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217886_supp_undefined_BAFB6FDC-BE7D-11E2-9F2A-EF472E1BA5B1.docxFemale
Pop Singers and Twitter Usage
FEMALE POP SINGERS ON TWITTER: USE FOR BRANDING AND IMPLICATIONS
FOR
PUBLICISTS
School of Professional Studies
_______________________
Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership Studies
_______________________
ABSTRACT
A celebrity’s success depends upon building and maintaining their
‘well-knownness.’
The increase in usage of and access to social media platforms like
the micro-blogging platform
Twitter have led celebrities and their publicity teams to
incorporate social media into their
branding and communication strategies. The purpose of this thesis
is to examine celebrity
presence on and usage of Twitter and its implications for the role
of celebrity publicists. The
study is based in the narrative paradigm, which recognizes and
honors each individual’s story
telling abilities. A case study including three influential female
pop singers was conducted, and
the results were analyzed using ideological rhetorical analysis.
Regardless of the risks its usage
may present, their presence on Twitter indicates that celebrities
and their publicists recognize
value in social media involvement.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Importance of the Study ………………………………………………………………………. 5 Statement of
the Problem ……………………………………………………………………... 6 Definition of Terms
Used …………………………………………………………………….. 6 Organization of Remaining
Chapters …………………………………………………………. 7 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE
LITERATURE
Philosophical Assumptions and Theoretical Basis …………………………………………..
8 The Literature ………………………………………………………………………………... 9 Impact on
Publicist’s Strategy ………………………………………………………………. 12 Rationale
…………………………………………………………………………………….. 14 Research Questions
………………………………………………………………………….. 15 CHAPTER 3: SCOPE AND
METHODOLOGY
Scope of the Study ………………………………………………………………………… 16 Methodology of
the Study ………………………………………………………………… 16 Analysis
…………………………………………………………………………………… 17 Ethical Considerations
………………………………………………………………………. 19 CHAPTER 4: THE STUDY
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………... 20 Results of the
Study ………………………………………………………………………….. 20 140 Characters or Less
……………………………………………………………………….. 23 Discussion
……………………………………………………………………………………. 28 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARIES AND
CONCLUSIONS
Limitations of the Study ………………………………………………………………………. 34
Recommendations for Future Study ………………………………………………………….. 34
Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………………… 36 REFERENCES
………………………………………………………………………………... 37
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 5
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
Importance of the Study
Today, a simple trip to the grocery store or visit to a news
outlet’s homepage exposes the
visitor to a torrent of information and celebrity news. Pictures
and stories about celebrity figures
that most people will never actually meet are readily available on
computer or iPhone screens.
Celebrities share their wedding plans, latest love interest,
dramatic weight gain or embarrassing
faux pas from last weekend. All of these personal details and
snapshots into other people’s lives
create a false sense of familiarity. Journalism professor and
social commentator Gitlin (2002)
argues that the feeling of knowing people who are unfamiliar to us
but whom we have never met
is not a new phenomenon. Since our nation’s infancy, Americans have
looked to people whom
they admire and afforded them celebrity status. While the
individuals who achieve celebrity
status in 2013 may be markedly different than the celebrities of
yesteryear, the trappings of
celebrity, including notoriety and the public’s interest in their
private lives, are constants
(Henderson, 2005).
The life-blood of a celebrity (and subsequently their team), is
their well-knownness,
which encourages others to follow their day-to-day life for their
own entertainment and
participation in conversations about popular culture (Hellmueller
& Aeschbacher, 2010). The
avenues for facilitating this sense of being well-known have
shifted over the course of American
history, from speaking engagements and newspaper interviews to
photo shoots, news reports
and, most recently, social media presence (Henderson, 2005).
Twitter and other forms of social
media have altered “the magnitude of the flow, the range of
characters that enter our world, their
omnipresence, the sheer number of stories” (Gitlin, 2002, p. 22)
and the overall exposure to the
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 6
average consumer has to the life stories of others (Griffin, 2008).
There is, quite simply, more
information about celebrities available today than there ever has
been before.
Statement of the Problem
In a recent episode of ABC’s Nashville, country pop star Juliette
Barnes takes a career
risk that is inconsistent with her carefully managed brand, and
then begins to anxiously check
Twitter for the fan reaction. When her manager tells her not take
the negative tweets to heart,
saying, “The tweets don’t matter,” she angrily responds “They do!”
(Panettiere, 2013). As this
fictionalized account from Nashville demonstrates, Twitter presents
a variety of opportunities for
celebrities and their publicists to increase their well-knownness
and strengthen their personal
brands (Hellmueller & Aeschbacher, 2010). In Juliette Barnes’
case (Panettiere, 2013), having
the audience live-tweet her risky performance confuses her fan-base
and invites criticism from
her detractors. The Twitter coverage of the performance undermines
from her carefully managed
brand. As this fictionalized account demonstrates, with new
opportunities come new challenges,
and new public relations strategies and techniques. The goal of
this study is to examine those
challenges in action. Branding through Twitter has presented
challenges and opportunities to
celebrity publicists, while forcing them to readily adapt to the
new medium.
Definitions of Terms Used
Well-Knownness, as defined by Boorstein (1962) describes a
celebrity as “a person who is
known for his well-knownness” (p. 49). For the purposes of this
thesis, well-knownness refers to
the publicity and spectacle that surrounds celebrity figures.
Celebrities, for the purposes of this thesis, are individuals who
are known for their well-
knownness (Boorstein, 1962).
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 7
Twitter launched in 2006 and has evolved into a premiere
micro-blogging platform. It attracts up
to 180 million users each month (Van Dijck, 2011).
A Tweet is a type of micro-blog. It allows users to send brief
messages of no more than 140
characters (Xifra & Grau, 2010, p. 171). These tweets are
posted to the user’s landing page and
shared with their Twitter followers.
The Landing Page allows the Twitter user to provide a brief
description of themselves. It also
includes space for a profile picture and space to link to a
homepage. The landing page comes in
standardized format, but can be customized with different colors
and images. It also includes a
list of the user’s most recent tweets.
Publicist - These public relations professionals are specialized,
and work with celebrity clientele
rather than organizations or corporations (Turner, Bonner &
Marshall, 2000).
