Emma Watson Paid for Social Media Posts?

We’ve seen it time and time again — a billboard, a commercial, and a poster anywhere and everywhere you can spot one. It’s all a part of the promotion process for a release of a movie — either highly anticipated or not (but I guess that’s what the marketing process is for!).

Hollywood is always expected to go above and beyond for the promotion of a movie. If you’re putting that much money, time, and effort into a film, you might as well carry it through the entire way and ensure it’s an absolute success. It’s never enough to just produce a product. You also have to price it (how much will it cost at the theatres, or how much to produce?), place the product (where will it be distributed, and how?) and promote the product.

Forgive me for that just got too deep into marketing, but the 4 P’s of marketing are crucial to understanding how products, including movies can be successful.

The question now is: Should Hollywood actors be paid to promote their movies on social media?

Let’s bring reality into this, so it’s not merely text on a screen. The remake of Beauty and the Beast with Emma Watson was released in theatres this weekend. It was highly anticipated, but a little bit of social media promotions never hurt anyone.

Should Emma have been paid even more to promote on social networks?

I’m personally going to say no for two reasons.

Reason one: The Brand

The movie is attached to the name of the Hollywood actor featured in the film. For example, the Beauty and the Beast remake will always be associated with Emma Watson. With such a highly anticipated movie, it only makes sense that the actor would want it to boost their own brand. That being said, they would take it upon themselves to ensure that the movie is successful, even if it’s just a tweet. Realistically speaking, a tweet can do more than we give it credit for, and it takes 2 minutes.

Reason two: The Fans

Hollywood actors should always make an effort to keep their fans updated with their careers. This helps to maintain and strengthen the bond and loyalty that fans feel they have with their favourite actors. Even if it’s not the actors, it could always be a post from management (because let’s be real, not all celebrities post their own social media content).

Emma Watson doesn’t always post her own content. She’s not that much of a savvy user, but she makes herself present and posts when she needs to. There’s other actors that go above and beyond, such as Kevin Hart, and you can feel the passion that he has for his work through his posts. He’s always inspired to go above and beyond, and by him posting such content and promotions, the fans continue to get excited for what he has coming up.

In conclusion, do I think Hollywood actors should be paid to promote an upcoming film if they’re acting in it? Absolutely not. They should love the work that they help create because of it’s attachment to their own brand and because of the fact they’d have to contribute so much time and effort to it. The other reasoning is because it helps maintain their audience.

I’m interested to hear what YOU have to say. Leave a comment below, or reach me on Twitter at @skxndil.