TWEET LIKE A ROCKSTAR

An in-depth report on the strategic marketing

purpose behind the online presence of
artist/producer Will.i.am.
Nathan Anderson
MKT 400-201

THE ONLINE
PRESENCE THAT
IS WILL.I.AM
 I. Introduction

The cultural icon will.i.am (born Williams James Adams Jr.) has been in the music industry

since he first formed a rap group during his time in public school in 1988. That rap group over

time would eventually evolve into the 21st century pop group sensation The Black Eyed Peas,

which would launch will.i.am into the forefront of industries well beyond just music. Since the

formal creation of the Black Eyes Peas as a quartet, the group has amassed roughly 76 million

total records sold. Aside from leading the Peas, will.i.am has released four albums under his own

moniker. His latest release being #willpower, which as of 2014 had sold just under 500,000

copies worldwide.

Will.i.am has made his mark as a cultural icon via many different outlets through expressing

his innovation and individualism. To this date, will.i.am has made his presence known in such

industries as music, technology, fashion, television, films, and even space. He has also held a

strong voice in the political world in the form of his production of the song “Yes We Can”

during the Barrack Obama presidential campaign. Will.i.am’s has also established and taken part

in various charitable work including the i.am.angel and i.am.home foundations, among others.

Will.i.am Making His Mark

 Television - The Voice UK (2012-Present)

 Film - X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

 Tech - i.am+ company

 Fashion - i.am
 II. Social Media Background (@iamwill)

Will.i.am maintains a huge portion of his social media influence on the platforms of Twitter

and Facebook. While the number of followers on Twitter/Facebook seem relatively equal, it is

important to note how large these numbers are in relation to total active users. As continuously

updated (most recent being January 2018), Facebook is the most popular social media platform

in the world with 2.167 billion active users. On the other hand, Twitter currently sits at

approximately 330 million active users. Will.i.am (a Twitter user since June of 2009) currently

garners about 4% of the Twitter population as a whole in his list of followers, or about one

person in a Social Media Marketing class. With Facebook, will.i.am only reaches 0.6% of the

whole population. It is also worth noting that will.i.am’s YouTube profile has approximately 53

thousand followers, however, the will.i.am Vevo account currently has about 4 million followers.

Since the Vevo account does not serve to publish any form of self-marketing or branding aside

from published music videos, it did not seem appropriate to consider among other platforms.
 will.i.am social media followers/subscribers (in millions)
14.00

12.00

10.00

8.00
13.60 13.03
6.00

4.00

2.00

0.53 0.91
0.00
Twitter Facebook Youtube Instagram

Twitter Facebook Youtube Instagram

Distribution of will.i.am followers/subscribers across

different platforms

Instagram
Youtube 3%
2%

Twitter
49%
Facebook
46%
 III. Strategic Analysis

1. Strong Foothold in tech industry (i.am+)

It is strongly evident when analyzing the social platforms of will.i.am that he is strongly

pushing his investment in the technology industry. Will.i.am has a continuous history of

attempting to make a mark in the tech industry, specifically hitting on mobile accessorizing and

audio headphones. He served as one of the founding owners of Beats Electronics until it was sold

off to the Apple Company back in 2014. Most recently, will.i.am has founded his own

technology company called i.am+ that specializes in fashionable tech accessories. Currently the

only product being sold by the company are the wireless Bluetooth i.am+ Buttons headphones.

Despite a low selection of products, will.i.am has established a strong social media presence to

promote the company. This presence includes both a Youtube channel of promotional videos and

a Twitter page also featuring promotional content. Will.i.am also manages to draw promotional

attention to his i.am+ Buttons via a huge sponsor in Kendall Jenner, featured in three posts on his

Instagram page.

I.AM+

The technology company under direction of will.i.am currently has a Twitter page and
YouTube channel, amassing almost 10k follower’s total (i.am+ YouTube channel)
 2. Promote the will.i.am brand

It is clear to see that will.i.am goes way beyond his roots in the music industry. As previously

detailed, the Grammy award winning artist has extended his reach to every platform of societal

culture and by doing this has established the will.i.am brand. This brand is unique with a wide

range of variety, but simply put will.i.am carries himself as an icon for the average person.

Will.i.am seeks to empower people in any way possible, whether that be through progressive

technology, powerful music lyrics, or life changing charity work. With such a diverse area of

influence, will.i.am takes a direct approach to his use of social media.

The social platform of Twitter arguably gives more direct connection between individuals

than any other site. Its various tools of response and interaction, such as replies, likes, and

retweets, manages to break down barriers between the average user and the upper echelon of the

“verified” users. Will.i.am takes full advantage of these tools, quite often interacting with any

number of twitter followers daily. These interactions can range anywhere from an inspirational

message to a simple hello.

