Celebrities & Apps

Social Media is more useful and powerful than ever right now. Celebrities are constantly creating and thinking of new ways to take their personal brands to the next level. Kicking things up a few notches, app developers are collaborating with celebrities to create a new type of celebrity branding and public relations with the personal brand app. According to the Daily News, the average smartphone contains 41 apps that its owner uses on a regular basis. By the end of 2013 it is estimated that there will be 1.82 billion active smartphones in use globally and within the next two years, more than 89 billion apps will have been downloaded.

Billboard features a story on Trey Songz “Reinventing the Fan Club” in its May 11^th issue. Trey Songz is a super talented singer-songwriter and actor. In November 2012, he launched the app called “Trey Songz – The Angel Network (TAN).” The creators of the Los Angeles startup Handmade Mobile Entertainment brought the app to life. The app works like this:

*Join chat rooms or converse through private messages with members or buy/spend 100 credits to send Trey Songz a private message.

*Buy credits and send Trey's Angels gifts to make friends.

*Bid credits and get your profile picture on the Instant VIP board for six hours. The higher you bid, the higher your position becomes. It's highly possible that Trey will give you a shout out or send you a message or gift.

*Contests are posted quite often for chances to win concert tickets, prizes, meet & greets and more.

Billboard states that The Angel Network app earns move than 50K a month. Today there are 50,694 members on the network's app. Songz could potentially make $250,000 a month in gross sales if he could get 300,000 of his 15 + million followers on other social networks to join TAN, according to estimates from Handmade Mobile.

I’m a Trey Songz fan and I downloaded the app on its debut but I use it sporadically. The Billboard article neglected to mention that all the money earned from the app goes towards Songz’s “Angel with Heart Foundation.” Also, you can enjoy the app perfectly without spending any money. Members can earn points by making posts and sharing them via Facebook and Twitter. Gaining new followers will earn you points also. Spending money on gifts and bidding on VIP spots are just perks. 

It will only be a matter of time before more celebrities join the movement and create apps of their own.