Looking at an Artists Website: One Direction

As part of our coursework task, we are to produce a website promoting our Artist, and in order to do so, we have analysed the website of up and coming boy band 'One Direction'. Although not winners of the X Factor competition, they have been highly successful in recent months, and have just released their new single 'What Makes You Beautiful'.

In particular, we looked at the possible ways an audience member can interact with the website, and all the possibe ways in which they could spend money.


Interactivity
The first thing we noticed upon visiting the website, is we are presented with a front page before actually getting to the main site.

This page is basically a large youtube video, where by clicking anywhere on the page will play the new music video for the single. Youtube provides a huge way for the audience to interact with the band and other fans, through commenting on the video, subscribing to the channel and sharing it with other people.

At the bottom of the page are links to share the video on Twitter and to 'like' it on Facebook. This social network integration is key on the website as it appears on almost every page.
On Facebook, you can share the video with your friends, which in turn leads to more commenting and liking and sharing. Similarly with Twitter, sharing the video allows it to be spread to anybody that see's the 'tweet', again leading to more sharing and discussion.

Upon Entering the main site, you are presented with a header of choices which lead to different sections of the website.

The homepage instantly gives further links to follow the band on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and subscribe to an RSS feed. This is again an excellent way for the audience to interact with the band and other fans.

The website also gives the option to change languages, showing that the band are going for a global appeal.

Large images are seen on every page of the website down the right hand side, as well as at the bottom of each page, with the Facebook, Twitter and Youtube Logo's. These images link to the respective website for even more interactivity.

The Homepage is also the newsfeed, which displays the main stories. These stories all have links to Facebook and Twitter, again allowing for audience interaction, but they also have the option to comment directly on the story with an account that can be made on the website.

Making this account in turn leads onto the websites newsletter that can be subscribed to via email and SMS. The newsletter informs subscribers of the 1D news going on - album releases, tour dates, interesting stories etc, and is yet another way for the audience to interact.

One final big way that the audience can interact with the band is the events page. This is linked directly to Facebook, as Fb events are a commonly used way to invite people and distribute information. Facebook events are another way for audience members to interact with the band and each other, both before the event (discussing what it will be like, what they're looking forward to) and after (sharing photos and videos, afterthoughts).

Purchasing Opportunities
Throughout the website there are many opportunities to spend money, on both the band and merchandise. On the initial front page before the main site, you are presented with the music video and the opportunity to download the single digitally on iTunes.com or Amazon.com, or buy a hard copy from HMV.com
iTunes and Amazon are highly popular music sources that can lead to further pre-ordering of the whole album, thus spending more money.

On the main page, we are again presented with the opportunity to buy the single with a link on every page, just like the Facebook and Twitter integration. The shot of the band looking happy and friendly, and the text prompting the viewer to 'Buy it now!' make the single very desirable.

Another purchasing opportunity on the main page, is the option to buy tickets through the events page. This is a direct link to the bands seller, making it a trusted source and encouraging the audience to spend money willingly.

However, the best opportunity to spend money is the websites shop. The header links to an entirely separate website, onedirectionstore.com, and provides the audience with the opportunity to buy a variety of merchandise.

It is possible to buy all sorts of t-shirts, hoodies, posters etc, that can all be personalised to the audiences taste. For example, if the audience member particularly likes Harry, they can purchase a poster with him on. This creates a very personal experience for the audience, which can lead them to buy more on the website.

The shop website gives the user the option to change currency very easily, to four of the major currencies in the world. This again suggests that the band are being promoted on global scale, trying to gain as wide a reach as possible.

Reflections

Analysing this website has been of great use to me, as it shows what the key purposes of the website is - it is the hub of the entire marketing campaign. The way it incorporates and integrates social networking is what makes it highly successful as it makes it so easy to share with your friends, and spreads the band virally.

For me, this will be a key idea, as nowadays everybody uses social networking websites, and it will make it a great way to promote a debut band.

The website has also shown me the extent to which Web 2.0 can be used, and that I should explore the possible ways in which I could make my website more creative and appealing to the audience.