10 Celebrities Using Social Media for Their Own Brands
Celebrity endorsements are not new - but celebrity influencers are leveraging social media to connect their brands with their fans
Celebrities are more visible than ever before. Social media has given them direct access to their audience, allowing them to connect with them on new levels.
Their posts can reach millions of followers to boost the top celebrities on social media into the realm of celebrity influencers.
Before social, celebrities were restricted to talk shows or interviews to attract attention outside of their careers, but now their social media content carries serious weight. And their personal audience can make a celebrity far more valuable.
For example, once upon a time a film had to grow interest through a trailer. Now, actors can gain instant interest in their latest film trailer directly from their fans on social media platform.
And aside from promoting their day job, celebrities have become creative in developing their side hustles and launching their own brands, turning their engagement into meaningful brand awareness and sales of their own products.
In this article, we’ll be taking a closer look at a handful of celebrities and their brands to see how they’re leveraging social media.
The power of celebrity influencers
Celebrity influencers can be a fantastic asset for bigger marketing campaigns with the budget for them, providing high levels of brand awareness in a short period of time due to their audience size.
The cost of a single post from a celebrity influencer can be incredibly high, depending on the size of the audience they have. For example, Cristiano Ronaldo earns an average of $3.2 million per instagram post.
However, it is worth noting that other influencer types can be more effective depending on what a business is trying to achieve, e.g. micro-influencers can be more cost-effective and better appeal to niche target audiences.
Social media makes celebrities and audiences feel closer
The direct-to-user content that social media offers provides a more personal touch than the professional side of celebrities. Some choose to peel back the curtain and show their home lives, while others showcase their niche hobbies which people might not expect.
While celebrity influencers are still performing a persona, as most of us are on social media, the extra degree of intimacy social media affords means we see celebrities on social media as more authentic.
Video content is sometimes more raw and authentic. Their latest updates can ping notifications to followers within an instant. Comments can create closer connections and feel like those interactions are more meaningful.
This way, celebrities are able to form even closer networks with their fans with their personal pages almost becoming hubs for followers to come together through – although this can evolve into potentially problematic parasocial relationships.
Celebrities are creating their own products to promote
Sponsorships and endorsements are nothing new to the world of celebrities. Neither are celebrity-owned businesses, but the rise of social media and e-commerce platforms has allowed more celebrities to find an audience for their own brands.
From celebrity alcohol brands touting a higher-quality production process, to celebrity make-up brands leveraging an artist’s aesthetic as an achievable result, almost every category has now seen celebrity influencers enter the ring.
More than a third of modern celebrity brands have been launched in 2020 or later, with this wave all benefitting from the popularity of Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, as well as the increased time spent on them.
Rather than promoting a product they’re not invested in, or simply doing for a lucrative deal, celebrities are able to fully endorse their own brands in a way that feels authentic. These brands also typically align with a celebrity’s personal brand too, showcasing something they’re passionate about – which is likely why they’ve chosen to launch a brand in that category.
Now, some of the top brands on social media are celebrity owned, providing great examples of how you can promote products and create greater brand awareness online.
The best celebrity brands on social media
Harry Styles & Pleasing
- Launched: November 2021
- Category: Celebrity beauty and apparel brand
The ex-One Direction star has a flourishing solo career now with an incredibly loyal fanbase. Harry Styles’ aesthetic is one of his big appeals, subverting expectations around heteronormative gender with a more fluid approach to fashion and self-presentation.
This has resonated with younger demographics who have been seen to view gender as less of a binary and more of a spectrum.
As an extension of this attitude, Styles founded the business Pleasing – a gender-neutral beauty and apparel brand. Everything from nail polish to fragrances is aimed at the individual, rather than conforming to the traditional categorisation of products. If you like it, then you can buy it without feeling it ‘isn’t meant for you’.
You can find Pleasing products appearing on Harry Styles’ personal page with 47.9 million followers. These are typically shown through glossy video production which matches his trademark aesthetic, giving his followers a chance to acquire a piece of his personal branding to make their own.
Although Pleasing has been quieter recently, the announcement of their new fragrance line brought online mentions up by over 4,000%, showing it has a strong following across the different social channels.
