Specular Economy: Celebrity

David Marshall defines that there is an expansion of celebrity culture outward. Through new media forms, greater portions of the populace are now constructing online public personas. The best way to understand this proliferation of the public presentation of the self is through the term specular, a two-way mirror of projection on to the screen and the circulation of and interaction with those images and texts into the wider world. What is now well-developed is a specular economy whose foundations are derived from the much longer tradition of celebrity culture and whose repercussions relate to an emerging comfortability with a society of surveillance. It is no surprise to see that celebrities are in fact at the forefront of the expansion and use of social media and networks for reputation management (Marshall, 2010, p. 500)

Treating Their Fans Like Friends

 One of the biggest ways celebrities use social media to build their brand is by getting closer to their fans. Using Twitter or Instagram gives a star the chance to talk to his or her fans in a relatively safe environment. Since people love "talking to" their favorite stars, this endears celebrities to their adoring hoards even more. A retweet from someone you love is cause for celebration and it makes you think the stars you love really are just like you.

Dealing in Self-Promotion

Social media is ideal for self-promotion, and it doesn't take a lot. Daily tweets, status updates, or photos keep celebrities in the public eye. A lot of them make use of several platforms all at once so they can keep all their fans updated, even the fans who don't use Instagram or Twitter. They'll share their activities, their plans, and information about upcoming projects to keep people in the know.

Making Themselves More Relevant

Sometimes, for whatever reason, a celebrity falls out of favour. Just a few years ago, that pretty much spelled the end. Once people stopped talking about you, it was time to consider yourself finished with the fame game. These days, there's hardly any such thing as "washed up." Sometimes celebrities don't even have to do the work themselves to get back in the spotlight.

Changing the Public's Mind

On a similar note, many celebrities also find social media beneficial in rebuilding their brand. It doesn't always work, but celebrities who have committed some sort of error in the public eye will often take to their social media accounts to apologize, explain themselves, or otherwise atone for their actions. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it works well.

Promoting Their Own Interests

Celebrities are brands unto themselves. Whether they make music, star in movies and television shows, or write books, celebrities aren't just people. However, they often have outside interests that make money for them too.

Hiring Smart Social Media Managers

Not all celebrities share social media updates themselves. Some choose to cross-post, so what goes up on Twitter shows up on other platforms. Others stick mostly to Twitter or Facebook and hire a social media manager to update their other profiles with news about their daily lives and careers.

Marshall D, 2010, The Specular Economy, Springer Science and Business Media, pp.499.