bieber fever part two...the utilization of social media to create a teen sensation

like jess mentioned yesterday...we have a serious case of bieber fever right now.  after seeing never say never, we are determined to score some sweet tickets for his next tour.  i have to admit that prior to seeing justin perform at the grammys and then in his movie, i was under the impression that he was just another teenager that was mildly talented but had a mega-company like disney or nickelodeon backing it up (yes, i really didn't know much about justin besides his killer haircut).  but after seeing the movie about his rise to fame, i have come to two conclusions: 1. i hope my child grows up to be as cool as the bieb and 2. there really are no limits to what social media can do (especially when combined with millions of overeager teenage girls). 

justin in one of the first videos posted by his mom on you-tube. check out those mad beats.
video via you-tube

justin bieber, the you-tube sensation turned teenage phenomenon really owes his success to 2 little websites - you-tube and twitter.   what really amazed me about his success story was that he really became famous and gained a fan base before having hit records on the radio or major record companies backing him up.  instead he relied on his talent and dreamy good looks to gain the traction that ultimately lead to him selling out madison square garden in under 22 minutes.  this success is purely based on marketing through a channel that didn't exist when he was born and in the same way the beatles are known for triggering the british invasion in the u.s., justin has established his legacy as being the first performer to truly become a success using social media.  

justin and his momma pattie, she seems to be an awesome role model for her son. 

picture via pop on the pop

i am by no means a music expert, but i think that justin bieber makes for a really cool case study in how you can use social media to define your brand, expand your business, or even establish yourself as the biggest teen sensation of the day.  it is always amazing to see what are the by products of the evolution of technology and if it means that more people as talented as the bieb are able to get famous, then i say never say never to what is possible (too cheesy?)