Three years ago, at the age of 19, I stumbled upon a ridiculous catchy pop music video on YouTube:
“These guys are kind of cute. Let’s watch this next video too, and then I’ll get back to my paper,” I thought. 4 hours and 20-odd videos later, I had learned everything there was to know about One Direction, a teenybopper boyband from the UK. I knew I was getting way too old for this celebrity-stalking-obsession stuff (especially for a group of 5 guys younger than myself), but I couldn’t help it – Harry Styles and his head of curly brown locks had officially stolen my heart. I quickly followed all of the guys on Twitter and Instagram, and any fan groups on whatever social networking site I could. This is what truly opened my eyes to the power of social networking.
Quick Glance at One Direction on Social Media today:
Twitter followers: One Direction 21.3M; Harry Styles 22.6M; Niall Horan 20.4M; Zayn Malik 13.5M; Louis Tomlinson 17.9M; Liam Payne 18.5M
Facebook: 37,057,595 likes
Instagram followers: One Direction 7.1M; Harry Styles 9.6M; Niall Horan 8.3M; Louis Tomlinson 3.9M; Liam Payne 3.5M; Zayn does not have a public Instagram account
YouTube (OneDirectionVevo): 14.4M subscribers, 3.4 billion views
How did 5 small-town UK boys who came 3rd place on the UK X Factor become such a global phenomenon? According to Mark Hardy, the former marketing director of Syco/Sony Music Entertainment, it all came down to democratization. Unlike many other celebrities who are positioned as unattainable and out of reach “demi-gods”, One Direction was positioned so that their fans felt like they were one of their friends – attainable and accessible 24/7. The boys underwent extensive social media training and interacted with their fans daily on social media.
“It was all about interaction, collaboration and content,” says Hardy. “Showcasing the fans rather than the boys themselves.”
Twitter became a huge communication platform for One Direction. A campaign called #Bring1Dtome encouraged US fans to call radio stations and request 1D’s first single, What Makes You Beautiful. The single sold 130000 copies entered the top 10 of the iTunes chart without any airplay in one week. Fans referred to the boys as “our boys”. Fans felt connected to them – this was a connection that fans of the Backstreet Boys or the Spice Girls didn’t have the chance to enjoy 15 years ago.
This powerful emotional connection, combined with the lightning speed that word travels on social media, are what propelled One Direction straight into the hearts and minds of millions of teenage girls (and boys) around the world.