Organization of Remaining Chapters
This chapter has presented the rationale behind the study and how
its results may impact
the manner in which we view celebrity tweets and interaction with
fans on Twitter. The second
chapter will discuss the philosophical traditions and existing
theories in which the thesis is
rooted. Chapter 3 will explain the scope of the case study, as well
as the methodology used to
conduct it, while Chapter 4 will present an analysis of the study’s
results. Chapter 5 considers the
results of the study and how they may be applied to our perceptions
of celebrity Twitter
presence, as well as the study’s limitations and directions for
possible future research.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 8
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Philosophical Assumptions and Theoretical Basis
Fisher (1989) viewed his Narrative paradigm as a foundation for
rhetorical criticism, one
which recognizes human beings and honors their story telling
abilities. Today, many celebrities
have taken to Twitter to share their stories. Stefanone, Lackaff
and Rosen (2008) argue that
Twitter has changed the consumption of celebrity gossip, or
‘stories’ for fans. Now, “Rather
than simply being the target of mediated messages, they can see
themselves as protagonists of
mediated narratives and can integrate themselves into a complex
media ecosystem” (p. 107).
Thus, Twitter has actually allowed fans to become active
participants within celebrity narratives.
There are also more narratives than ever before. Twitter and other
forms of social media have
altered “the magnitude of the flow, the range of characters that
enter our world, their
omnipresence, the sheer number of stories” (Gitlin, 2002, p.
22).
McLuhan (1959) argued that “the medium is the message” (p. 340). In
Twitter’s case,
the implication is that its usage “almost entirely patterns the
character of what is thought, felt, or
said by those using it” (McLuhan, 1959, p. 340). If, as Fisher
(1989) posits, all human
communication is motivated by unconscious motives, it is imperative
to carefully consider the
intent, belief, and attitude or act behind the artifact when
determining its meaning. Likewise, the
goal of rhetorical criticism is to consider the text within social
and cultural context, considering
its more subtle or unsaid implications (Poulakos, 1987). McLuhan
(1959) concurs with this
analysis, contending that the impact of the media we are exposed to
“is always subliminal so far
as our ideas and concepts are concerned” (p. 341).
In this context, celebrity tweets may be considered “aspects of the
world occurring in
time and shaped by history, culture and character” (Fisher, 1989,
p. 57). Each individual artifact
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 9
is a reflection of the zeitgeist. Considered from a perspective of
rhetorical criticism, a tweet is
“deliberately chosen to influence an audience whose members have
the ability to change their
beliefs or behaviors as a consequence of experiencing the message”
(Rybacki & Rybacki, 1991,
p.2). Furthermore, one reason that celebrities tweet is to maintain
their celebrity status. Tweets
are designed to psychologically impact the audience due to the mood
that they invoke or feeling
that they stimulate (Rybacki & Rybacki, 1991). It may be fair
to say that celebrities on Twitter
with millions of followers find themselves in a powerful position,
able to influence public
opinion with a few carefully chosen words.
The Literature
Celebrities enjoy a greater scope of influence than their less
well-known counterparts due
to their celebrity status. Boorstein (1962) described a celebrity
as “a person who is known for his
well-knownness” (p. 49). Street (2004) echoes this, describing a
celebrity as someone who
enjoys “a greater presence and wider scope of activity and agency
than are those who make up
the rest of the population. They are allowed to move on the public
stage while the rest of us
watch” (p. 437). Henderson describes the beginning of U.S.
celebrity, noting that “Lacking
millennia of history as a nation, Americans of the Revolutionary
republic fashioned a mythic
national character out of military heroes and eminent statesmen who
embodied the ideals of
virtue, self-reliance and achievement” (2005, p. 38). The
communication revolution changed
who was allowed on this public stage during the twentieth century,
with personality becoming
the main driver of celebrity, rather than character (Henderson,
2005). During this era, when
newspapers and movies became part of the mainstream culture, a new
kind of media-generated
celebrity emerged.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 10
Turner (2004) comments on the notion of media generated celebrity,
noting that our
definition of celebrity has changed due to the persistent and
constant nature of modern media
coverage. Today, media coverage emphasizes personality over
achievement or ability,
recognizing individuals simply for being well known (Henderson,
2005; Boorstein, 1962).
Today, celebrities are super models, athletes or pop singers rather
than Revolutionary War
generals. The gulf between yesterday’s George Washington and
today’s Paris Hilton could not
be broader, but each was or is considered a celebrity in their day.
Today’s celebrities are human
pseudo-events, the product of the hard work of a team of people who
make their presence widely
known, and the people who willingly watch their television program,
read their latest interview
or listen to their music (Boorstein, 1962; Turner, Bonner &
Marshall, 2000). They live and work
in a world of flash and spectacle (Henderson, 2005). Today, that
world of flash and spectacle has
grown to include social media.
Twitter has become an important part of the world of flash and
spectacle. In fact, people
in the spotlight who aren’t using social media platforms like
Twitter are missing an important
opportunity to develop their brand (Kaplan & Hainlein, 2009).
Since Twitter launched in 2006,
it has evolved into a premiere micro-blogging platform, attracting
up to 180 million users each
month (Van Dijck, 2011). Micro-blogging, or tweeting, allows users
to send brief messages of
no more than 140 characters (Xifra & Grau, 2010, p. 171). Since
its launch, Twitter’s audience
has changed, shifting from a slightly older adult audience
interested in communicating with one
another to young adults interested in receiving news updates and
following celebrities (Van
Dijck, 2011). Recognizing the opportunity that Twitter presents to
reach millions of potential
followers with relative ease, celebrities, particularly musicians,
have made it an integral part of
their branding and publicity plans. In fact, many sign contracts
guaranteeing that they will post a
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 11
minimum number of tweets each week (Markowitz, 2012). This
frequency is meant to ensure
that they will gain and keep fan’s interest and stay in the
spotlight. Stars must post interesting
tweets frequently enough to be worth following (Stein, 2012).
Otherwise, they risk falling out of
the spotlight.
As it was with the newspapers, movies and interviews of the
twentieth century, one of the
main goals of Twitter usage is to see and be seen (Faina, 2012). In
fact, social media is a critical
part of any star’s public relation’s plan (Markowitz, 2012).
However, celebrities and their public
relations teams must manage their images differently now that
communication is simply a mouse
click away. In fact, “Celebrities themselves have started using
social media channels like
Twitter in order to guide how various channels depict them and
therefore how the media and
public perceive them” (Hellmueller & Aeschbacher, 2010, p. 18).
