Celebrity Influencer Marketing: What to Know

There’s no question that celebrity influencer marketing can be beneficial, but these collaborations look a little different when you’re working with a big name. Here are a few things to consider in celebrity influencer marketing:

Finding and vetting celebrities is still important

As a brand, you need to find a celebrity influencer who aligns with your company and its values. Ideally, this influencer is familiar with your brand or connected to your industry.

This is solid advice for every influencer marketing campaign, no matter how popular the influencer is.

However, when your marketing team makes a shortlist of celebrities to work with, it’s easy to get swept up in stardom and focus on their “surface content.” You need to dig deeper, though. Beyond looking through social media posts, you should:

Search news outlets for the celebrity’s name
Review comments made
Set up a Google alert to get notifications on your shortlisted celebs

Remember, some celebrities don’t run their social media channels

Celebrities are busy people, and it’s not uncommon for them to have a team of marketing people that manage everything from concert promotions to Instagram posts.

When you approach a celebrity about a collaboration, discuss this point. While the celebrity will participate in an endorsed picture or a video demo, there’s more to consider. Who will post the content? If it’s not the celebrity, does this person have all the campaign details, like the @mentions and #hashtags to use? Who will respond to the comments? If there’s an issue during the campaign, will your brand be able to speak with the celebrity or to his or her social media manager?

Be sure to talk through these details before you offer a contract.

You need a strong, detailed contract

As with any influencer marketing campaign, you need a contract. However, the stakes are a bit higher when you work with a celebrity. Your brand’s legal counsel should create the contract, which will likely include the following:

A detailed account of the campaign, including goals and KPIs
Specific deliverables
Due dates
Compensation
Review and approval process before content publication
Content ownership
Compliance with all laws, including FTC guidelines
Morals clause
Non-compete clauses

With a celebrity contract, the morals clause and non-compete clauses become important.

If you’re planning a long-term partnership with a celebrity, the morals clause gives your brand the right to terminate the relationship if the celebrity participates in morally questionable behavior.

The non-compete clause keeps celebrities from working with your competitors.

Think long term

When you approach a celebrity regarding a brand partnership, think about a long-term commitment.

You can certainly do a one-time campaign with a celebrity and likely see a boost in brand awareness and sales, but a continued relationship will provide the best results.

Ideally, you’ll weave the celebrity’s presence into every aspect of your marketing. Rather than asking for a single product endorsement photo on Instagram, you could ask the celebrity to attend a product release party, mention the celebrity’s partnership in press releases, and plan a social media drip campaign that provides consistent content.

Of course, you need to think through these aspects before approaching a celebrity. You should answer:

What will our partnership look like?
What is the celebrity’s availability, and do other obligations conflict with the partnership?
How long will your partnership last?
What kind of content or presence is your brand interested in from the celebrity?
Does your brand have the budget to fund a long-term partnership with a celebrity?
Who on your team is the point person?

Some social media users trust influencers over celebrities

According to our Trust in Influencer Marketing report, 62% of all respondents say they are more likely to trust a sponsored post from an influencer over an A-list celebrity. That means your campaign might be just as effective with a smaller influencer. Consider whether you need an influencer or celebrity for your campaign.

Craft a ‘something has gone wrong’ plan

When you work with a celebrity, you get a lot of exposure as a brand. It’s one of the reasons you work with a celebrity in the first place. However, if a celebrity makes bad choices, the negative exposure reflects on your brand.

Of course, no brand or marketing team enters into a relationship assuming it will be problematic, but it happens.

Adidas had an ongoing celebrity partnership with Kayne West that ended abruptly after a 10-year relationship. When the famed rapper and creator of the Yeezy brand tweeted a hate slogan used by white supremacist groups, the brand ended their relationship, according to CNN.

Every brand should have a plan to deal with problems or a rogue influencer.

Celebrities endorsements can be a huge win for your brand, but these relationships take time and effort to build. If you aren’t sure how to approach a celebrity, IZEA can help. Through a network of talent partners, our Managed Services team can identify celebrities to work with and manage negotiations.