Personal branding can work wonders for a business as
it can create an approachable spokesman or ambassador with which
consumers can interact.
Ashton
Kutcher, noted as the most followed user on Twitter with over 2.3 million
followers, is a prime example of the effect
personal branding can have on a business – even an
unofficial endorsement.
"I found it astonishing that one person can
actually have as big of a voice online as what an entire media company can on
Twitter" said Ashton Kutcher in one of his many videos.
The American actor made headlines months ago by
challenging CNN.com to a race to 1 million Twitter followers, with others like Oprah Winfrey
also accepting the challenge.
Kutcher went on to say, “If I beat CNN to 1 million
viewers, then I would ding-dong ditch Ted Turner”.
The micro-blogging funny man volunteered to donate $10 000 towards the fight against malaria if
he won. Others, like Oprah publicly matched his contributions regardless of the
outcome of the race.
Holding
the Business Hostage
This publicity was great for Twitter, as millions flocked
the service after hearing about it on the news and in blogs and signed up in
order to hear what their favourite
celebrities have to say in a casual capacity.
But, being the poster boy for the service, Kutcher
caused a ruckus again when rumours surfaced that Twitter had given the green
light to the production of a reality TV game show in which users would track down celebrities via their Twitter feed. He and
other public figures threatened to abandon the service if it went ahead with
the production. Consumer generated media has the potential to bite back if not
very carefully monitored!
While a large percentage of Twitter adoption rates can
be attributed to Kutcher, Larry King and Oprah Winfrey, it’s interesting to see
how these celebrities can cause a stir in the hopes that the public will leave
with them if things became a little too
personal – leaving the service extremely
vulnerable.
"It's all fun and games until somebody gets stalked," stated one of Kutcher’s tweets.
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