Pop singer Lady Gaga, one of
the most followed people on Twitter, is one of the celebrities
using the medium to communicate
with her fans and to shape her image. Universal Music’s president
of sales, Steve Berman,
observes that “Gaga has worked tirelessly in keeping up daily if
not hourly communication with
her fans and growing fan base” (Hampp, 2010, p. 2).
Lady Gaga and other female pop singers, such as Taylor Swift and
Rihanna, must
recognize that fame is fleeting. Each uses Twitter to regularly
communicate with their fan base.
Marshall (2000) observed that “the popular music celebrity… who
emerges from the adulation of
a preteen or young teen female audience, demonstrates the rapidity
of this dissipation of power
and influence of a public personality” (p. 217). Of the ten most
followed people on Twitter, a
list which includes Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Rihanna, six are
female pop singers ("Top
twitter user," 2013).
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 12
Celebrities like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Rihanna share a
diverse array of
information through Twitter. Often, their tweets include behind the
scenes pictures, videos and
information that are carefully selected to increase the star’s
authenticity (Markowitz, 2012).
However, more may be at stake. Markham (2007) argues that celebrity
culture and influence has
become so prolific that it regularly influences political and
social issues, and is in fact considered
a part of regular news consumption. Thus, celebrity influence on
Twitter is more important than
messages limited to 140 characters may suggest, that is it helps to
shape American values. It also
has far reaching ramifications for the stars who utilize it. Some
celebrities have found
themselves in legal trouble, sued for comments that they have made
on Twitter that were found
to be libelous or unpopular in nature (Lozare, 2011). Celebrities
who mis-tweet may also lose
Twitter followers. In the wake of the Penn State sex-abuse scandal,
Ashton Kutcher used Twitter
to share his thoughts about coach Joe Paterno’s firing with his
followers. After a backlash, he
removed his tweet and apologized. He also began having his
publicity team preview and edit his
tweets prior to posting (Stein, 2012). As Kutcher’s case suggests,
celebrities must carefully
choose what to tweet, in addition to how and when they say it. If
they are not careful, they may
attract negative attention from both their supporters and
detractors and impact their chance of
future success.
Industries like public relations, promotions and publicity
experienced rapid growth over
the last century in response to celebrities’ desire to manage and
further their images (Turner,
2004; Tilson, 2003). Hollywood movie studio’s efforts to manage and
protect celebrity personas
emerged after a series of scandals in the 1920s which threatened
their financial viability. With
their financial future tied to the continued success of their
stars, studios began practicing a policy
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 13
of studio-sanctioned disclosure, where approved personal
information was disseminated in
approved gossip columns, star magazines and interviews (Muntean
& Petersen, 2009). Emerging
technologies like Twitter have made maintaining this tight grip
impossible and impractical, while
presenting the risk of over-disclosure to celebrities and their
publicists.
Social media has altered the practice of celebrity management,
changing it from a process
carefully managed and executed by public relations professionals to
a less structured process
where celebrities interact and build rapport with their fans
(Marwick & Boyd, 2011). Typically, a
public relations professional who works with celebrities is called
a publicist (Turner, Bonner &
Marshall, 2000). Publicists have begun incorporating Twitter into
their professional lives, using
it to further their clients’ images by sharing links to relevant
stories and make reaching out to
media outlets easier (Xifra & Grau, 2010; Waters, Tindall &
Morton, 2010).
One of the most common reasons that publicists reach out to media
outlets is to dispel or
refute inaccurate or unflattering information about their client
(Muntean & Petersen, 2009).
Unfortunately, being in the public eye means that fans see
celebrities - warts and all (Hellmueller
& Aeschbacher, 2010). One method that celebrities and their
publicists have found to be an
effective counter to the constant intrusion of websites like TMZ
(http://www.tmz.com) and Perez
Hilton (http://www.perezhilton.com) is to simply beat them to the
punch by providing a greater
degree of personal information through micro-blogging sites like
Twitter (Muntean & Petersen,
2009). Weekly celebrity magazines, such as People and US Weekly,
have also adjusted to the
new medium. They maintain a Twitter presence, providing links to
much of the same
information they provide in print (Hellmueller & Aeschbacher,
2010). This allows them to
provide the news to their Twitter followers as it happens, rather
than in one weekly news
magazine.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 14
This emphasis on revealing information on Twitter has rendered the
press release passé
(Dumenco, 2010). In fact, celebrity tweets may be considered the
new public relations gold
standard. “Celebrity tweeting has been equated with the assertion
of the authentic celebrity
voice; celebrity tweets are regularly cited in newspaper articles
and blogs as ‘official’ statements
from the celebrity” (Muntean & Petersen, 2009, p 23). This
approach also extends to crisis
situations. “It wasn’t that long ago that a celebrity with
something ‘important’ to put out there,
like an apology, would automatically say it through a tightly
controlled protocol… Now 140
characters or fewer suffice” (Dumenco, 2010, p. 28). However, in
many cases, those 140
characters are carefully scrutinized before they are ever posted.
Like Ashton Kutcher, many
celebrities worry about the impact of a mis-tweet. Now, publicists
may contract the management
of social media strategies to separate contractors, who carefully
analyze each potential tweet and
its impact before approving and then posting it (Stein, 2012).
Thus, while by all appearances
social media interaction is perceived as more authentic and casual,
it is still carefully managed to
mitigate risk.
Rationale
Celebrities once seemed like distant figures; people seen and
admired on TV, in
magazines or on the silver screen. Now, the advent of new types of
social media interaction,
including Twitter, have altered the way that the public interacts
with these previously distant
figures, along with the methods that their publicity teams use to
manage and enhance their
image. Henderson comments on this phenomenon, noting that
“contemporary celebrity is eons
from an age when heroes were placed on pedestals: today, rather
than reverential and upward-
looking, the perspective is eye-to-eye” (2005, p. 46). This shift
in perspective and subsequent
change in communication styles present important questions for
celebrities and their publicists.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 15
Twitter has presented a myriad of opportunities for celebrities and
their publicists to
increase their well-knownness and strengthen their personal brands
(Hellmueller & Aeschbacher,
2010). But with new promotional opportunities come new challenges,
as well as new public
relations strategies and techniques. Celebrities who fail to edit
their tweets and carefully manage
their social media brand risk alienating the very fan-bases they
are working to maintain (Lozare,
2011; Stein, 2012). The goal of this study is to examine how the
use of Twitter has presented
celebrities with a new arena in which to brand themselves, and how
they have used it to do so.