Logan Paul/KSI & PRIME Hydration
- Launched: January 2022
- Category: Celebrity drinks brand
After several boxing bouts that ignited discussions online, Logan Paul and KSI (real name Olajide William Olatunji) decided to co-launch their own sports drinks brand – PRIME. This harnessed the power of their combined fanbases behind one product, targeted at their younger followers through the pair’s strength as influencers and their network (such as SIDEMEN).
The product regularly sees both Paul and KSI taking to X and other platforms to announce new flavours and variations, drumming up a flurry of engagement and anticipation for the launch date.
When PRIME first launched in the UK with ASDA, shoppers flocked to the store to grab some of the limited stocks of the drink. The two social media stars have employed scarcity marketing as a key strategy, limiting supply to generate demand – so when it becomes available again, their audience is primed and ready to purchase.
Social media clips starring KSI or Paul will usually show a PRIME bottle somewhere within the video, carefully positioned to still feel authentic while being completely unmissable in the frame. This type of product placement can work as the product becomes a luxury lifestyle item, something that the two use in their own lives which their audience can access too.
Additionally, with Logan Paul signing with WWE as a wrestler back in June 2022, PRIME is also featured in product placement and sponsorships within WWE content to boost its brand awareness further.
Jessica Alba & The Honest Company
- Launched: 2012
- Category: Celebrity nursery and beauty brandWhile Jessica Alba starred in many blockbuster movies in the late 2000s and early 2010s, she took a step back from the spotlight to focus on becoming a mum to her daughter.
Inspired by the birth of her firstborn and her own experiences of chronic asthma and allergies as a child, she founded The Honest Company in 2012 after struggling to find safe, natural baby products. The brand started by creating a small range of products that don’t use petrochemicals and synthetic fragrances in their formula.
Honest has since diversified its product offering to also include make-up, skincare and cleaning products that commit to their wider mission and Honest Standard – offering sustainable, well-designed eco-friendly products that work.
As of April 2022, Alba now owns a minority stake in The Honest Company but is employed as their Chief Creative Officer and remains invested in the business. While The Honest Co. has encountered a number of obstacles, Alba continues to promote Honest products via social media.
You can often see these products tastefully featured in Alba’s TikTok content and Instagram Reels that follow the ‘get ready with me’ trend. Seeing that the star uses the products herself reinforces the authenticity behind the business’ mission, showing the results without feeling like direct sales content. She also keep the brand’s social media handles in her bio, tying her profile to the brand and keeping it immediately visible upon visiting her personal page.
Ryan Reynolds & Maximum Effort
- Launched: 2018
- Category: Celebrity production company
With an acting career spanning 30 years, from child actor to rom-com heartthrob through to action movie star, Ryan Reynolds is now also the poster boy for turning an acting career into a mogul empire.
Although we’ve tied him to Maximum Effort, his own production company and marketing agency, Reynolds has embarked on many successful business ventures – all of which have leveraged his personality on social media. These include, but aren’t limited to:
- Aviation Gin – A stake was acquired in February 2018, with part of the business sold to Diageo in August 2020. Reynolds maintains an ongoing ownership interest in the business.
- Mint Mobile – A stake was acquired in November 2019, then sold to T-Mobile in March 2023 but Reynolds remains a spokesperson in a creative role.
- Wrexham AFC – The club was purchased in partnership with Rob McElhenney in November 2020.
- Deadpool – While not brand, the film franchise has been heavily marketed using Reynolds as he has become synonymous with the comic book character.
These three brands have all featured heavily on Reynold’s social media feed, while also appearing within content produced for brand as well. While these are typically high-production quality videos, rather than off-the-cuff recordings, they all showcase Ryan Reynold’s trademark wit as their main selling point all directed straight down the lens.
The exception to this is in the case of Wrexham, where Reynolds and McElhenney’s celebrity status has been leveraged rather than their social media following. While they have produced videos for social media and viral moments of them attending games have generated interest, in addition to the Disney+ documentary, Wrexham’s identity remains separate from the two celebrities.
Ryan Reynolds has elevated each of these brands via his own personal branding and public perception. Because they all feel aligned with Reynolds, the promotion of each business feels like an extension of him – and therefore more authentic despite being more direct than other celebrity brand owners.
