Australian researchers have studied the tweets of celebrities to work out why they do so well, attracting followers when others barely rate a mention.
The study -- Tweeting with the Stars: Automated Text Analysis of the Effect of Celebrity Social Media Communications on Consumer Word of Mouth -- found that celebrity tweets which paint a picture for fans of the high life are more likely to be shared than facts, introspection or anger.
The latest research, published in the Journal of Interactive Marketing, analysed thousands of tweets by famous chefs, personal trainers and fashion bloggers.
Storytelling tweets were more likely to be retweeted than analytical ones, especially when the story focused on others rather than navel-gazing.
The researchers say the lessons of the study are useful for brands wanting to engage users in their social media activities.
Brands looking for ambassadors and endorsers could run basic text-mining software through a twitter feed to assess the writing style of the author and its likelihood of audience engagement.
Often brand-facts spruiked by celebrity endorsers come out in a contrived way as the celebrity shifts focus from regular storytelling to their contractual obligation.
The research suggests the choice of the specific celebrity should not only be related to the number of followers but also to how well they communicate and engage users with their messages and how seamlessly they can insert brand into their story-telling.
According to research by Rakuten Marketing, influencer budgets are surging above $700,00 per year in Australia. A Rakuten survey of more than 100 marketers in a variety of industries, including retail, fashion, beauty, travel, electronics and hospitality, found an average of 38% of total marketing budgets will be allocated to influencer programs this year
Dr Torgeir Aleti, the tweet study lead author from RMIT University’s School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, says the attraction to narrative is in line with the increasing attention of consumers and practitioners for storytelling.
This is also reflected in the rise of platforms,such as Instagram Stories.
“Storytelling enables an emotional and cognitive transfer from the protagonist to the consumer and moves people to action, that is to retweet in our case," he says
Dr Tom van Laer of the University of Sydney, who co-authored the study, says people prefer stories from celebrities which exude an elevated social status and are focused on the audience and not the celebrity.
“Those doing this well are heavily stylising the information they disclose in telling an engaging story from life among the stars,” van Laer says.
“While some research suggests that perceived friendship, identification with the celebrity, and sense of intimacy through Twitter varies based on the type of celebrity, this storytelling element is consistent across them all.
“Our findings provide insights into how celebrities should better perform their social media communication strategy, not only by focusing on content but also on the linguistic style.
“Brands are often focused on sharing facts with their audiences; new products, discounts, where to buy, store opening hours and so on. A better way to get such facts out would be to focus on a story to tell and then try to sprinkle the facts within the story.”
Examples of storytelling tweets:
A Celebrity Chef: Tonight’s lesson on #TheTaste. When Jacques Pepin tells you this is how you do it? That’s how you fucking do it!
Fashion Blogger: I know you think there's one hairstyle that will never work for you but what if you're wrong?? (GIF)
Personal Trainer: Sometimes the people around you won't understand your journey. It's okay. They don't need to. Your journey is not for them.
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