10 Ways to Get a Celebrity to Use Your Product A celebrity endorsement can increase brand awareness and influence sales.
By Kristin Marquet Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Today, every fashion, beauty, or lifestyle brand wants to get a celebrity endorsement to help catapult its business to success. But navigating the celebrity world can be difficult and intimidating if you don't have the right contacts or enough resources.
Related: Put Authenticity Into Your Celebrity Endorsements
Follow these 10 tips to help increase your chances of a celebrity or influencer using your product.
- If you don't have six or seven figures to spend on hiring a celeb to endorse your brand, be willing to give up a percentage of equity in the company.
- Pick an upcoming social media star or blogger. Be willing to gift the influencer products. Some influencers will only want a few hundred dollars in products, while others will want a couple of thousand. Make sure the gift fits into your budget.
- Subscribe to a celebrity manager database such as Whorepresents.com to find the appropriate celebrity manager or publicist contact.
- Make sure your package is wrapped beautifully and include several items to increase the chances of their manager or publicist passing it onto their client.
- Personalize the package. Whatever products you're sending should match the aesthetic of the celebrity you're gifting.
- Send your package to the celebrity's stylist or make-up artist.
- If a celebrity is visiting your boutique, ask them to mention your store on Twitter.com or take a photo and post it to Instagram.com.
- Include a short-typed note. Be sure to include a company package and two business cards so the celebrity or representative can get in touch with you.
- Show you care. Reach out to celebrities who support a similar cause that matches your brand's mission and messaging.
- Mind your etiquette. While it's appropriate for you to follow up with the manager or publicist a week after you've shipped the package, don't bombard them with calls and emails. That's a sure way to get your gift thrown in the garbage.
Related: How to Win Celebrity Endorsements. (Hint: It's Not About the Money.)
While there's no guarantee that your product will end up in the hands of a celebrity or influencer when you send it, it's worth the risk. Just one Tweet, photo, or post on Instagram.com can increase brand awareness, credibility, exposure and overall sales.
