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As marketers, we’re always looking for a leg up on our competition. A celebrity endorsement is a historically reliable way to do that. Celebrities offer a chance to reach new audiences that are outside of your traditional marketing efforts.
At ButterflyMX, we’ve had success working with public figures to boost our traditional marketing efforts and invigorate our storytelling.
Here, I’ll give you a few tips on what you can do to make your brand and your company appealing for celebrities to work with.
1. Familiarize yourself with your industry’s influencers
No matter what industry you work in, I can guarantee there’s a community of social media professionals and micro-celebrities who can influence the opinions of your customer base. Not only that, but these individuals can expand your brand awareness to new audiences.
Take my company, ButterflyMX, as an example. We’re a property technology company that sells access control hardware like video intercoms, keypads and card readers. At first, we were scratching our heads, thinking of who to ask for a celebrity endorsement. But you don’t have to limit yourself to looking for an influencer in your field if it happens to be highly specific.
Look at influencers in related fields, and do your own research to determine whether there’s potential for significant audience crossover.
While a celebrity or influencer in the proptech community might only be able to reach a very small audience, we found out that an associated field is chock-full of celebrities with tons of reach: real estate.
Television networks like TLC and HGTV are the homes of fixer-upper and remodeling shows that have made celebrities out of their hosts. They have sway over property owners, managers and developers — exactly the kind of people we need to appeal to. So, we did some digging, and we were able to land an endorsement from TV personality and one of the stars of Property Brothers, Jonathan Scott!
2. Attend networking events
Networking events already have built-in benefits, like making connections with other industry leaders and staying updated on what your competition’s up to. But if you keep an eye out for celebrities who have speaking slots, you can walk away with more than just an autograph ——you may be able to begin a fruitful business relationship, too.
After all, for many celebrities, a big part of their income is landing deals and endorsements. A celebrity might need company endorsements as much as companies need theirs.
3. Understand the ecosystem around celebrities
Meeting celebrities in person and making your case has a great chance of success — especially if you take into account the value of having a face-to-face interaction. However, you can’t always rely on an industry event to help you.
If you’ve decided on a public figure who you’d like to work with and you want to set something up through a phone call or an email, you should be prepared to jump through a couple of hoops first.
Let’s say the celebrity you’re considering is a particularly big name. Chances are, you’ll start off dealing with a personal assistant or their talent agency instead. On the flip side, if you contact a smaller influencer or the person behind a review channel on YouTube instead, it’s more likely that you’ll speak directly to the person doing the endorsement.
Either way, the most important advice I can give you at this stage is to be prepared. Start by preparing a strategy that consists of actionable tasks, like a content calendar or a schedule of events you’d like to attend. This type of plan will help the celebrity or their team visualize the type of campaign you want to run.
Related: 5 Considerations When Seeking a Celebrity to Endorse Your Brand
4. Consider discounting your product in exchange for an endorsement
During negotiations, you might find that offering your product for a discount — or even for free — will sweeten the deal and ensure that the endorsement goes through. You’ll also ensure that the celebrity comes away with a positive impression of your company, paving the way for future collaborations.
By ensuring that the celebrity uses your product, you line up a few more benefits, too. When the time comes for the celebrity to make their endorsement, they can speak from a place of honesty and authenticity.
5. Utilize the potential of smaller influencers
While landing an endorsement from Jonathan Scott was a big moment, we’ve also had success reaching out to all kinds of influencers and thought leaders. Don’t underestimate the power of working with an up-and-coming creator.
Getting an endorsement from an established star is always nice, but you can also find an audience by working with influencers who have built audiences on social platforms.
Depending on the type of product you sell, you’ll be able to tap into a very specific type of influencer: reviewers. By doing your own research and seeing which names are the most reputable and trustworthy, you can start to reach out and talk to influencers that your competition may not be considering.
