SOCIAL networking can be a powerful tool for celebrities, and no one knows that better than Rihanna. The 24-year-old pop singer tweets a lot. She not only encourages her fans to buy her music and watch her videos, she lets them in on her daily life, posting photos of her friends and family.
Sometimes, she shares a little too much. She’s tweeted pictures of herself at a strip club and more than one shot that looked like the star was doing drugs. She happily curses a blue streak on Twitter. Wjhen MTV tweeted: “Yikes. @rihanna’s marijuana photos from Coachella spark controversy,” the star tweeted back: “@MTV Yikes … @rihanna ran out of ***** to give.”
Rihanna’s Facebook page is mostly a rehash of what she puts on Twitter, plus promotional material like plugs for her upcoming episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter. She has 59.6 million fans on Facebook and 23.8 million followers on Twitter, putting her at the top of our list of Social Networking Superstars.
We looked at the celebrities with the most Twitter followers and Facebook fans and added the numbers together to come up with our ranking. Most of the top 10 also made our Celebrity 100 list, which is a ranking based on earnings and buzz. Rihanna placed fourth on the Celebrity 100 with an estimated $53 million in earnings between May 2011 and May 2012.
The No. 2 Social Networking Superstar is Last Gaga, who also landed in the top 10 of our Celebrity 100, ranking fifth with $52 million in earnings. With 28 million followers on Twitter and 53 million Facebook fans, she’s close on Rihanna’s social media heels. Gaga uses her Twitter feed to tell her Little Monsters about upcoming albums, tour dates and what she’s eating. Gaga got in trouble earlier this year when she tweeted: “Just killed back to back spin classes. Eating a salad dreaming of a cheeseburger #PopStarsDontEat #IWasBornThisWay.”
Although her tweet was refreshingly honest in a world where stars perpetuate the myth that they look the way they do just by eating egg whites and grilled chicken, it caused a stir because Gaga has been vocal in trying to get young girls to avoid the eating disorders she suffered as a teen. It didn’t turn off her followers though. Gaga is the most-followed celebrity on Twitter.
Almost all of the stars on our list are young pop singers. Soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, in seventh place, is the only athlete to crack the top 10. Eric Peterson, of Twitalyzer, says that pop stars tend to have the most followers because young musicians jumped on the social networking bandwagon before celebrities in other industries like film and television. There’s only one actress on our list, Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place), and she is as well-known for her singing career as for her acting.
“Lots of these folks are more active in the medium,” says Peterson of the pop stars, “staying engaged and giving their audience something to respond to.”
Most of these stars give their fans plenty to respond to by retweeting or sharing personal thoughts and photos. Eminem, who ranks third on our list, is a little more restrained than some of his peers. His main platform is Facebook where he has the most fans of any of our Social Networking Superstars: 60.3 million. But his feed tends to be heavily promotional with videos and plugs for the artists on his Shady Records label.
Justin Bieber, who ranks fourth with 26 million Twitter followers and 45.8 million Facebook fans, is more interactive with his online fans. He knows he has them to thank for his fame. Bieber was discovered on YouTube and is a child of social networking. He keeps his fans close by retweeting them and sharing pictures and thoughts from his travels. He’s also generous about listening to his fans. He follows 123,143 people. Rihanna follows only 843 people. – Forbes
Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez
Twitter followers: 12.3 million
Facebook fans: 33 million
Gomez is no dummy. She uses the power of her social network to promote Postcard On The Run, a company she's an investor in that has an app that lets you turn iPhone photos into snail-mail postcards. It's nice for fans though because it means the young pop star posts photos from her vacations and tours including some with her boyfriend, Justin Bieber.
Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Twitter followers: 7.9 million
Facebook fans: 40 million
The hip-hop star likes to take keep his social media feeds clean. Right now on Twitter and Facebook he has mostly photos and congratulations messages to the Olympic winners and retweets from fans telling him how much they love his music.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Twitter followers: 17 million
Facebook fans: 33.6 million
Yet another young pop star on our list. Swift, who excels at writing songs that seem to honestly reflect the struggles of being a young girl in love, uses social media to get closer to her fans by posting photos of things like her cat and her coffee cup. Like many celebrities, she reserves her Facebook page for more straightforward promotional items.
Christiano Ronaldo
Christiano Ronaldo
Twitter followers: 12 million
Facebook fans: 47.5 million
The Portuguese soccer star is the most popular athlete on social media. He doesn't tweet often and his posts are mostly humble notes about how grateful he is for his fans and to be playing soccer. His Facebook page features the same content but fans can see photos of the Real Madrid star without having to click through.
Shakira
Shakira
Twitter followers: 17.6 million
Facebook fans: 52.5 million
The Colombian pop star is one of the most popular celebrities on Facebook with 52.5 million fans. She uses her page not only to promote her newest music and videos but to post vacation photos like the ones she recently took on a trip to the south of France. She posts on Twitter and Facebook in both Spanish and English.
Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Twitter followers: 24.5 million
Facebook fans: 45.7 million
Like the other young pop stars on this list, Perry makes excellent use of Twitter, talking to her fans and share funny photos and videos in a way that makes them all feel like Perry is their best buddy. Her Facebook page is more of a promotional site.
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Twitter followers: 26 million
Facebook fans: 45.8 million
Bieber owes his fame to social networking. He was discovered on YouTube and the young singer never forgets his fans. He retweets them and posts notes from his travels and photo shoots. His Facebook page is mostly used for his latest videos and to promote things like Playbutton, an album on a pin.
Eminem
Eminem
Twitter followers: 11.9 million
Facebook fans: 60.3 million
The rapper has the most Facebook fans of any celebrity on our list. He ranks third because he doesn't have as many follower on Twitter as some other stars. That might be because for the most part, Eminem's tweets are promotional, not personal.
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga
Twitter followers: 28 million
Facebook fans: 53 million
With 28 million Little Monsters following her, Lady Gaga is the most popular celebrity on Twitter. She uses her feed to whip her fans into frenzies announcing record drops, concert dates and things like her new fragrance that smells of "blood and semen."
Rihanna
Rihanna
Twitter followers: 23.8 million
Facebook fans: 59.6 million
Rihanna tops our list as the star with the most followers and fans. The 24-year-old singer makes good use of social media, tweeting often and controversially. She curses and posts photos of herself partying in places like strip clubs. She came under fire in April when she posted photos that looked like she was using drugs.