Rihanna & Fenty Beauty
- Launched: September 2017
- Category: Celebrity beauty brand
The second-best-selling female artist of all time Rihanna – full name Robyn Rihanna Fenty – started her musical career in the early 2000s and has released numerous acclaimed albums since.
Throughout her career, she has also taken on several business ventures – with her main personal project being Fenty, covering several categories:
- Fenty Beauty – A cosmetic brand launched under LVMH’s Kendo Brands, launched September 2017
- Savage X Fenty – A lingerie brand launched May 2018
- Fenty – A fashion brand developed under LVMH, launched May 2019 and closed in 2021
- Fenty Skin – A skincare brand launched July 2020
The message behind each of these ventures has been one of inclusion. Rihanna’s brands have approached these categories in a way that includes all women, such as Fenty Beauty releasing shades for all skin tones. This has now been dubbed the “Fenty Effect” as major brands have followed suit.
During this period, Rihanna hasn’t released any new music but has continued to create promotional material for her brands, as well as being active on social media.
Rihanna actively chose to use her surname ‘Fenty’ for the branding to keep her business and music careers separate, yet the two still come together within the social content she creates. The image she’s curated during the last two decades acts as a canvas for her products to shine, interspersing behind-the-scenes content and the more personal content with her using Fenty products.
Interestingly, swapping over the Fenty Beauty socials shows a mix of both Rihanna and other users making use of the products. This positions Rihanna as a strong proponent of her own brand, but she also brings in user-generated content as testimonials – adding further authenticity to further the brand’s positive perception around inclusive beauty.
Hila and Ethan Klien & Teddy Fresh
- Launched: October 2017
- Category: Celebrity streetwear brand
While successfully piloting their YouTube channel h3h3 Productions and transitioning into the world of podcasting, Ethan and Hila Klein launched their own apparel line named Teddy Fresh.
Although h3h3 Productions is now defunct, having shifted focus onto The H3 Podcast instead, both have been used to promote the streetwear brand. Inspired by 90s fashion with more colourful, playful designs, Teddy Fresh clothing has become popular among the Kleins’ fanbase.
The shift from a focus on content to a more diverse business portfolio came about when YouTube changed its approach to video monetisation through advertising.
By creating a brand that both creators were invested in, the two were able to organically promote the brand on the podcast. Both Hila and Ethan can also frequently be seen wearing the apparel within their own social posts. This symbiotic relationship between their content and brand serves as a way for fans to support the podcast.
In an interview with Hila Klein, Teddy Fresh’s CEO and Principle Designer, she mentioned how their fanbase gave them the opportunity to make this venture possible. As they grew their audience organically, the authentic connection with them meant that support for Teddy Fresh came naturally.
Its popularity has also allowed them to take on interesting collaborative projects, such as Spongebob Squarepants, Care Bears, Elton John and Godzilla.
Selena Gomez & Rare Beauty
- Launched: September 2020
- Category: Celebrity beauty brand
Having made successful careers as both an actress and musical artist, Selena Gomez has also had a number of business ventures that have excelled. The ex-Disney star has an incredibly high profile online and has claimed the title of the most followed woman on Instagram with 429 million followers.
Gomez launched Rare Beauty after being inspired by her third album, Rare, with the intention of dismantling unrealistic beauty standards. With so many beauty brands appearing flawless, Gomez wanted to change this narrative with her company through a more inclusive approach with shades that suit all ethnicities.
Now one of the fastest-growing celebrity beauty brands out there on social media, Selena Gomez can be seen highlighting Rare products as part of her regular social media content.
Whether it’s attending launch parties or simply using the products as part of her routine, the Rare brand is incorporated into authentic-feeling posts rather than disrupting her feeds with specific sales content.
Things may change if she decides to sell the brand in the future, but she has stated she will remain committed to the company – which will likely involve continued posting on her personal social channels.
The brand also acts as an extension of Gomez’s own philanthropic mission, as Rare Beauty supports a number of mental health initiatives. This is done through Rare Impact – a social impact program aimed at reducing stigma around mental health issues, which also ties into Gomez’s social content.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson & Teramana Tequila
- Launched: 2020
- Category: Celebrity drinks brand
The Rock has been well-known in the social media sphere for quite some time, having come up through WWE (WWF at the time) and made a name for himself within the acting world.
