Korean Hallyu Stars, Global Media Channels See Clear Value in Social Media

Just a few years back, nobody had ever heard of the Korean pop group "Big Bang" outside of Asia but thanks to social networking sites one of its members, Taeyang, is gaining popularity worldwide.
Only hours after its release Taeyang's first solo album "Solar" went viral on the web through social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube helping the album to top iTune charts in Canada, the US and Japan.
What makes this an incredible feat is the fact that Taeyang only intended to target the Korean and Japanese market and had not launched any promotion in the North American region.
Industry experts say Taeyang's success has prompted more Korean pop artists to branch out into social networking sites realizing that it is easier to tap into international markets through these channels.
A case in point is the recent collaboration between Korean pop group 2NE1 and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas… who discovered the group after watching a clip of their performance on YouTube.

[Reporter : Jang Ji-yun jiyun.jang@arirang.co.kr] "Taking a cue from the recent success of Hallyu stars, even global media channels are jumping on the bandwagon and launching their accounts on social networking sites".

Global media channels such as Russia Today, CCTV News, CNN and BBC already have their own accounts on Facebook with hundreds of thousands of fans following their updates.
And of course Korea's Arirang TV is no exception.
Although Arirang joined the social media marketing craze later than most its Facebook page has nearly 12-thousand followers and some 38-thousand subscribers on YouTube.
And judging from the public's feedback Arirang's debut into social media channels has helped to not only promote Hallyu stars abroad, but simultaneously raise the national brand image of Korea.

[Interview : Prof. Rhee Yunna, Journalism & Mass Comm. Dept. Hankuk University of Foreign Studies] "Because of the fact that social media is greatly influencing the way people communicate, social media should be considered as a critical channel in any kind of persuasive communication campaign, be it a nation brand identity campaign or a product publicity campaign".

Especially since social networking sites are the fastest and most cost effective way of testing the waters when it comes to any product or service social media marketing is only bound to grow stronger worldwide.

Jang Ji-yun, Arirang News.

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