VMA 2017: Winner Reactions via Instagram
MTV's Video Music Awards (VMA's) call for a lot of excitement in the entertainment industry. Musicians come together to celebrate a year of new music, videos, choreography, and artists. With this event, both those attending the event and those watching on television post on all forms of social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and more. Fans were found tweeting and posting on their Facebook walls while many artists posted several photos on Instagram.
Khalid, named Best New Artist, posted a total of four Instagrams regarding the VMA's. First, he posted a picture before the event expressing his excitement to attend and be a nominee. After being announced Best New Artist, he posted the following:
Following the show, the artist posted two more Instagram photos. One of these was captioned: "Living my best life! @mtv @vmas". Through Khalid's posts, you can see his excitement both before, during, and after the event. Not only does this help market MTV, but also himself. Through his nomination and award, the artist gained exposure to those who may not have heard his music previous to the event.
Similarly, Ed Sheeran posted four times on Instagram. However, his posts differed in the fact that some posts pertained to other people. During the show, Sheeran was named Artist of the Year. Following his acceptance speech, he posted:
Through each of Sheeran's posts, you are able to see his humility. Through this marketing, he can attract certain kinds of fans and listeners. One of his posts even mentioned another artist as it is captioned: "Chance's jumper was the real winner". This post honors an artist in another genre, Chance the Rapper. This could open up possibilities to new fans that may admire him for his genuine character and relationships with other artists.
Not all artists posted to social media. The biggest winner of the VMA's could be named rapper Kendrick Lamar. Lamar was awarded five different awards: Video of the Year, Best Hip Hop, Best Art Direction, Best Direction, and Best Visual Effects. As other artists may have boasted in this through their social media accounts, Lamar did not post anything online regarding his accomplishments. His last post on Instagram was shared on August 26th and second to last on July 27th. As a new Instagram member, Lamar only first began to post on April 11th, 2017, and he mostly posts about his new album "DAMN." with simple captions of "#THEDAMNTOUR". Lamar shows his social media style through the rarity and simplicity of his posts. This could market to a certain type of fan base that he is aiming for.
As the VMA's came to an end, each social media account was able to market specific artists, songs, videos, the VMA's, and MTV. Through the various amounts of posts on each site, each attendee, nominee, and winner was granted some sort of publicity and exposure. This could greatly affect not only their celebrity status, but also success as a musician.
I agree with your post! It is seriously crazy how much attention and recognition and MONEY companies make and lose because of a single post at a single given time during a single event. I can only imagine how different things would be if this generation of people and fame was flip flopped with the generation, culture, and celebrities in the 1970's, how different times would be both to them and to our generation. Success is literally created with the click of a button, and TV, sponsors, the VMA's, and all participants involved definitely got a lot more successful in different ways because of last night. I didn't even watch the program, yet basically know everything that happened soon after because of social media platforms!
ReplyDeleteI watched the VMA's, but didn't even think to look at the winners' social media posts! It's crazy how much social media has an effect on artists. A majority of their fanbases are on social media, so it makes sense that they would want to keep everyone in the loop by posting. I can only imagine that many artists, especially Khalid since this was his first VMA's, will get immense fame from their awards. Great article and perspective!
ReplyDeleteThis is incredible! Like Nicole said, I never even thought about looking at the winner's social media posts and other celebrities reacting to the people who won. It is amazing to think that fame can be determined by the click of a button. The artists that won last night will gain a surreal amount of attention and followers on social media from people who both watched the show and didn't. Great article!
ReplyDeleteWell made and in depth synopsis of the social media usage of these music icons. It's interesting to see not only who posted what (or didn't post at all), but also how the verbage in their posts reflect a bit about both the artist themselves, and even their digital marketing strategy. The amount of thought that can go into a simple instagram post or tweet when you're a celebrity is crazy. I look forward to seeing how you cover various events in the music industry going forward, especially since the voice is coming up, and they're masters of social media marketing!
ReplyDeleteIf you're interested, I'll be covering what it takes to be a successful startup artist through social media, and will be covering the humble beginnings of several popular modern artists, as well as sharing tips and tricks to becoming one yourself that I've gleaned over a few years of research. Head on over to entreprenartistblog.wordpress.com and give it a looksee!