Using celebrities in your influencer marketing strategy? Make sure they remember that honesty is the best policy.
A new survey from research firm Spotted shows that those who are honest about issues related to addiction, mental health and #MeToo are viewed much more favorably by consumers.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents viewed celebrities as more attractive after reading their stories of mental health or addiction issues, while 60 percent saw them as more trustworthy; 67 percent said they were more relatable, 42 percent said they were more cool and 64 percent said they were more likable.
More on influencer Marketing:
- 6 Reasons Influencers Should Be Part of Your Social Strategy
- Majority of Marketers Use Influencers: Survey
- Celebrity Influencers Help Xerox Set the Page Free
The same was true for celebrities such as Ashley Judd, Reese Whitherspoon, Natalie Portman, Kerry Washington and Terry Crews who shared their stories related to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements: 45 percent said they were more attractive, 59 percent more trustworthy, 53% more relatable and 51 percent cooler.
Scandal can always be a risk when engaging celebrities in influencer marketing. The survey asked the 200 U.S. consumers polled for the report how they viewed five celebrities who were embroiled in recent scandals, including musician Kanye West (for controversial comments), actor Morgan Freeman (alleged sexual misconduct), actor Jamie Fox (alleged sexual conduct), comedian Samantha Bee (controversial comments) and rapper G-Eazy (convicted for assault and drug possession).
Freeman scored the highest for face recognition, trustworthiness, likeability, coolness and relatability, while West was on top for name recognition and Foxx for attractiveness. On the low end, G-Eazy ranked lowest for face and name recognition; Bee was last for coolness and West was on the bottom for relatability, likeability, attractiveness and trustworthiness.
Women were most likely to view West and Freeman as unredeemable in the survey. Age was also a factor in the results: the survey showed a strong trends of older celebrities being viewed as less redeemable.
Celebrities can of course gain notoriety following a scandal: G-Eazy showed an approximate 30 percent face recognition boost following his troubles.
For more tips on how leading brands are leveraging influencer marketing, check out our free on-demand virtual conference, 5 Keys to Successful Influencer Marketing.
Network