The study will also examine how the branding process has presented
challenges and
opportunities to their publicists, while forcing them to readily
adapt to the new medium. It is
generally recognized that Twitter has become an important tool in
the celebrity publicist’s public
relations arsenal. However, the implications of its usage for
celebrities and their publicists have
not been fully examined. Accordingly, the following questions will
be considered:
Research Questions
RQ1: What advantages and risks does celebrity twitter usage present
to celebrity publicists?
RQ2: How have female pop singers Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and
Rihanna used Twitter to brand
themselves?
Chapter 3: SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
The Scope of the Study
The existing literature demonstrates a clear understanding of the
historical development
and maintenance of “well-knownness,” or celebrity status. Utilizing
Boorstein’s (1962)
definition, celebrities are individuals who are known simply for
being well known - human
pseudo-events. The existing body of research also acknowledges that
as new communication
media such as radio, television and social media have become widely
used and entered the
mainstream, they have changed the nature of modern celebrity
(Henderson, 2005). Social media
has become an important part of the celebrity image management
infrastructure. In fact,
Markowitz (2012) considers it a critical part of the star’s public
relations plan. The goal of this
study is to consider the challenges and advantages that Twitter
usage presents and examine how
female pop stars use Twitter to brand themselves and reach their
fan-bases.
Methodology of the Study
To analyze celebrity Twitter presence and branding, this study
utilized two
complimentary methodologies: an exploratory case study approach and
ideological rhetorical
criticism. The case studies provided a celebrity perspective, and
were a suitable option given two
key limitations: the researcher had no direct access to the
subjects of the study, and no ability to
manipulate or influence the study’s participants (Yin, 2009).
Ideological rhetorical criticism was
used to critically analyze the data gathered from the case
studies.
The Case Study’s Prepositions. Yin (2009) believes that
prepositions (the hypothesis or
assumptions made by the research team) help to define the scope of
the case study by
considering the intent of the study within the context of previous
research. Prior research has
determined that modern celebrities are individuals best known for
being well-known (Boorstein,
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 17
1962). Furthermore, it is evident that Twitter presents an
excellent platform upon which
celebrities can build and maintain their brand, and the research
(Kaplan & Hainlein, 2009)
indicates that they and their publicists have taken note. Based
upon prior research, it seems
likely that female pop singers and their publicists are branding
themselves using the tweets and
pictures they post on Twitter. This usage presents risks and
advantages to the celebrity (and their
publicity team), who must consider whether each tweet will help,
maintain or harm their public
persona. These prepositions will focus the research and guide data
collection for analysis
(Baxter and Jack, 2008).
Units of Analysis. Twitter analytics helped to guide the selection
of candidates (units of
analysis) for case study. Candidates were chosen based on the
assumption that Twitter’s most
followed users have its broadest influence. The latest statistics
indicate that six of the top-ten-
most-followed-twitter-users are female pop singers ("Top twitter
user," 2013). Because the
analytics indicate that they are among the most followed people on
Twitter, the focus of the
study was narrowed to female pop singers. Three candidates with
diverse backgrounds and fan-
bases were selected: Lady Gaga (34.5 million followers), Taylor
Swift (24 million followers) and
Rihanna (28.5 million followers) ("Top twitter user," 2013). All
three women’s songs are
prominently featured on Top 40 radio, but each experienced initial
or continued success in other
markets (dance, country and rhythm and blues, respectively) of the
music industry . These three
women serve as the ‘case’ in the case study.
Analysis
Artifacts were analyzed according to Foss’ (2008) four step process
for analyzing
rhetorical criticism. Ideological rhetorical criticism is an
approach incorporating the “concepts
and theories to address the features that characterize the new era:
fragmentation of individuals
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 18
and communities; a consumer lifestyle” (Foss, 2008, p. 212). First,
the prepositions or
‘elements’ in each of the selected artifacts were identified. The
sheer volume of information
available on Twitter necessitated the creation of research
parameters. The scope of the study was
narrowed to encompass three women in the same industry. To further
narrow the scope, the
study was limited to tweets published between Feb. 1 and Feb. 14 of
2013. Re-tweets and
‘mentions,’ or instances where a Twitter follower mentioned the
unit of analysis, were not
incorporated.
After selection, the elements identified in each artifact were
examined in order to identify
the meanings and ideas they may suggest. In accordance with Foss’
third step, the meanings and
ideas generated in the second step were organized into the “major
ideational clusters, themes, or
ideas” (p. 217). Finally, the ideology identified after analyzing
the artifacts was applied to
modern society, and how “the artifact functions for the audience
who encounters it and the
consequences it has,” (Foss, 2008, p. 220) for individuals and for
society as a whole. The “major
ideational clusters, themes, or ideas” (Foss, 2008, p. 217)
detected during analysis were then
related to the prepositions which guided the selection of the three
case studies.
Reliability and Validity. The researchers took a number of
precautions to ensure the
validity of the study. First and foremost, the study was rooted in
prepositions (Baxter and Jack,
2008). These prepositions helped to define the scope of the case
study by considering the goal of
the study within the context of previous research (Yin, 2009).
Thus, the prepositions ensured that
the research team was answering the study’s questions. As
previously stated, the use of the case
study approach was carefully considered. The case studies were the
only realistic avenue
available for obtaining a celebrity perspective, as the researcher
had no direct access to the
subjects of the study, and as such could not manipulate or
influence them (Yin, 2009).
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 19
Furthermore, the artifacts were limited to specific candidates who
tweeted them within a
designated timeframe (the first two weeks of Feb. 2013). These
artifacts were carefully collected
and managed within a database created by the researcher. The
inclusion of three units of analysis
of the same sex (female) from the same industry (music) contributed
to the validity of the
findings. In addition, the research team observed a period of
reflection prior to analyzing the
findings, as recommended by Baxter and Jack (2008). This time
allowed the researcher to verify
the validity of the study’s findings.
