The Microcelebrity
As time progresses and the medium of mass media continues to evolve, a new era of celebrity is born, the Social Media Influencer, or also commonly known, the Microcelebrity. Not known for film, television, or music, but rather known for self-crafting who they are to the world.
Today, any “ordinary” person can become a microcelebrity. Maybe a tweet explodes overnight, perhaps a Tiktok goes viral, or even an Instagram account you created to be “aesthetic” gains traction. All of this aids in the creation of a brand. Instead of a clothing label or tangible consumer good, you are your brand. This phenomenon is fascinating, there are not any extraordinary talents or special abilities needed, just yourself, a way to communicate with the world and a little bit of luck. What I want to explore is how people take being discovered overnight and truly create a business in themselves.
Image source: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/magazine/turning-microcelebrity-into-a-big-business.html
This topic is important because microcelebrities are not just some small figments of time and space, they have crossed over into mainstream media and engage with major media conglomerates that have given them a platform to endorse or represent their brands. Aside from this, those who adopt the title ‘Social Media Influencer’ also come with a following. Each following bringing to the table likes, comments, subscriber counts and more.
In the past the vision of a celebrity almost seemed celestial, a one in a million chance and today just about anyone can claim the title, with the right amount of clicks. This ultra-rare happening now more common than ever before.
The questions I would like to address in this post are as follows:
1. Does the microcelebrity develop an ill illusioned youth?
2. How have brands become supporters of microcelebrities?
3. How does backlash or preconceived notions affect the reputations of a microcelebrity, present and future?
Through doing preparatory research for my presentation, I have found that as a microcelebrity develops their niche followings, there is an illusion of a personal connection that comes into play. In class, we have talked about the connections in younger generations and the way that social media is completely transforming interpersonal communication, this even further translates into my topic. As teens and young adults find themselves becoming a follower of an influencer, I think there is a response that should not be taken lightly, that response being the feeling of forming a personal connection. Microcelebrities are looked at as being raw, real, and authentic due to their overnight success and lack of a team to back them. In these cases, there is no management team to filter through a celebrity’s personality or strategize the exact message they want shared with the world. This causes members of media to find themselves being an avid consumer of content from the feeling of a certain relatedness that is not truly there. It is a fantasy. Microcelebrities make their living from present and posting often on social media, so much so that their followers can begin to develop a mindset that they actually know the person behind the screen, when they really have no association with them at all, nor does the influencer know of the follower’s existence.
When looking at branding and sponsorships, celebrities use to be the first and obvious choice for companies who wanted a face for their specific consumer item, today the microcelebrity may have taken over. While the phenomenon of influencing consumers purchasing power has been around for over a century, it has completely evolved. One major asset an influencer usually contains that can be attractive to companies wanting to work with them is the way they create a dream lifestyle that others want. Often jetsetting, buying luxury goods, and experiencing life through rose colored glasses. Another feature that a social media influencer contains that make them a sought-after asset for companies today is their credibility.
As previously mentioned, they are self-crafted and therefore look at as being genuine and unscripted. It seems as though when considering an influencer in this context, there are no outside forces that sway opinion so the information being shared is deemed as being less tampered with. Celebrities may post about their endorsements, but public reaction is often negative as they rarely come across as authentic. The microcelebrity breaks that barrier.
The general public still does have a hard time grasping the concept of a microcelebrity. This job is constantly thrown into a flux of judgement. One of the major discernments being a question of professionalism, since there are no prerequisites when it comes to being an influencer, why would anyone listen and follow one? A fair question. They are not trained in what they do and have no previous knowledge in most cases of what it means to be a liaison between a company and its consumers. With that being said, more and more companies look for microcelebrities to work with and we are now seeing a correlation between this and mainstream media.
People like Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae being some of the most well known. Both beginning their careers with a simple Tiktok account.
Image Source: PeopleAddison Rae Makes Her Big Screen Debut in He’s All That First Look | PEOPLE .com
Image Source: https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1263316/dixie-charli-damelio-launch-go-to-makeup-sets-with-morphe-2
They now have their own makeups brands, clothing brands and have appeared in major motion pictures, but not without substantial backlash. The legitimacy of every brand deal or film credit is brought into question by at least some when the person associated with it has no true training or experience in the field.
The microcelebrity is proving to be a force that is here to stay. As people continually adapt to this ideal, we see more members of younger generations trying to gain their own following overnight. Being an influencer does not come with a handbook, but a formula for success seems to contain the following: willingness, consistency, and luck.
As social media continues to evolve with the microcelebrity, do you see this phenomenon becoming more legitimized over time?