His athletic prowess has netted him a number of sponsorships and collaborations over the years, including Under Armour and their Project 1 Sneaker which sold out in 30 minutes. But in 2020, he launched his first personal brand – Teremana Tequila.
This venture into small batch tequila had founder Johnson taking to social media to promote the product’s launch and features heavily in the promotional material for the brand, without detracting from its own identity.
In the years since, The Rock has followed this with the launch of another drinks brand in ZOA Energy. With the strapline ‘Big Dwayne Energy’, The Rock is interwoven with the product’s proposition and has become an integral part of the marketing.
More recently, he’s also moved into celebrity skincare with Papatui which launched March 2024. Like the other products mentioned, The Rock is shown on his socials to be enjoying the personal use of Papatui while also including customer testimonials – as seen more within the beauty social content space.
Things have also now come full-circle for Johnson too, as he has now also received an equity stake in TKO Holdings – now owner of WWE – and serves on their board of directors. The Rock’s return to WWE coincided with this and now appears frequently on his social media pages to promote the different bouts.
Emma Chamberlain & Chamberlain Coffee
- Launched: December 2019
- Category: Celebrity drinks brands
Having become the internet’s It Girl through her YouTube blogs, which started back in June 2016, Emma Chamberlain is now a household name among younger users of social media. Her authenticity shone through across social media, prompting a change in how users respond to influencers that we’re still seeing today.
Despite her age, she’s done a lot in her eight years in the spotlight, having gone from solely producing YouTube content into a more diverse offering – including producing her own podcast, Say Anything, and partnering with innovative brands.
Within this shift, Chamberlain launched her own mail-order coffee brand – Chamberlain Coffee – which carries her personality through into her products. She stars in the brand’s YouTube videos on how to make different drinks, with that same promotional material also being posted on her personal social channels. You can also spy Chamberlain Coffee products in her YouTube videos in a traditional product placement fashion.
While Chamberlain has stated that running a coffee business is something she has regretted before, she’s also shown an aptitude for it after acquiring $14 million in venture capital funding – with $7 million of that for a new ready-to-drink product line.
Mr Beast & Feastables
- Launched: January 2022
- Category: Celebrity food brands
Arguably the most well-known YouTube personality on the internet, Jimmy ‘Mr Beast’ Donaldson has shaped the content on the platform through his popular uploads over the last decade.
As his philanthropic giveaway videos and challenges grew in popularity, as did the advertising revenue associated with them. After doing a number of sponsorships for other businesses, he decided to create his own brand so he could promote his own product instead.
Feastables now brings in $500 million in annual revenue, accounting for 70% of his total revenue, in a completely separate stream to Donaldson’s YouTube content. The ambition behind this is that it will remove the need to promote other company’s products so that his content can be self-sufficient.
Feastables bars are typically incorporated into his Mr Beast videos in some way, such as providing contestants with one as a token prize even if they don’t manage to beat a challenge. This product placement forms a very small portion of each video, but is still key to how Donaldson brings it into his core content.
While YouTube is still Mr Beast’s most dominant platform, you’ll still see Feastables promoted across Instagram and X as well. Due to supply issues caused by the bar’s popularity, Donaldson will typically take to X to inform his audience that they’ve sold out. This further amplifies their market appeal, as more people want to try his take on a well-loved product.
These examples showcase just a few of the ways that celebrity influencers bring their brands into their content on social media as part of a marketing strategy. While some stick with tried and tested methods, such as clear branded posts cross-posted on personal and brand channels, others have tried to be more creative with how they’re shown.
Each one also serves as a great example of how authenticity is constructed within these promotions. Yes, it’s easier in some ways as they own these brands, but their methods still need to be flawless for the brands to not feel like some form of cash-grab.
The key to finding the authenticity sweet spot is consistency, with celebrity influencers making their own products part of their personal brand. This creates a more positive sentiment than a brand simply created as another revenue stream – instead, it’s something that a celebrity is genuinely proud to endorse. Their voices align, as do their values, to create a valuable extension of both brands.
This is something you can carry through into your own work with influencers. While celebrity influencers typically carry a rather large price tag, you can often get better results by working with influencers suited to the size and specific niche of your business. That way, your audience demographics can better align and you can find someone who truly matches the values and voice of your brand.