Fakers & Celebs in Social Media Campaigns
Is it worth using Fake Persona’s or Celebrities in Social Media campaigns? Recently, Social Media marketer Beth Harte wrote an interesting post on this topic and so we build upon that a little. There are a few examples of attempts at using Fake Persona’s in Social Media (most notably LonelyGirl) and some mild attempts at celebrities appearing in Social Media campaigns or trying to create a celebrity through a Social Media campaign. They’ve all backfired, causing a PR nightmare for the company. One wonders if they’d done their research would they have even attempted it?
Our experience with companies entering into the Social Media fray is that they feel a need to be there from a marketing angle and are often pushed by an agency to “be there” but only for a campaign. This is short-lived and misses the point of Social Media entirely – which is a very one-to-one medium based around relationships over the longer term. While a campaign can be executed, and very successfully, the company must be prepared to have some level of commitment to sustain a presence that the campaign can fall back on afterwards.
Using a Fake Persona without making it obvious as a “gimmick” will backfire simply because you can’t sustain a fake person. Consumers own the Social Media channel and they own it passionately. Ridicule and anger will surface quickly and the resulting brand damage may be almost irreparable. Using celebrities can work as a campaign, but exiting the celebrity takes careful planning for it to be effective.
if you’re agency advises starting out with a Fake Persona to learn about Social Media, run. The risk of exposure is far too high for any possible short-term success, aside from the ethical issue. Key success points in Social Media are from building trust and a rapport with your audience through active and ongoing engagement. This means honesty and openness.