What benefits can a brand become an internet celebrity?

In recent years, the concept of internet celebrity economy has been very popular and has brought considerable profits and positive impacts to companies and brands. So why does brand “Internet celebrityization” have such great benefits? What is the principle behind it? Let's take a look at the author's analysis.

In the past two years, the "Internet celebrity economy" has become very popular. On the one hand, ordinary people represented by Li Jiaqi and Liziqi have become an important force in the Internet era with the help of the Internet and fans; on the other hand, more and more brands also hope to inject new vitality into corporate development by creating "Internet celebrity brands."

In other words, "Internet celebrity economy" is the hottest word at the moment.

Although the outside world has different views and opinions on the "Internet celebrity economy", both the products themselves and the channels are deeply affected by the "Internet celebrity economy" without exception.

01 The truth behind the short life of “Internet celebrity” brands

Some people may say that companies do not actually want to label their products as “Internet celebrity brands”.

Why?

In their view, although "Internet celebrity brands" represent traffic and attention, they do not attach importance to products and services, and as a result, they become synonymous with short life.

This may be a complete misunderstanding.

How do you understand it?

In the modern economic society, it has become a consensus among all parties that brand is an effective means to enhance market competitiveness. However, not all companies regard brand as their life and as an effective means to build a moat.

Otherwise, it is difficult to explain why there are so many counterfeit and shoddy products on the market.

In other words, just as a brand is not a guarantee of product quality, a "net celebrity brand" is by no means a "scapegoat" for the decline of a company!

In fact, there are many "Internet celebrity brands" that are evergreen, such as Heytea in the new tea beverage field, Three Squirrels in the snack field, and Perfect Diary in the beauty field. In addition, there are Haidilao, Jiang Xiaobai and so on.

So, why is it that some “Internet celebrity brands” can last forever while others are only short-lived?

In my opinion, there are two main reasons.

First, the product and service capabilities of the “Internet celebrity brand” itself are not good enough

Compared with products and services, these companies pay more attention to operations and event marketing. Although they know the importance of products and services, they prefer to rely on marketing to maintain the long-term competitiveness of the brand.

But the problem is, if the company does not have a solid foundation, how can we expect it to retain consumers for a long time?

Even if the brand is aware of the problem, internet celebrity brands that rely on marketing are unlikely to have the product strength to rebuild their brand.

Second, “Internet celebrity brands” use gimmicks to attract consumers, but when these gimmicks are no longer attractive, consumers will abandon them.

Putting aside the brands that are obviously lacking in product and service capabilities, there are actually quite a few "Internet celebrity brands" on the market with good products, which are at least not inferior to similar competitors.

But why is it so difficult to escape the curse of short life?

The reason is that, in the eyes of consumers, the marketing gimmicks of "Internet celebrity brands" are far more attractive than the products themselves. In other words, once the gimmick no longer has any appeal, consumers will quietly leave.

02What benefits can “Internet celebrity” brands bring?

In fact, "Internet celebrity brands" are not only innocent, but can also bring many benefits in the process of brand development.

It can be summarized into at least three points.

First, bring differentiation to standardized products and enhance consumers’ brand awareness

As we all know, a good brand name and image can empower the development of a brand. It is said that Three Squirrels saved at least one-third of its marketing costs by adopting the cartoon image and story of "squirrel".

Not only that, Three Squirrels used this as a breakthrough and successfully established differentiation in the nuts category. Nowadays, whenever consumers mention nut brands, the first thing that comes to mind is Three Squirrels. There is no second brand.

In other words, Three Squirrels has leveraged the power of the "Internet celebrity brand" to not only double its traffic but also build sufficient brand differentiation.

Another example is the home appliance and real estate industries.

Why are the heads of these companies particularly fond of becoming internet celebrities or celebrity entrepreneurs, just to satisfy their personal vanity?

NO!

Because these companies have highly standardized products, they need to rely on the influence of internet celebrity entrepreneurs to create brand differentiation. The truth behind this is that "Internet celebrity" means exposure and low-cost marketing, which means that it can enhance the brand's awareness in the minds of consumers and increase the conversion of fans.

Second, create topics and traffic, and guide users’ brand preferences through KOL opinion leaders

What is the most lacking thing for new brands?

The answer is traffic.

"Internet celebrity brands" can double their attention in the shortest possible time, thereby achieving a double harvest of sales and popularity.

I don’t know if you have noticed this phenomenon: the vast majority of “Internet celebrity brands” were born in the field of fast-moving consumer goods.

Why?

The reason is that the entry barrier for fast-moving consumer goods is relatively low. As long as any company or individual can solve the problem of sales, they can solve it through OEM factories even if they do not have production capacity. "Internet celebrity brands" play the role of KOL opinion leaders, guiding and persuading consumers to make purchasing decisions and increase their inclination towards the brand.

