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