Supermodel Kate Moss recently revealed she has an Instagram account which is very private and has only 25 fans. Moss could easily have millions of followers if only they knew her Instagram handle. However, she does not intend to share it. “I don’t really want anyone to know where I am. I don’t want people to know what I’m doing. That’s the complete opposite of what I feel like in real life,” she added. While Kate might not really like her fans to delve deep into her life, there are others like Jessica Alba, Rihanna and Kim Kardashian who like to reveal every possible aspect of their life to fans.
Back home, the likes of Bipasha Basu, Anushka Sharma and Jacqueline Fernandez like updating fans about their life and work through social networking sites. And now customised mobile applications are becoming the latest fad among celebs across spheres to connect as well. No wonder then that a new mobile application advertisement has young heartthrobs Varun Dhawan and Parineeti Chopra giving out their chat ids to fans. But how much should one reveal on such mediums and where to draw the line?
“Social networking and mobile applications have actually made a celeb’s life much more accessible to people. Personally, I feel connecting with fans is a great way of gauging one’s popularity and finding out what clicks and what not. However, if you are updating about the new flip-flops you purchased, that becomes a bit too much,” quips actor Amit Sadh. Many fans love to check out what celebrities do in their free time and react to situations from time to time. These platforms provide an ideal platform for the same.
For many celebrities, it is not so much about personal touch as it is about presenting oneself as a brand. A classic example of this case would be actor Priyanka Chopra, who is almost two years old on Twitter. She is one of the most popular Bollywood celebrities with more than 1.6 million followers and has a professional team to manage it. “GenY is constantly exposed to the online world and these mediums have become tools to present oneself as a ‘complete personality’. As a celebrity it is imperative to constantly update yourself as a ‘brand’,” adds Jacqueline Fernandez.
For some, it is a great tool to project a certain state of mind and providing a certain glimpse into personality, which eventually translates into a great marketing device. “We usually share our personal experiences, to keep our customers in loop about what we are up to. So for instant, when I talk about my favourite holiday destination, in terms of beaches, I ensure that our followers share the same vision as us,” says designer Narresh of the popular luxury swimwear brand, Shivan & Narresh.
Customised mobile applications help musicians to update fans about latest videos, albums and concerts. “I use my personal app to connect with my fans and update them about my tours and music. Also, I ensure that my app is user-friendly and packed with good content and interactive features,” says Anoushka Shankar, sitar player and composer.
So what exactly do the creators of such applications keep in mind, while dealing with renowned names from various fields? “An average celeb looks for interactive and innovative features like custom design, push notifications, social fan wall, premium badges, schedules, photo gallery, music, easy updates, emailing list in their personal customised applicationss. Features like these really help them in their fan engagement and personal brand building objectives,” explains Nikhil Sama, founder, Snaplion.
And how do the fans receive the new phenomenon of ‘keeping in touch’ with the celebs? “Well, as any other youngster I spend a lot of time online. In between work, it is great fun to check out what my favourite actor and musician is up to or working upon. It comes as a stress reliever and also keeps me abreast with latest developments,” finishes Samarth Manchanda, a DU student.