Running head: BTS: SUCCESS AND RISKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA 1

BTS: Success and Risks with Fans and Influencers on Social Media

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BTS: SUCCESS AND RISKS WITH FANS AND INFLUENCERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA 2

Contents
BTS: Success and Risks with Fans and Influencers on Social Media..........................................................1
Executive summary.....................................................................................................................................3
Problem Identification.................................................................................................................................4
Problem Analysis........................................................................................................................................5
Potential Solution........................................................................................................................................6
Recommended Solution...............................................................................................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................7
References...................................................................................................................................................8
Exhibit 1: SWOT Analysis of BST..............................................................................................................9
BTS: SUCCESS AND RISKS WITH FANS AND INFLUENCERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA 3

Executive summary

BTS is a k-pop boy band in Korea that has become successful over a short period since its

inception in 2013. The band is assigned under the Big Hit Company that Bang Si-hyuk heads.

The band members have a solid social media presence which contributed highly to their success.

Even before their debut in the music industry, the band's members had a strong social media

presence like any other youth worldwide. The ARMY and hommas are fans that have also played

a significant role in the company's success. They serve as ambassadors of the band and help

widen their fan base. However, the band's success is mainly attributed to their social media

influence, and Bang reiterates that other factors are also involved. There is a threat that

competitors can copy the differentiation strategy; hence Bang needs to identify a potential

solution that will help them remain competitive in the music arena.
BTS: SUCCESS AND RISKS WITH FANS AND INFLUENCERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA 4

Problem Identification

The Korean pop group BTS is a renowned boy band of seven members debuted in 2013.

BTS has become a global sensation due to its marketing strategy and connecting with its fans in

real life. The group is signed under the Big Hit Entertainment (Big Hit) company, established in

2005. BTS was the second band to be signed under Big Hit, after the South Korean girl band,

Glam. However, BTS rose to fame aggressively and became the highest in generating revenue

for the label. Also, BTS has registered several successes since its debut in the music arena. For

instance, they were the first band from Korea to perform in the American Music Awards; they

became the top in the TIME 100 Reader Poll in 2018-2019, and they won three sets of the

American Music Awards. More so, the band holds various Guinness world records on social

media channels and is the top in album sales in Korea.

The BTS fans are known as ARMY, who has played a significant role in the band's

success (Lee, 2019). The ARMY is a strong fan base of the band and has helped them win

prestigious awards such as the Top Social Artist Award in 2017. Notably, ARMY has also

helped the band make critical decisions that could hurt their reputations. For example, the

ARMY prevented the band from collaborating with an artist with a misogynistic view. Aside

from the ARMY, the hommas are another group of fans that significantly impact the band. The

hommas are fans who follow celebrities, take videos, and share the content on YouTube or other

social media sites. They make unofficial content of BTS and share them on social platforms, thus

attracting more consumers to the band. Hence, they serve as a link between Big Hit and BTS to

the general fans. Although hommas play a vital role in the success of BTS, their activities can

significantly affect the profitability and reputation of the band. The major limitations are that the

activities of the hommas are illegal because they are unofficial; they violate Korean publicity
BTS: SUCCESS AND RISKS WITH FANS AND INFLUENCERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA 5

rights, tax evasion issues, and fraud issues. Furthermore, the competitors of BTS could copy their

social media strategy, thus losing their differentiating strategy.

Problem Analysis

The success of BTS is highly attributed to its social media influence. However, Big Hit

acknowledges that the band's success is also due to excellent performers, quality music, and

practical concepts. Big Hit needed to plan for the future of BTS in the competitive music

industry and social media segment. Although the hommas were essential for the band's success,

for-profit hommas were illegal in Korea. The for-profit hommas did activities such as selling

DVD products and photobooks to their fans. Moreover, hommas activities were against the law,

violating the publicity rights. On most occasions, the celebrities' schedules were leaked to the

hommas, making them know the day-to-day details of the celebrities. This was illegal in Korean

law because it violates the celebrities' privacy.

More so, fraud cases could arise when the celebrity schedules are leaked to the public.

Notably, the activities of the hommas are like a business or a corporation, although they are not

liable to taxation. This could bring tax evasion issues, thus bringing a bad reputation to the band.

If the band continues to tolerate the hommas, they could be negatively linked to them, thus

controversies and a bad reputation. Similarly, doing away with the hommas could also negatively

impact the company due to the loss of fans. It is important to note that BTS adapted to the

changing media advantage. However, the major challenge is losing this advantage since their

competitor can replicate this idea.

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Potential Solution

The Big Hit and BTS, in general, should come up with the best solution to remain

competitive in the music industry. Since their competitor will replicate their differentiation

strategy, they should adopt other social media tactics. The traditional media is fading, with most

people consuming content through their mobile phones. According to research, many people use

their cell phones to access content from YouTube rather than traditional media like television or

radio. Hence, Big Hit should partner with technology companies like Samsung to create an

application on mobile devices. The application should be named BTS App, which will have all

the contents and music videos from the band. This will be a long-term solution to deal with the

competitor and remain competitive in the market environment. Moreover, BTS will differentiate

its strategy from that of the competitors. It is important to note that the world is evolving

technologically, and individuals spend most of their time on mobile phones.

In addition, the hommas play a critical role in the band's success. Therefore, Big Hit

should identify the hommas and assign them to the company’s distribution channel. The hommas

will be under the Big Hit Company in the distribution channel but will be autonomous in their

operation. This will be a win-win situation for the company, the hommas, and the fans in general.

Importantly, there will be no controversies since the hommas will be under the company’s

umbrella.

Recommended Solution

The best-recommended solution is the one that will ensure that the company remains

competitive in the market. To secure the future of BTS and help them remain competitive, Big

Hit should partner with a giant technological company like Samsung to create mobile

applications- BTS App. This will ensure that fans get the BTS content and music from their
BTS: SUCCESS AND RISKS WITH FANS AND INFLUENCERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA 7

mobile application. It is important to note that this move will help maintain the current fans and

capture other clients. In this century, many people possess a mobile phone, and the move to

create BTS App will help people access content anytime and anyplace. Also, this will be an

effective differentiation strategy to ensure that as many people as possible get access to the BTS

music.

Conclusion

In conclusion, BST is a musical band that has acquired many following from fans

globally. Although the company's success is mainly attributed to effective social media strategy,

quality music, excellent concepts, and performance is also the reason for success. The ARMY

has also supported the band because they feel connected thanks to their social media interaction.

Also, the hommas have helped the company gain a huge following as they create unofficial

content and post it on social media sites. However, the main challenges are that the hommas can

negatively impact Big Hit and BTS by allowing controversies. Also, the competitors can copy

the differentiation strategy of the company. Therefore, Big Hit should assign the hommas under

their label, although they will be working autonomously. They should also partner with Samsung

to create BTS App in mobile phones so that fans can easily access their content.
BTS: SUCCESS AND RISKS WITH FANS AND INFLUENCERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA 8

References

Lee, J. (2019). BTS and ARMY culture. CommunicationBooks.

BTS: SUCCESS AND RISKS WITH FANS AND INFLUENCERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA 9

Exhibit 1: SWOT Analysis of BST

Strengths Weakness

 Strong social media presence  Lack of amusement parks

 Have much and continuous content in

their social media platforms than their

competitors

Opportunity Threat

 Big Hit can assign hommas into their  The competitors can copy the social

distribution channel, thus preventing media tactics of the band

controversies.