If you want a stellar example of the use of social media (the term used to describe websites that invite users to collaborate and share), look no further than www.JonasBrothers.com. They’ve taken the best of the web and used it for their own purposes – to spread their brand virally (oh yeah…and to make money from sponsors).
You don’t have do be a 13 year old screaming fan to have heard of the Jonas Brothers by now. Even if you don’t know what they look like you’ve probably heard one or two of their teen pop rock tunes. Anyway, they’re a big deal in some circles…every eye in the teenage kingdom is on these guys…that’s all I’m saying.
Social Media and Sponsorships on JonasBrothers.com
The pop idols’ website dedicates about 85% (of the interactive space) of their home page to links and banners which take you to external social media sites (like Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and iLike). Look at the home page – the 3 most prominent sections are really just direct links to Flickr (a photo sharing site), MySpace (a social networking site), and YouTube (a video sharing site) – you’d think that there wasn’t any actual content on JonasBrothers.com itself.
Additionally there are banners in the lower-left corner that take you to Facebook (another social networking site) and iLike (a social music sharing site). 3 other banners link you straight to Amazon (to buy their CD), and to BreakfastBreaks (a breakfast cereal sponsor).
What’s left? Just a link to their fan club website, and a place for fans to leave a “shout out.” There is a menu in the header that takes you to other pages of the site, but it’s definitely not the main attraction.
The Jonas Brothers marketing people apparently believe that socia media is an effective way to spread their brand. And considering that you can’t get away from the Jonas Brothers brand these days, I’m gonna go ahead and say they know what they’re doing.
The main point here is that JonasBrothers.com has made great use of social media, but they didn’t try to create these social networks on their own site. They used existing networks (YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, etc.) and leveraged the success those sites already have with their demographic. You can’t beat ‘em – so join ‘em. Smart kids.
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