Ethical Considerations
As in any study, the health and wellbeing of the study’s
participants are of utmost
importance to the researcher. The celebrities selected for case
study were not notified or
contacted directly by the research team, as the study focused on
their public personas, not their
private lives. An IRB review is not necessary in this instance as
the artifacts or ‘tweets’ under
analysis were voluntarily provided by public figures on their
Twitter accounts and are part of the
public record.
Chapter 4: THE STUDY
Introduction
The three female pop singers selected for case study were Lady Gaga
(34.5 million
followers), Taylor Swift (24 million followers) and Rihanna (28.5
million followers) ("Top
twitter user," 2013). Each tweets frequently, often multiple times
each day. Their Twitter
landing pages and the tweets generated by each Twitter account
between Feb. 1, 2013 and Feb.
14, 2013 were treated as individual artifacts for the purposes of
the study. In accordance with
Foss’ four step process for analyzing rhetorical criticism, the
meanings and ideas detected
within each artifact were organized into “major ideational
clusters, themes, or ideas” (p. 217).
The broader implications of these ideational clusters and themes
will be explored after the
discussion of initial findings.
The goal of this rhetorical analysis was to determine the efficacy
of the study’s
prepositions, which informed the selection of Lady Gaga, Rihanna
and Taylor Swift as units of
analysis and helped to guide data collection efforts (Baxter and
Jack, 2008). The prepositions
were as follows: based upon the earlier research, it seemed
probable that female pop singers and
their publicists were using the tweets and pictures they posted on
Twitter to enhance their
personal brand. Furthermore, the research team posited that Twitter
usage presented risks and
advantages to the celebrity (and their publicity team), who
simultaneously accepted its potential
to both help and harm their reputation.
Results of the Study
Establishing one’s personal brand through a landing page. The pop
singers included
in the study fully understand the American colloquialism, “You
don’t get a second chance to
make a first impression.” In the virtual world created by Twitter,
its users and their followers, the
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 21
landing page serves as an introduction and presents an opportunity
to encapsulate one’s personal
brand. As a result, seemingly simple decisions like the background
color, profile picture and
personal description must all be carefully considered. Due to their
importance and the tone that
they set for the celebrities’ interactions with fans, the pop
singers’ landing pages were the first
artifacts examined.
Art sustains. At first glance, Lady Gaga’s landing page (Figure 1)
is simple: a plain,
white background which includes cartoon graphics that appear to be
hand drawn. The cartoon is
a colorful bust of Lady Gaga, wearing a turban and bejeweled head
piece. On the bust, tattooed
on Lady Gaga’s neck, are a number of well-known Walt Disney
princesses, including Ariel from
The Little Mermaid, Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella.
The personal description
reads “When POP sucks the tits of ART.” The bust of Gaga
demonstrates her commitment to
art. In effect, she is depicting herself as living art. The
presence of the Disney princesses portray
her as a playful figure while
nodding to fictional characters
which were popular during
princesses also encourages her
fans to follow their dreams and make brave choices, as the heroines
in Disney movies do. Her
personal description, “When POP sucks the tits of ART,” suggests
that art is sustenance and
sustains her music. It also alludes to breast feeding, and suggests
that she sees herself (and her
art) in a maternal light.
Figure 1. Lady Gaga’s landing page.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 22
Self-Promotion. Rihanna’s landing page is bright and colorful with
a background
montage in shades of blue and
purple. These colors coordinate
recently released album. In her
profile picture, Rihanna is
literally exposed. The personal description proclaims that she is
“unapologetic.” Coincidentally,
this is the title of her new album. The description also indicates
that, as she did in her profile
picture, Rihanna intends to be raw and truthful, regardless of the
consequences.
Simplicity. Taylor Swift's landing page is simple. She is using the
template that Twitter
provides to all of its users, and has not created a specialized
look or feel to differentiate her page.
Her landing page is unique not because of what she has done, but
because of what she has
chosen not to do. In keeping with this simple approach her profile
picture is a headshot, showing
just one half of her face. The
relaxed smile on her face and her
hair blowing in the wind indicate
that she is relaxed and
comfortable. Her landing page is
not hiding behind art or color
Figure 2. Rihanna’s landing page.
Figure 3 . Taylor Swift’s landing page.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 23
schemes, and does not feel produced. In her personal description
she writes that she is "Happy.
Free. Confused. Lonely. At the same time." This lyric is part of
one of her recent songs, 22
(Swift, 2013, track 6). Swift co-wrote this song, which describes a
night out with her friends
when nothing in her life is completely clear. It is likely that she
is also appealing to her fans,
many of whom fall within a similar age demographic and can likely
relate to the sentiments she
expresses in the song.
140 Characters or Less
Each celebrity’s landing page includes a scrolling window featuring
their latest tweets. As
previously stated, tweets are short messages limited to just 140
characters, including spaces
(Xifra & Grau, 2010, p. 171). Frequently, the three celebrities
in the case study chose to include
pictures in their posts.
Branding: Lady Gaga’s Artistic Approach to Twitter . During the
first two weeks of
February, Lady Gaga’s twitter account generated 19 original tweets.
Each of the tweets
generated during the study’s two week time frame was analyzed, and
the ideas and meanings
behind them were organized into the following ideational
clusters:
Figure 4. Thematic patterns from Lady Gaga’s February 1 through
February 14, 2013 tweets.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 24
Gaga’s (2013a) first tweet on Feb. 1 read “Wish me luck little
babies! Second go on the silver
screen today. Then back on a plane to St. Louis for the Ball!
#HussleHussleHussleHard.” Lady
Gaga treats her fans as her family, taking on a maternal role for
her ‘little babies.’ The tweet also
alludes to her continued success and jet setting lifestyle. On Feb.
4 she was still hard at work,
tweeting “Here I Go Again on my own, but in Kansas City I won’t
feel alone, #BTWBALL
show #94 that’s number sign not hashtag” (Gaga, 2013b). The
frequent travel, performances
and breakneck work pace are frequent themes in Lady Gaga’s tweets,
and contribute to her
reputation as a hardworking and dedicated performer.
Lady Gaga’s brand has moved beyond Twitter. She has also lent her
name to products.
Later in the month Lady Gaga referred to one of the products she
endorses, tweeting, “Wow!
