The Intersection Of Social Media And Pop Culture

Why do popular entertainers and musical groups bother putting social media page sites together? Aren’t they busy enough already without all the time-consuming interaction required for social media? It’s true, most of these entertainers do not have a lot of free time to devote to developing their FaceBook pages or keeping up with Twitter. They get involved because  social media offers them an incredible opportunity to engage and make an immediate connection with their fans.

A popular social media site can allow audio streaming of song clips, the displaying of current music videos, an online blog and photo galleries. Such tools can offer an immediate connection between musicians and their fans. Popular social media sites offer instant connectivity, so entertainers (or their agents) can update a social media page from anywhere they can get an Internet connection, including Wi-Fi hotspots.

Just as important as using social media is the way in which entertainers use it. So many musicians and bands use Macs, such as Aerosmith, Bare Naked Ladies, Beastie Boys, Def Leppard, Duran Duran, the Grateful Dead, Ice T, Madonna, Mannheim Steamroller, Carly Simon, Sting, U2 and others, in the production and recording of their music that it is not surprising that many turn to Apple’s sleek and sophisticated products to keep their social network sites updated as well.

There are third party Mac OS X offerings to make this easier. Socialite is one such application, and it provides an attractive interface to the most popular social networking services.  Alternatively, Flock is a free web browser for Mac or PC specifically optimized for keeping up with one’s favorite social networks.

Obviously some of the top bands have some help from their agents or publicists in getting everything online and updated. Nevertheless, the point is that they all have a clear understanding of the importance of the online community and the fact that it provides an incredible marketing mechanism by which to keep fans engaged.

Links from a social media site to the entertainer’s main site can result in additional revenue by spurring product purchases. Not only can bands promote their current albums, but they can advertise items such as hats, sweatbands, T-shirts, posters and any other branded items they offer.

Such online publicity allows musicians to let fans know all of their latest news and significant achievements as well is offering information on the prerelease sale of new projects. And the fans respond. They post replies, ask questions, and post messages on the bands’ fan pages.

The world of social media has in many ways allowed entertainers to be viewed by fans as approachable and friendly. Entertainers become less mysterious, and attending their concerts become more like social events in which concertgoers feel like they are gathering with friends. In a sense, social media levels the playing field between the famous and not so famous. The social media environment becomes an odd mix of entertainment report, reality TV and fan base.

The historic phenomenon of the success of pop culture is made even more meaningful to fans through the use of this up-close and personal approach. The profound cultural dynamics of social media give the genre a unique marketing potential to properly motivated groups and individuals.

Marketing has always been about keeping one’s product in the public consciousness. Social media allows pop stars to keep their past, present and future offerings constantly in front of fans. The goal of social media is not to render traditional fan sites obsolete, but to provide a supplement and funnel to them. Some fans may not think of visiting their favorite bands personal websites until they run across those bands on their favorite social media sites.

Social media provides another point of connection for fans as well as their friends and families, either as a one-stop-shop or as a waypoint for the give-and-take of information and feedback. You might get the impression that the Mac is the forgotten stepchild of the Internet marketing industry. But did you know that some of the top names in Internet Marketing use Macs? You can visit http://internetmacmarketing.com and get a  FREE 75-page ebook that covers everything you need to know about running your Internet business using a Mac, iPhone and iPad.