There’s no doubt that a celebrity endorser is a valuable asset to a brand – during this year’s Oscars telecast, 4 of the 10 most-watched commercials featured a celebrity spokesperson. On the Internet, this trend continues as advertisers increasingly leverage social networking and celebrities to attract consumers. On Twitter and Facebook, celebrities can have fans and followers in the millions – actor Charlie Sheen, for example, recently joined Twitter and in just three days set a new record for fastest to reach a million followers – further proving the power of celebrity.
Celebrities can be valuable to advertisers, but so too can the people who follow them on social media websites. According to The Nielsen Company, 64 percent of adult U.S. Internet users who follow a celebrity also follow a brand – this means the celebrity follower is four times more likely to follow a brand than the average U.S. adult online. Additionally, Nielsen found that such fans are also more likely to offer advice and opinion to fellow online consumers. This is particularly the case when it comes to entertainment topics where 32 percent of celebrity fans online provide advice on movies (making them 44% more likely than the average online user to do so), and 28 percent provide guidance on music (56% more likely) and television programs (34% more likely).
Read the entire article at Nielsen Wire.