FAME the fragrance has officially sold 30 million bottles and is
the 8th most successful brand of
the year! Thank you fashionistas!” (Gaga, 2013c). This tweet is
thematically similar to many of
Lady Gaga’s tweets. In it, she expresses gratitude for her fans,
who bought her fragrance and
contributed to its success. Her dedication to fashion is also a
frequent theme. On Feb. 5 she
tweeted, “My hotel room is Sherlock themed, I'm breaking out the
vintage Burberry & archive
YSL rive gauche detective coats playing w magnifying glass” (Gaga,
2013d). By referring to two
high end fashion brands in this tweet, Lady Gaga is sharing her
interest in the fashion industry.
Her access to such high end clothing items is an indicator of her
wealth and privilege. The
implication is that Lady Gaga and her brand are the fashionable
choice, and Lady Gaga is a
fashionable woman. She is using her twitter page to brand herself,
to sell Lady Gaga branded
items and to instill in her fans a commitment to a fashionable
lifestyle.
Leading the fast paced lifestyle that Lady Gaga describes is
taxing. The last tweets sent
during the beginning of the February relayed some unfortunate news
from her camp. Reports
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 25
from celebrity magazines, including Entertainment Weekly, indicated
that Lady Gaga was
canceling the remainder of her Born this Way Ball concert tour due
to a serious hip injury
requiring surgery (Gornstein, 2013). Lady Gaga (2013e) confirmed
the news, in two tweets,
saying “I’ve been hiding a show injury and chronic pain for
sometime now, over the past month
it has worsened. I’ve been praying it would heal” (Gaga, 2013f).
She continued, “I hid it from
my staff, I didn’t want to disappoint my amazing fans. However
after last night’s performance I
could not walk and still can’t” (Gaga, 2013g). She later tweeted
“It will hopefully heal as soon as
possible, I hate this. I hate this so much. I love you and Im
sorry” (Gaga, 2013h). Lady Gaga’s
account generated a number of tweets on Feb. 12; these tweets are
thematically very similar. It is
clear that she feels deep sadness and regret over the tour’s
cancellation, but has been left with no
choice but to focus on her own health. Her love and gratitude for
her fans and appreciation of
their support are evident.
Branding: Rihanna’s ‘Unapologetic’ Use of Twitter. During the first
two weeks of
February, Rihanna’s twitter account generated 40 original tweets.
Each of the tweets generated
during this two week period was analyzed, and the ideas and
meanings behind them were
organized into the following ideational clusters:
Figure 5. Thematic clusters frm Rihanna’s tweets.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 26
At the beginning of the month, Rihanna expressed her frustration by
tweeting, “F***ing
problems…” (Rihanna, 2013a). While she failed to elaborate on the
cause of her frustration,
anger and the use of profanity are frequent themes within her
tweets. On Feb. 9 she tweeted
“Where my b***** @????” and included a photo featuring two pitbulls
standing at attention in a
stark and modern home (Rihanna, 2013b). The themes of power and
dominance figure
prominently into Rihanna’s tweets. Whether symbolically, as is the
case with the pitbulls, a dog
breed typically associated with power and potential instability, or
as in an earlier tweet on Feb. 1,
“Hello to my fav month (feb I’m make you my
b****)” (Rihanna, 2013c). The next day she
tweeted a to-do list for February, typing, “February,
like I own a ho” (Rihanna, 2013d). It seems that
through her actions and her surroundings, Rihanna
is emphasizing her power and dominance. However,
her tweets indicate that she also values her
relationships.
On Feb. 14 (Valentine’s Day), Rihanna tweeted “Roses are green!
Somebody knows how
to make my happy” and included a picture of a marijuana bouquet
that she received as a gift
(Rihanna, 2013e). Rihanna alludes to marijuana usage frequently in
her tweets, and associates
the drug with freedom, romance and success. In a series of pictures
taken by photographer Terry
Richardson for Rolling Stone this February ("Rihanna's rolling
stone," 2013), and also posted to
her Twitter account, Rihanna is pictured openly smoking marijuana
in an embroidered leather
jacket. Her frequent allusions to drug usage help to brand Rihanna
as a rebellious and powerful
female voice who is flouting law and authority.
Figure 6. Rihanna, as featured in Rolling Stone magazine
("Rihanna's rolling stone," 2013).
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 27
In addition to the rebellious nature she chooses to share with her
Twitter followers,
Rihanna also tweets pictures of family and shares her faith with
her followers. On Feb. 6, she
tweeted, “When it seems like the world is against you, remember
that God is behind your every
positive loving thought. #nevaforget” (Rihanna, 2013f). While this
tweet speaks to Rihanna’s
aforementioned frustration, the tone of the tweet is a hopeful one
emphasizing the power of faith.
Rihanna also revealed another aspect of her personal life on Feb.
4. She posted a picture with the
hashtag “#rolemodels***” (Rihanna, 2013g). Included in the tweet
was a hyperlink to a photo
which included a smiling Rihanna hugging two older women whom one
might assume are her
role models. Thus, while she values her freedom and rebellious
nature, Rihanna also appears to
be a woman who values her faith and her family.
Branding: Taylor Swift’s Girl Next Door Twitter St yle. During the
first two weeks of
February, Taylor Swift’s twitter account generated 14 original
tweets. Each of these tweets was
analyzed, and the ideas and meanings behind them were organized
into the following ideational
clusters:
Figure 7. Ideational clusters gleaned from Taylor Swift’s tweets
the first fourteen days of February 2013.
Taylor Swift began February in a celebratory mood, tweeting, “So
I'm just minding my own
business, making a sandwich before rehearsals, and I get a call
that Red is platinum in the UK. I
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 28
LOVE you guys” (Swift, 2013a). This effusive gratitude for the
success of her latest album and
the frequent attribution of her continued success to her fan base
are common for Swift. On Feb.
4, she tweeted “Trouble is #1 on US and UK radio so I brought
donuts to work. As donuts and
#1s both make me very very happy” (Swift, 2013b). Her enthusiasm
continued throughout the
week. On Feb. 6 she told her followers, “Long day of rehearsals
&fittings for Grammys (stoked).
Now I'm in bed at 8pm (again) and (still) blaming it on jet lag
from the Europe trip” (Swift,
2013c).
While Swift frequently describes long days and hard work, she does
so in an enthusiastic
manner. According to her Twitter feed, February was a busy month.
