Using Fame to Gain Fortune – Celebrities Becoming Paid Publishers on Twitter

Monetizing Twitter isn’t a new concept. Here at R2i, we’ve discussed the ability of brands to become publishers through the use of social media tools such as Twitter. As part of our operating framework, we’ve outlined the only four ways to use social media: to reach an existing community, accelerate message distribution, create your own community, and perform market research. We have published extensive best practices for the use of social media, often revolving around building communities to connect with and engage your customers and potential customers.

Now a unique business proposition has arisen. Various web technologies have provided brands with the ability to become publishers and many have done so successfully. Among the most successful members of Twitter are Ashton Kutcher and Lady Gaga; certainly best classified as “brands” rather than “publishers.” Now that celebrities have achieved huge numbers of engaged followers, other brands are taking notice and seeking to pay to advertise within their newly created communities. In other words, celebrities are brands, and these brands have become publishers, and also in some cases have now become paid advertisers. Tweets from celebrities can be considered personal endorsements and therefore represent a potentially lucrative advertisement platform.

Twice in the past week I heard of this phenomenon. The first instance was the infamous Andy Dick stating on The Howard Stern Show on Sirius XM Satellite radio that he has 55,000 followers on Twitter and was offered money for his tweets. I believe the sum he mentioned was $2,500 (although I may be remembering incorrectly). Next, again on Sirius XM, I heard that Limp Bizkit front-man Fred Durst tweeted that he too was offered money for his tweets. Apparently dismayed at the prospect of becoming a walking advertisement, Durst stated that he is leaving Twitter for good.

At this news, my colleague stated that he would imagine a smart advertiser would approach a celebrity covertly and offer a fee in exchange for subtle, occasional endorsements of their product along with silence about the existence of this arrangement. I certainly agree. Such a deal would have a much higher probability of success. Considering the logic of such an advertising scenario, it is entirely likely that it is already occurring. The only reason we are aware of such specific examples is because Fred Durst declined the offer and subsequently informed his followers, and Andy Dick, well, I can’t attempt to explain his behavior.

So, this leaves us all in doubt. If a celebrity happens to profess fondness for a particular product, we have no way of knowing if his opinion was influenced by several hundred thousand dollars. I can tell you, if I was responsible for marketing a B2C product targeted toward women, getting onto the “Oprah’s Favorite Things” episode would be a goal of mine.