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Twitter tie-ins: Is Kate Upton right about social sponsorship?

By Will McInnes, chief marketing officer

March 26, 2015 | 5 min read

There are times when all of us get frustrated with social media. Whether it’s the constant need to stay on top of trending hashtags and campaigns, keeping up with millions of posts across every platform, and the inevitable one-upping between friends, colleagues, and even family (Who really has the most likes? Who cares?!) the intricate world of social is a never-ending barrage of information.

But is Kate Upton right about social media? Is it complete "bullshit" now?

As recently reported by the Huffington Post, the model has had it with social. Her gripe is essentially that celebrities and Twitter personas have lost their authenticity because popularity, engagement, and social clout is largely fueled by marketing rather than genuine personality.

She has a point.

Brands, and even celebrities, actually benefit from strategic social media activities.

Sure, 'Weird Twitter' is a real entity, confounding some and tantalizing others, and some celebs have turned their Instagram accounts into revenue-generating forums.

But at the end of the day, social media personas (celebrities and brands alike) that provide their followers with information they not only want, but also need, are the ones that succeed. Taking it a beneficial step forward are brands that actively listen on social using listening and analytics platforms to better understand their followers, target audiences and even monitor competitors and brand dissenters.

For Ms Upton, her feed is self-proclaimedly filled with mentions of Express and Bobbi Brown, two brands she is contracted to promote. She’s self-aware that when she first joined Twitter it was all about engaging fans by being honest, open, and even silly. Now, there is a celeb Twitter tie-in to many advertising, marketing, and of course, social campaigns for brands.

So the real question is – how much is too much marketing on social? Is it once a day? Is it five times a day?

Because celebrities like Kate Upton are tweeting far more often than that when it comes to brand relationships and campaigns or causes they are affiliated with. We could take a scientific approach to this, if we had the time. We could study the optimal blend between the two and observe the point at which ‘too much’ promotion started to negatively affect the quality and quantity of results that a given celeb’s activity was creating.

Is marketing taking the art and fun out of social? Is it just business? Asking these questions make me wonder if any tweets are actually spontaneous, genuine social posts that just happen to be promotional vehicles for brands and products the public figure really does love and use.

Money is a major motivator, and this isn’t the first time in history brands and celebrities have combined their powers for visibility and engagement. It’s just so much more apparent in the social media age.

Personally, I think it’s smart and strategic for brands to partner, paid or otherwise, with key celebrities and public figures that can foster awareness to new followers. Maybe these brands are trying to break into a new demographic or have used social listening to find an untapped desire by certain Twitter audiences for whatever it is they are offering – be it fashion accessories, or candy, or automobiles.

It’s not enough in today’s competitive online landscape to merely engage and publish to individuals that are already fans of your brand. While those people are valuable (they already like you!) having a unique personality and showcasing unique and fresh content is vital to winning on social. Whether you count your ROI in engagement, follows, click-throughs or new customer conversions, social media is the frontline between a brand and the world. And a celeb and the world.

Here’s the kicker though. I agree with Ms. Upton that social media has been largely commercialized and I too miss those halcyon days where it was all just good old fashioned conversation and tomfoolery.

But I have faith that even in today’s dollar-driven social streams, personality will win out. To really give their partners a decent bang for their buck, the personalities involved have to not sell out too much. They have to hold on to some credibility, in order for their opinion to still mean something. Isn’t that what celebrity is all about anyway? Building a fan base and exploiting it for mutual gain?

In an ideal world, everyone is getting what they want – fan, celeb, brand. What’s great about social is that if we don’t like it, we can just unfollow, right?

And for the record, Kate, I think you have a great personality.

Will McInnes is chief marketing officer of Brandwatch

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