On Feb. 9 she tweeted
“Grammy rehearsals last night, studio today, who knows what tonight
holds! (I do. Laying
around watching TV while eating candy)” (Swift, 2013d). Swift
frequently mentions food,
especially sweets, in her tweets. These tweets about nourishment
and sweets communicate her
wholesomeness. The implication is that Taylor Swift is good for her
followers and taking good
care of herself; she is sweet and inoffensive. She is also unafraid
to tweet about completing
simple day-to-day activities, such as watching TV or making a
sandwich. On Feb. 10 she tweeted
a picture of her cat with a message that read “Video shoot early
tomorrow, so my Grammy after-
party situation looks like….” (Swift, 2013e). Sharing mundane
details and acknowledging a
desire to relax and spend time out of the spotlight lends Swift’s
girl next door image credibility.
Discussion
The values and ideas expressed in each of the artifacts have
implications for the
celebrities and their publicists, as well as the fans who follow
them on Twitter. As previously
stated, “Celebrities themselves have started using social media
channels like Twitter in order to
guide how various channels depict them and therefore how the media
and public perceive them”
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 29
(Hellmueller & Aeschbacher, 2010, p. 18). It appears that each
celebrity has chosen to use this
tool to their advantage, which requires them to actively
participate in social media activities. The
pop singers included in the case study (and their publicity teams)
demonstrate an understanding
of the power of social media and the important role that it plays
in their continued success. The
study confirms that female pop singers and their publicists are
branding themselves using the
tweets and pictures they post on Twitter. Each has a unique vision
of themselves that they have
chosen to share with their fans.
Lady Gaga’s landing page and tweets brand her as a hardworking,
artistic and motherly
figure. Her commitment to art, music and fashion is evident.
However, her dedication to her
career and willingness to sacrifice her own health for the sake of
her music and her fans provide
an interesting contrast in values. Modeling the value of hard work
and working towards one’s
goals is an admirable trait. But concealing the truth, failing to
take good care of one’s self and
working to the point of disability are dangerous and irresponsible.
The suggestion is that Lady
Gaga cares more about her fans than her own health. However,
temporarily disabled or not, Lady
Gaga is still committed to fashion. On Feb. 16 she tweeted, “This
is Emma” and attached a photo
of her new gold plated wheelchair (Gaga, 2013i). Even a temporary
disability cannot stand in the
way of fashion.
Rihanna’s landing page and tweets contribute to her reputation as
an unapologetic rebel.
Her postings encourage drug use and unhealthy relationship
dynamics. By tweeting pictures of
marijuana and tweeting images of her using recreational drugs,
Rihanna is endorsing their usage
for her millions of young fans. The themes of power, domination and
submission which
frequently appear in her tweets encourage unhealthy and unequal
relationships. Her tweets
normalize potentially dangerous relationships and behavior. In
contrast, Taylor Swift’s tweets
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 30
and landing page brand her as a down-to-earth, relatable and
approachable role model. Choosing
to use Twitter’s basic landing page design suggests that she is
choosing not to differentiate
herself or her landing page from that of other users. She does not
tweet about parties she attends,
expensive items that she is purchasing or leading a privileged
lifestyle. For her followers, the
implication is that it is okay to be true to yourself, even if that
means being a person who chooses
to go back to their hotel rather than attend a Grammy after party.
It is clear that for celebrities
like Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Taylor Swift, whose success depends
upon their ability to get and
remain in the public eye, their personal brand and status
(Hellmueller & Aeschbacher, 2010;
Boorstein, 1962) are carefully managed and maintained via
Twitter.
Theoretical Implications
McLuhan (1959) argued that “the medium is the message” (p. 340). In
keeping with this
theoretical approach, it is evident that Twitter’s usage “almost
entirely patterns the character of
what is thought, felt, or said by those using it” (McLuhan, 1959,
p. 340). Each of the tweet
artifacts considered generated significant fan/follower involvement
and commentary, in the form
of re-tweets, favorites or responses. The medium has changed the
message, and the manner in
which fans communicate with celebrities. Before, publicists
generated a press release or
celebrities participated in a studio sanctioned event to generate
publicity and gain visibility.
There was no clear, readily accessible method available to fans
seeking regular communication
with celebrity figures. Today, the manner in which celebrities
share their narratives or stories
(Fisher, 1989) has changed. Twitter has rendered the press release
passé (Dumenco, 2010) and
allowed fans a greater level of access, as well as the ability to
actively participate in individual
celebrities narratives.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 31
Fans regularly participate in celebrity narratives on Twitter by
responding to tweets, or
indicating their approval by favoriting them. Lady Gaga’s tweet “It
will hopefully heal as soon
as possible, I hate this. I hate this so much. I love you and Im
sorry” (Gaga, 2013h) generated
over 14,000 retweets and 7,321 favorites. It also generated a
lengthy fan conversation via
responses to the tweet. On Feb. 3, when Rihanna tweeted “F***ing
problems…” (Rihanna,
2013a), over 16,000 fans retweeted her tweet to their own
followers, and the comment received
4,662 favorites. Taylor Swift’s tweets receive similar attention
from her fan base. Her Feb. 1
tweet, “So I'm just minding my own business, making a sandwich
before rehearsals, and I get a
call that Red is platinum in the UK. I LOVE you guys” (Swifta,
2013) was retweeted over
18,000 times and received over 17,000 favorites. Fans carried on a
lengthy conversation in
response to the tweet, virtually interacting with one
another.
It is evident that, as Stefanone, Lackaff and Rosen (2008) argued,
Twitter has changed
the consumption of celebrity gossip, or ‘stories’ for fans. Now,
“Rather than simply being the
target of mediated messages, they can see themselves as
protagonists of mediated narratives and
can integrate themselves into a complex media ecosystem” (p. 107).
Fisher believed that human
communication is a series of narratives through which we define our
own values and strive to
recreate ourselves (Griffin, 2008). If this is the case, a
celebrity’s Twitter page may be
considered a real-time narrative, one that allows fans to
contribute to and feel they are actively
participating in the life of someone they have likely never
met.
Twitter has changed the nature of the relationship between
celebrity and fan by providing
fans with the opportunity to interact with celebrity figures on a
daily basis and actively
participate in the narrative those individuals choose to share
about their personal lives. This
increase in participation and the shift toward interactive
communication is evident in fans’
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 32
interest in and response to Lady Gaga’s illness. When news broke of
Lady Gaga’s illness, the
method that she chose to share information with her fans was
Twitter. Her approach is the new
modus operandi for individuals in the public eye. “It wasn’t that
long ago that a celebrity with
something ‘important’ to put out there, like an apology, would
automatically say it through a
tightly controlled protocol… Now 140 characters or fewer suffice”
(Dumenco, 2010, p. 28).
