If you are a heavy user of social media, especially Twitter, you must have come across the so-called fancams of Korean groups. They consist of a montage of various excerpts from videos, such as music videos or concerts, made to attract attention or to irritate people. Even in posts that have nothing to do with the idols, some fan seems to appear to trigger their edit.
This curious behavior began as a form of homage, but it became a powerful form of outreach. Those who didn't know what K-Pop was heard or saw it for the first time.
And among the various names that became popular, BTS and their fan club that calls itself Army stand out .
What was the recipe that led to success?
BTS has become a star-making machine in South Korea because they invested in their digital presence since before anyone knew who they were. They started posting photos of rehearsals, everyday moments, and anything that could catch the eye on their social media, well before they debuted to the general public.
Another tactic was to concentrate the entire group's vietnam viral telegram accounts into one. The project aimed to channel all the information so that interaction would accumulate as much as possible. The boys tried to be as interactive as possible, talking to the public and breaking down the barrier between artist and fan. It didn't take long for a fandom to be created.
We know that going viral is not easy, but the hardest part is maintaining the flame of relevance on social media. They have managed to make their admirers their true “clients”. BTS fans do not rest so that their name circulates massively throughout the internet. Here we go beyond the concept of “fan club”, because the armys, as they call themselves, have become a huge movement.
A small example of this territorialism is the 27 million votes that brought the Billboard award for “Best Social Media Artist” to Seoul. At this point in the text I ask you: who works for whom?
Bigger than BTS itself
Fans of the K-pop group BTS are stepping up to the plate and becoming the center of engagement. They realized their influence, started thinking about the community and what could be achieved on social media, and the result? Several philanthropic acts spread across the world. There is no social action that cannot mobilize users on social media.
BTS Fans and the #BlackLivesMatter Movement
The year is 2020 and the American anti-racism struggle has taken to the streets and the internet. BTS has spoken out on Twitter against discrimination, which has certainly encouraged their fans to support the movement.
To strengthen the protests and reduce the reach of racist posts, fans began flooding social media by massively uploading videos with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. “We did this to protect people at the protest, because K-pop fans agree that they don’t deserve to be arrested for gathering to fight for justice. Since this plan was successful, we realized it could work for other things,” explains Twitter user Lovely Doya, a member of the K-pop group’s fandom .
They also raised $1 million to help activists and managed to take down a suspicious app used by Dallas police that was used to “report” and repress protesters.
BTS Fans Against Donald Trump
One of President Donald Trump's attempts to regain popularity amid the pandemic was the rally organized in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The expected number of supporters was 19,000, but fans of the Korean group booked many tickets online to sell out and boycott the event. The plan worked and only about 6,000 voters showed up.
BTS fans fight the Pantanal fires
BTS fans are also very strong in Brazil. And during the fires in the Pantanal in September 2020, they were able to show how to draw attention to the country and help an important cause. Using social media, they created the hashtag #ARMYHelpThePlanet and initially raised R$50,000 to provide logistical support for firefighters from the Instituto Homem Pantaneiro (IHP), an NGO that works to protect and conserve the Pantanal in Mato Grosso do Sul.