More About Endorsement
What is an endorsement, generally? We can see it as an open communication of support and approval or a recommendation for an entity, product, service, etc. Endorsements can come from a variety of sources, from experts and celebrities to ordinary people, and are communicated through a range of mediums, including social media.
Did you know that the first ever endorsement was in 1882 for Pears’ soap by Lillie Langtry, an actor, producer, and the first celebrity to feature in an endorsement?
Television commercials of celebrities and huge billboards of a celebrity promoting a brand or a product make up the earlier forms of endorsements, a way for brands to reach their audience by leveraging the influence of celebrities.
Today, with the advancements in digital technology, we have social media endorsements, a similar concept, only on a different channel.
The wave of celebrity endorsements on social media took off with the Old Spice ad campaign video in 2010 starring Mustafa. This endorsement of Old Spice spiked the brand’s sales and made it the top men’s body wash brand. Following this campaign, many other brands adopted the concept of social media endorsements to enhance their promotions and reach.
With the advent of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, brands are now endorsing their products and services through influencers and micro-influencers. This community of content creators has a growing popularity among the global audience. They make engaging content and have a good number of people following them.
Brands like Netflix, Maybelline, and L’Oreal Paris, among many others, have lasting endorsement deals in place with influencers and content creators on social media.
An endorsement is usually accompanied by a hashtag or a mention that leads to the individual’s or brand’s official account. By law, endorsers must disclose that the videos and stories they publish endorse a brand and that the product or service is sponsored. This practice helps maintain transparency with the brand’s online audience.
According to a study, 59% of Americans have found celebrity endorsements to impact their shopping behavior. This signifies the role endorsements play in marketing campaigns for brands aiming at large-scale awareness and resulting product sales.
Endorsements on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook thus work in a simple way of promoting the brand’s product or service via a celebrity or influencer. However, on LinkedIn, endorsement refers to a feature that allows members to endorse their connections for specific skills or expertise.
Some prime examples of social media brand endorsements are mentioned below:
- The famous soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo promoted a skincare brand on Instagram by posting a photo of himself using one of the brand’s products with a caption that described its benefits.
- Famous singer and songwriter Selena Gomez partnered with the cookware brand “Our Place,” which launched limited-edition pots and pans as part of this partnership. Gomez wanted to tie up her Mexican heritage to the cookware in her cooking show.
Here is an example of what an endorsement looks like on social media. In this example, we see an Instagram post by the famous footballer Lionel Messi for a brand endorsement of Mastercard.
