Social Media Celebrities Vs. Celebrities
Today, the majority of millennials will choose the “social media celebrity” rather than what we all used to consider to be a superstar: A boy band, a pop singer, a movie star. And apparently the networks are catching on. And it makes sense. If you have to market a TV show or film, why not bring in some star power that can help you accomplish that marketing - really for free, through their own pre-built in fan bases.
We've been seeing this coming throughout 2016 - little sneak ins of social influencers announcing that they are in this or that film. But in 2017 it's going to explode. In this blog, Hollywood Branded shares how The Disney Channel's casting of digital stars will make the costs associated with social influencer partnerships rise.
Disney's Doing What?
Disney is doing something no other network has done before. Yes, we’ve seen SVOD movies starring influencers, but never a TV show. Until now. Back in June, the network premiered a show called Bizaardvark which is about two close friends that create an online comedy channel.
One of the leading stars in this series is Jake Paul, who came up from Vine (you know his uber famous brother Logan Paul most likely if you know anything about influencers) but since then he has had multiple TV show appearances after being discovered from a small town in Ohio (oh yeah, and because of his brother).
According to Variety, Disney is set to cast more influencers on the show but since initally airing, many influencers have appeared and played themselves, includingL Lilly Singh, Logan Paul, Alisha Marie, Meredith Foster, Thomas Sanders, Eva Gutowski, and Rosanna Pansino.
The growing list of names reflects the recent trend of bringing digitally-native stars from their digital home-bases to the more in your face traditional world of TV - totally knew as of this last year.
Disney casting execs Cornelia Frame and Leah Buono say that aside from organic storytelling, social media stars help boost awareness for the show. Which bumps the ratings and making the show more profitable for everyone involved.
Plus quite frankly, they don't exactly cost the network an arm and a leg if they haven't been on TV before.
The executive producer Eric Friedman, said “We created a world that is really portraying this YouTube world that is huge and current right now... I think having the actual influencers on the show gave the series legitimacy.” Added casting executive Cornelia Frame: “When I speak to the tweens, they know all those names and they were very excited. It was a lot of added bonus to gain those added eyeballs.”
What This Means For Your Marketing Budget
If your brand has tried delving into the social influencer marketing world, you know for the big names, they can come with a big price tag. Like a CRAZY STUPID price tag.
And having a network as big as Disney on their resume, is only likely to have their numbers on their social accounts rise, which in turn makes their price tag even more expensive in the future. These social influencers are only going to be in higher demand - which could make them harder to get ahold of even if your brand does have the dollars!
Thus, why we say The Disney Channel is making influencers more expensive.
If Your Brand Can’t Afford The Big Names, Try This
If you are looking to hire big names for big results but just simply can’t afford that, we have a solution. Try a micro influencer! According the Forbes, many brands are turning to influencers with numbers as low as 8K. Anyone under 10k is considered a 'micro influencer'. And they have higher engagement as their followers turn out to be more loyal because they feel like they’re getting super organic and honest opinions. Once the fan base numbers start to blow up, you get more spam accounts, and less actual attention by your fan base.We know we know. We've talked about it before in this blog. The price of influencers is always a little shocking at first but there are ways to have your brand in the mix with the right opportunities.
So What Now? How Do You Start?
Trying to figure out where to start in the world of social influencers? Hollywood Branded’s e-book is truly the only guide you need to hire social influencers for your brand to help you have that chance of making luck turn into reality as you traverse the mine field of social influencer partnerships to land on the right side of a winning campaign.
