Before they even set foot on american soil, one direction were already superstars thanks to clever use of soical media. Exectives from thier label. columbia records decided to use facebook and twitter for thier marketing c\mpaign instead of the usual strategy of releasing a single on the radio. taking a gamble co-chairman steve barnett decied to mount a four mouth word of mouth campaign with the intention of building a fan base before a single was ever released or played on the radio in america. columbia asked fans to sign petitons and enter video competitions to win concert in thier hometown.
the gamble paid off spectacularly well and within a few weeks one direction facebook page had 4000,000 followers in the states.thier single 'what makes you beauyiful' sold more then 131,000 copies although it had yet to be played on the radio. in fact radio stations were folloded with calls from fans demanding to hear thier songs before the boys had even left london.