These close Twitter interactions seem small but are huge for the will.i.am brand. While

he may not be directly promoting his $200 pair of i.am+ Buttons, he is promoting his personal

self which carries far into his many areas of influence, including his tech company.
 His Instagram and YouTube accounts follow a different approach, but with similar value.

Will.i.am stays active on these platforms often through posting inspirational content. Much of his

content include videos of him interviewing or a screenshot from an interview, and each is of a

different topic of discussion. There is undoubtedly a continuous theme as each discussion is, as

mentioned, inspirational in some way or form. These messages further promotes the will.i.am

brand by establishing himself as the icon is looking out for everyone. Each message he sends is a

potential inspiration to someone new, and in turn, another follower of the brand is created.

“DON’T KILL THE NOISE”

Any number of the 3,901 likes garnered by this post could be a new follower of the
will.i.am brand (@iamwill)
 3. The Black Eyed Peas

For most of the 2000’s, the Black Eyes Peas maintained a status of international pop

sensation. All in total, the Peas churned out seven albums that sold somewhere around 76 million

records. The year 2010 saw the release of their seventh album, “The Beginning” which has

coincidentally been their last release before an eventual hiatus. On January 9th 2018, The Black

Eyed Peas release their first song in almost a decade with the single “STREET LIVIN’” and an

accompaniment of strong promotion from will.i.am. His promotion of what is a politically

charged song is widespread throughout his social platform, featuring such tools as:

 Facebook – current profile picture and cover picture

 Instagram – Eleven dedicated posts of album art and live performance

 Twitter – Various promotional tweets and interactions

Will.i.am has also worked with Marvel Comics to produce a Black Eyes Peas comic

book, titled “Masters of the Sun.” This project has also received massive promotional effort from

the artist on social media, such as his current twitter profile picture and cover photo. The comic

book also features different options of VR experience, which is highlighted on a paid Facebook

advertisement on will.i.am’s page. The song and comic book are timed conveniently in that the

Black Eyed Peas are in a sudden big push back to relevance that will certainly be aided by the

influence of will.i.am.

Will.i.am Facebook page

IV. Tactical analysis

Twitter
•Black Eyed Peas: Comic book "Masters of the Sun" cover serves as current profile picture and cover
picture
•Will.i.am brand: Direct interaction with followers
•Tech industry: link to i.am+ website located in Twitter bio
•Tech industry: i.am+ company has own Twitter page with promotional content

Instagram
•Black Eyed Peas: Eleven dedicated posts regarding album release and live performance
•Will.i.am brand: Inspirational videos and messages through posts
•Tech industry: Product promotion of i.am+ Buttons featuring Kendall Jenner

Facebook
•Black Eyed Peas: Newly release single "STREET LIVIN'" cover art serves as current profile picture and
cover picture
•Black Eyes Peas: Paid promotional ads of comic book "Masters of the Sun"
•Will.i.am brand: Inspirational videos and messages through posts

YouTube
•Will.i.am brand: Videos that promote the "Yes We Can" song
•Tech industry: i.am+ company has own YouTube channel with promotional videos

@iamwill
 V. Conclusion & Recommendations

After attentive observation and research into the use of social media platforms by will.i.am it

is evident that he is effective in communicating to his followers. Whether this form of

communication is through clear promotional advertisement or direct informal interaction,

will.i.am is successful in promoting himself as an individual and a brand. It is difficult to cover

the multitude of different industries and topics while maintaining a strong following, but this

artist effectively promotes what he wants communicated at any given time on any given

platform. Twitter is where will.i.am is overwhelmingly successful in being able to promote all

facets of his brand while keeping a down-to-earth expression with followers.

 Strategic: Will.i.am should focus more effort in promotional advertising and branding on

the YouTube platform in order to succeed. YouTube is second only to Facebook in active

users, yet the artist has relatively low success in comparison to his other platforms. An

increase in content or a strategy to increase followers would be very beneficial.

 Tactical: There should be higher promotional efforts for the i.am+ Buttons on social

media, specifically Twitter and Instagram. Much of will.i.am’s social media promotion

seems to happen in turns, as opposed to a steady stream of promotional content. The

i.am+ Buttons seemed to be promoted heavily for a small period of time, then halted. An

increased use of steady promotion should increase profits as a result.

 Tactical: Charitable efforts of will.i.am should be more promoted via Facebook.

Facebook, as the largest social media platform in the world, is an enormous tool for

fundraising. Increased promotion of such charities as i.am.angel should return increased

funds toward the foundations.