Twitter has changed the boundaries of communication for celebrities
and fans. It has also
changed the role of public relations professionals.
Implications for Publicists
This ability to influence public opinion makes the responsible
practice of public relations
even more important. The celebrity (and their publicity team), must
decide whether each tweet
will help, maintain or harm their public persona. For public
relations professionals, the impact on
behavior and judgment that the tweet will have on the celebrity’s
followers should also be a
consideration. The practice of responsible public relations
requires the practitioner to balance
their loyalty to the client with a moral obligation to other
stakeholders (Fitzpatrick & Bronstein,
2006). For celebrities, these stakeholders include their fans and
twitter followers.
Each of the celebrities included in the case study (and their
publicity teams) utilize a
different public relations approach. While Rihanna’s risky approach
includes frequent references
to drug use and allusions to her troubled relationship with singer
Chris Brown, branding herself
as an artist willing to push boundaries does not appear to have
harmed her career. In contrast,
Taylor Swift does not post anything divisive or contentious on her
feed. Her presence appears to
be both authentic and risk-averse, designed to avoid controversy or
offense. Lady Gaga’s
approach is unfiltered and hands-on. Steve Berman, Universal
Music’s President of Sales,
commented that “Gaga has worked tirelessly in keeping up daily if
not hourly communication
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 33
with her fans and growing fan base” (Hampp, 2010, p. 2). A
responsible publicist must consider
their client’s brand when considering the appropriate public
relations approach. Publicists must
also accept the shifting nature of their work, and readily adapt to
changes in technique and
emerging technologies. If the tweet is the new public relations
gold standard (Muntean &
Petersen, 2009), then publicists must learn to help their clients
relay messages with implications
for their career and livelihood in 140 characters or less.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 34
Chapter 5: SUMMARIES AND CONCLUSIONS
Limitations of the Study
The study had two specific limitations: access and scope. The
research design was
selected after access limitations were considered. Given the
celebrity status of the individuals
profiled, the case study approach was the most feasible research
option. Unfortunately, there was
no direct access to the subjects of the study, and as such it was
not possible to manipulate or
influence the study’s participants (Yin, 2009). Thankfully, while
direct access was not possible,
tweets from each unit of analysis’ Twitter-verified account were
readily available as part of the
public record. Since celebrity tweets are now considered the most
authentic representation of a
celebrity’s voice, “regularly cited in newspaper articles and blogs
as ‘official’ statements from
the celebrity” (Muntean & Petersen, 2009, p 23) this level of
access appears to be the best
representation of the celebrity perspective available without
direct access.
In order to work within time and research constraints, the number
of female pop stars
who were included in the case study was limited to three. This
approach limited the
generalizability of the study’s results. While the research
suggests that female pop stars and their
publicists are strategically utilizing Twitter to enhance their
personal brands, the findings may
not apply to other demographics. The results may not apply to male
twitter users, non-celebrities
or Twitter users in other industries. In addition, it is possible
that the limited timeframe in which
tweets were analyzed did not allow the research team to detect each
of the thematic clusters
present within the celebrity’s tweets. Furthermore, ideological
rhetorical analysis is, by its
nature, an interpretive and subjective research approach. It is
possible that there may have been
variation in another researcher’s findings.
Further Study or Recommendations
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 35
Future studies can expand upon the research team’s findings by
addressing the initial
study’s limitations. Further study should focus on gaining greater
access to the study’s
participants, increasing the timeframe in which celebrity tweets
are collected and analyzed and
considering other influential Twitter users for study. Gaining
in-person or direct access to the
celebrities included in the case study may prove difficult.
However, conducting an interview
with either a celebrity or their publicist may provide a peak
behind the carefully cultivated
‘authentic’ voices that are shared through Twitter. Muntean and
Petersen (2009) observed that
“Celebrity tweeting has been equated with the assertion of the
authentic celebrity voice.”
However, Ashton Kutcher’s case (Stein, 2012) demonstrates that the
danger or actual outcome of
a mis-tweet may present so great a risk to the celebrity and their
brand that they entrust the
tweets from their authorized twitter account to a third party.
While Marwick and Boyd (2011)
argue that social media has altered the practice of celebrity
management from a carefully
managed practice managed by public relations professionals into a
less structured process that
allows celebrities to interact more freely with their fans,
Kutcher’s experience demonstrates that
this may not be the case.
While Henderson observed that “contemporary celebrity is eons from
an age when heroes
were placed on pedestals: today, rather than reverential and
upward-looking, the perspective is
eye-to-eye” (2005, p. 46), this eye-to-eye perspective may be
illusory. Further research is
required to determine how Twitter has changed the nature of
communication between celebrities
and their fans, and how greatly this differs from established
public relations approaches which
emphasize distance and careful planning. In addition, increasing
the window of time from which
tweets are collected would increase the number of tweets available
for analysis and allow for a
greater sample size. Likewise, increasing the number of celebrities
chosen for case study would
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 36
provide a greater number of perspectives to consider. In addition,
considering different
demographics or groups of Twitter users, such as male musicians,
actresses or political
celebrities, will likely provide a different perspective.
Conclusions
Twitter has presented celebrities and their publicists with an
accessible and widely used
tool that can increase their well-knownness and strengthen their
personal brands (Hellmueller &
Aeschbacher, 2010). However, using Twitter has also generated new
challenges. Publicists have
been forced to consider new public relations strategies and
techniques. Celebrities who fail to
edit their tweets and carefully manage their social media brand
risk alienating the very fan-bases
they are working to maintain (Lozare, 2011; Stein, 2012).
Regardless of the risks that Twitter
creates for celebrity image management, celebrities and publicists
appear to be cautiously
adopting its use. Kaplan and Hainlein (2009) observed that
celebrities in the spotlight who
weren’t using social media platforms like Twitter were giving up an
important opportunity to
develop their brand. For celebrities like Taylor Swift, Rihanna and
Lady Gaga, the risk of doing
nothing to further their brand and maintain their ‘well-knownness’
may be greater than the
negative impact of an unpopular tweet.
Female Pop Singers and Twitter Usage 37
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