The Beatles of Our Generation

The music industry has changed dramatically due to the presence of social media. Social media has removed many barriers of communication from the musicians to the fans. Now, musicians can share their songs via social media to reach millions, or even billions, of fans. Recently, Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, gave an acceptance speech at the Golden Globes. In his speech, Glover gave a shout-out to the rap group Migos for "making Bad and Boujee", claiming that "it was the best song ever". Moreover, Gambino called the group the Beatles of the current generation, sparking interests worldwide online. Now, there is even a petition to replace Lady Gaga with Migos during the halftime of Super Bowl 51!

Migos' song, Bad and Boujee, needed no help in boosting awareness or recognition. Before the speech, Bad and Boujee held the billboard's number one song spot for weeks, via views on Youtube, Spotify, and iTunes. The speech alone created an additonal increase of 243% Spotty streams. The video of Glover's acceptance speech went viral on social media and allowed the song's ratings to increase even further. Social media has revolutionized and serve as a catalyst for the music industry. With the internet, artists have more control over their music. Current, popular artists can reach a broader audience, whereas upcoming and aspiring artists can become more known by sharing their music via social media. 

                            

Super Bowl 51

On February 5, 2017, Super Bowl 51 will be played in Houston Texas, featuring the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. In 2016, more than 111.9 million viewers watched the Super Bowl in the United States. The Super Bowl consistently stands as one of the most watched sporting events in the world. Whether you truly like watching football or not, most viewers enjoy watching the Super Bowl every year for one reason.

Why? 

The commercial advertisements.

According to USA Today, in 2016, the television network, CBS, charged $5 million per advertisement, which is $166,666 per second, for just 30 seconds! Brands use a significant portion of their marketing budgets to display advertisements during the Super Bowl, because it is an unusual time where viewers are looking forward to the commercials, as opposed to being cynical about advertisements. With the increasing importance of social media, brands use platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and even Snapchat to strengthen, or weaken, their campaigns digitally. It is imperative that brands engage with the audience via social media to have a successful campaign during the Super Bowl.

Always keep in mind that your campaign should be shared effectively through social media. Last Super Bowl, T-Mobile's advertisement, featuring Drake dancing to Hotline Bling, generated about 80,000 shares on social media using the hashtag #YouGotCarriered, before the game even began!

For 2017, social media today offers a "gameplan" to make the most out of the Super Bowl 51. First, brands should post their advertisements before the game begins to get more viewers. Second, brand should engage more online during the first and second quarters of the game, when viewers are searching for the advertisements more on the internet. Finally, use other forms of media and applications to boost awareness to your ads, for example, banner ads on Facebook.

Athletes In The Public Eye

     Professional athletes live in the public eye, constantly criticized for every move they make. Due to the popularity and dominant presence of social media, athletes use social platforms to create their "personal brand" online (off the court, field, etc), contributing to their overall reputation.

     In the National Football League, the Pittsburgh Steelers' wide receiver Antonio Brown uses social media to display his flamboyant personality online, that is also displayed on the field through his style of play and touchdown celebrations. Specifically, in the 2015 season, Antonio Brown celebrated a 71-yard punt return by jumping on the goal post. Not only did the celebration go viral in 2015, but also is still shared on social media by both fans and Antonio Brown himself (Instagram post shown in picture).

     Antonio Brown continues to push boundaries on social media, and some of his actions can be seen as controversial. On January 15, 2017, after the Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, Brown went live on Facebook sharing the team locker room talk. The video includes Mike Tomlin motivating the team for the upcoming playoff game against the New England Patriots. However, the video included quotes from Tomlin about the Patriots, that ideally want to be kept behind closed doors. Despite the decision by Brown to share the video online, the Steelers players still support him stating "AB is AB. He can do what he wants to do... We love AB" (sportingnews.com). Even though the video got taken down quickly, thousands of viewers were able to see the content due to the power of social media. This content reflects upon the reputation of not only Antonio Brown, but also his teammates and coach, Mike Tomlin. Therefore, social media is seen as a power tool in influencing people's opinions. Overall, professional athletes, need to use social media to market themselves how they want to be seen in the public eye. Even though Antonio Brown has made controversial decisions both online and offline, he continues to stay true to himself and market his own "personal brand" and spontaneous personality. He engages with the public on social media, and markets himself as an entertainer as both a player and an individual.