Abstract
The rise of social media has revolutionised how celebrities construct and promote their personal brands, emphasising celebrity vulnerability and direct audience participation (Archer et al., 2024). This study examines the relationship between brand resonance and celebrity vulnerability in the South African music industry's digital sphere, with a focus on the platform X (formerly Twitter). Specifically, the study examines how South African music industry celebrities strategically utilise personal disclosures and emotional expressions to enhance fan interactions and foster long-term brand loyalty. Guided by Keller’s (2001) brand resonance theory, strategic communication, and stakeholder engagement theory.
The study adopted a qualitative exploratory design. The data comprised publicly available tweets from five prominent South African musicians. These tweets were extracted using TWCommentExport and thematically analysed using Comma Separated Values (CSV) spreadsheets following an inductive thematic approach to identify patterns of vulnerability, authenticity, and fan engagement. The findings reveal that celebrity vulnerability functions as both a personal expression and a strategic communication practice. SAMIC’s use X to share experiences of mental health struggles, grief, industry pressures, and personal resilience, transforming private pain into public authenticity. These disclosures proved to strengthen brand salience, enhance brand imagery, reinforce brand performance, and deepen brand resonance. Fans actively co-create meaning by engaging empathetically with these narratives, illustrating that brand resonance emerges through shared vulnerability and participatory storytelling.
The study concludes that celebrity vulnerability has indeed become a cornerstone of modern celebrity branding in South Africa’s digital music landscape. It bridges emotional distance between artists and fans, reframing weaknesses as strengths and transforming authenticity into a source of enduring brand equity. The research contributes to the growing academic conversations on strategic communication, digital celebrity culture, and emotional branding, while offering practical insights for brand managers, artists, and communication professionals seeking to cultivate meaningful relationships with their audiences in the social media era.