essay underlines the matters of how the entertainment industries has taken full control through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Furthermore, it also typifies how such industries emphasis significantly into its logics and practices through its audience and fan participation. Supported Research is justified by various theorists/examples. This includes Prensky, Katz and Blumler, Dan Gilmore, David Gauntlet, Charles Leadbeater and Jenkins himself.