VIP Class Notes (Vicki)
Reading
Have you ever been on social media and seen your favourite celebrity talking about a product? These endorsements might not be totally random, and are actually seen as a vital part of the marketing process. The question is: How do social media influencers ‘influence’ what you buy?
Human desire for status and making friends, combined with our need to belong to a group, make us susceptible to being ‘socially influenced’. Companies often use that desire to have a similar lifestyle to a celebrity we admire to hawk or launch a product. So, what do these endorsements actually do?
Firstly, they can be used to build brand awareness. A social media influencer should have a strong understanding of the platform they operate on, and therefore can create engaging content that not only adheres to the brand image, but sparks their followers’ interests in a product they might never have seen before.
So, the next time you see a celebrity talking about a product, you might want to consider that this could be a carefully crafted marketing strategy designed to target your core needs. If you find yourself perusing a product you’ve seen on social media, you may well have been influenced.
Vocabulary
crafted – make
peruse – examine carefully
celebrity – ming xing
vital – important
endorsement – when a celebrity represent a product (dai yan)
random (adj.)- not in order (sui ji de)
be seen as sth. – be thought as …..
social media influencer – KOL – Key Opinion Leader (wang hong)
desire (v./n.) – wish
status (n.) – 社会地ä½
combine (v.) – to put two things together
susceptible (adj.) – easily, vulnerable
peer pressure – pressure to conform to a social norm
peer – friends
hawk (v.)- announce and sell
launch (v.) – fa bu
awareness (n.) – zhi min du
operate – use
i.e. She is operating that machine right now.
therefore – so
engaging (adj.) – interactive
i.e. This movie was very engaging with small children.
engage (v.) – hu dong
i.e. She always engages with the audience when she sings.
adhere (v.) – stick to
spark (v.) – chu fa
consider – think about
Pronunciation
igh – [ai]
Speaking exercise
Tell me about an endorsement that you remember
Maybe recently, a self-heat hot pot named “zi hai guo”. Yu Shu Xin endorsed the product. Yu Shu Xin was always dancing in this promotion video. I think it’s funny.
Grammar
be verbs -> state / emotion
I am hurt.
You are hungry.
He is sad.
have -> something we can grab
I have a pen.
She has her parents.
Homework
Review vocab and write one sentence for each word
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