Third, inject new brand connotation into the product

A major feature of “Internet celebrity brands” is that they have a particularly loud voice in the marketing field. So, how to build brand voice continuously?

The solution for many brands is: cross-border collaboration!

For example, Ma Yinglong, which sells hemorrhoid products, has crossed over and launched lipstick; for example, Luzhou Laojiao has launched perfume; and for example, White Rabbit Milk Candy has launched milk candy-scented clothes. In addition, brands like Haidilao, Heytea, Jiang Xiaobai, and Hema Fresh have also been labeled as "Internet celebrities" because of their cross-border operations.

Not only that, through cross-border collaboration, it is also possible to empower brands and inject new brand connotations into the products!

In this way, consumers will not feel that the brand is outdated or too low, and will gain their lasting preference.

03 “Decentralized” communication method: providing new solutions for brand marketing

Why was there no such thing as “Internet celebrity brand” in the past?

The reason is that the reason why "Internet celebrity brands" are becoming more and more of a trend is that an objective prerequisite is the development and maturity of smart phones and mobile Internet. In this way, "Internet celebrity brands" can establish direct contact with consumers at any place and any time!

At the same time, since everyone has a mobile phone, everyone plays the role of a media source to some extent.

How do you understand it?

In simple terms, everyone can share their views and influence others through platforms such as Moments, WeChat groups, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu. More importantly, with the help of the dual dissemination of "private domain traffic" and "public domain traffic", the traditional "centralized" dissemination method has given way to the "everyone dissemination" method.

For example, Perfect Diary has benefited from this way of communication. It relies on the "junior adults" and "amateur" users below the waist level on Xiaohongshu to induce the "passersby" at the bottom, thereby creating an overwhelming effect.

Yes, when you find that everyone is saying that a certain brand is good, whether out of curiosity or herd mentality, you will most likely want to "find out more".

In this way, you fall into the "trap" carefully designed by the brand!

From this we can draw the following conclusion:

The internet celebrityization of "brands" conforms to the "decentralized" way of communication. As everyone becomes a content creator and disseminator, it provides new solutions for brand marketing.

If the "Internet celebrity brand" is compared to a superstar, then this superstar can directly influence well-known KOLs and top influencers. Under the influence of these people, many users at the waist and bottom will immediately follow suit.

As a result, brand marketing relying solely on focused media is no longer effective.

04 Focusing on “users” and using “scenarios” as a means to build a new way of communication

Influenced by the "decentralized" communication method, the way companies and users communicate must also change accordingly.

How do you understand it?

In the past, brands were product-oriented, so it was enough to just focus on their own products and their competitors. Because, as long as your products are better than your competitors, it means you are more competitive in the market.

However, the situation has changed.

After "decentralization" is transformed into a "everyone spreads" mode, everyone is a content creator and disseminator. In this way, any point of view may be infinitely amplified and influence others with the power of the Internet.

In addition, due to the existence of social business giants such as WeChat, Douyin, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu, many KOLs will inevitably emerge under the influence of "social networks", further affecting the direction of communication.

Because of this, no brand can focus solely on traditional media resources, but must instead focus most of its energy on opinion leaders and ordinary consumers. Opinion leaders, as representatives of "public opinion", are themselves an important part of users.

In other words, brands must shift from being “product” and “competitor” oriented to being “user” centered!

At the same time, since "users" have become the center of communication, every effort must be made to cater to consumers.

What to do?

As we all know, everyone has a social gene and a need for socialization. Therefore, brands must build "scenarios" to increase user experience satisfaction and retention.

Whether it is a store consumption scenario, or a new retail scenario of takeout or self-pickup, it is all within this category!

05 Conclusion

In the Internet age, turning a brand into an "Internet celebrity" can not only save a lot of marketing costs, but also give the brand a star aura, making it easier to gain the attention and favor of consumers. Of course, the brand’s “Internet celebrityization” can also establish differentiation for the brand and inject new connotations into the brand.

Therefore, in order to overcome the difficulties in brand management, brand "Internet celebrityization" is an effective means!

In addition, as the "decentralized" communication method becomes more and more obvious, "people" have become the protagonists in brand management. Therefore, brands need to pay more attention to the key role that "people" play in the brand communication process!

As Luo Zhenyu said:

"In the Internet era, especially the mobile Internet era, brands are based on the trust and love brought by personal charm! It is the de-organization and personalization of brands!"

In other words, a brand's "Internet celebrityization" is like a person's personality. Only through social and emotional communication can it significantly deepen users' preference for the brand.

Author: Lin Chuan (Brand front page editor)

Source: Brand front page (ID: ceozhiku)