Helen Lawrence, Social Media Ambassador, Dare
Being social during, not just afterwards
Social media moves the watercooler moment from the day after, forward to real time during a show. Sites like Twitter and Facebook provoke discussion and can add credibility to a show but because it is all happening while the show is on air the people around the watercooler don’t have to wait a week to see (and remember to watch) the show, they simply flick on the TV or head over to their network’s on demand service.
The traditional marketing model for a TV show used to be that all activity would begin a few weeks ahead of TX. As we realised the power of a hardcore fan base to spread the word about a show up front this moved to being months ahead through social media channels. So, what value can we gain from concentrating our efforts in the hours around a show’s TX time?
One problem that television has always faced is how to get a potential audience to remember an air date and time. There are very few shows that people purposefully stay in to watch, most are stumbled across as channels are flicked up and down. We know that our audience multi-tasks whilst watching TV; they are on MSN, Facebook, Twitter etc…talking to each otherand sharing content back and forth within their social graph. This provides a massive opportunity to reach and engage with a new audience, directing them towards our shows. By initiating conversations an hour or so ahead of TX we can find the people talking about the show and engage with them. By offering these fans extra content, pieces of gossip, cast members to talk to or little facts around the show we can not only extend the experience that each person has with the show but the minute each person interacts with the content on a social platform a proportion of their friends will be notified. Every comment on Facebook, every @ reply on Twitter will be seen by others, serving not only as a reminder to their friends that the show is on but also providing a credible recommendation from a friend about that show.
We can also make the most of social technologies outside of the platforms to provide that area for discussion. It could be well timed video advert on Facebook that allows users to comment, or an integration of Twitter and Facebook Connect into the show’s site allows people to comment live during the show.
It doesn’t have to end with the TV show. With impending changes to legislation, we can also look at the brands on that show and how we can complement the brand placement journey. When a brand is mentioned, or a commercial aired in an ad break why not give the audience a special offer through the social media networks?
The audience now demands immediacy; we cannot hold back on providing content and expect our audience to wait a few days for something to appear. They want interaction as they watch something, they want something cool to share with their friends right then and they want to delve further into the shows they like.
Helen Lawrence, Social Media Ambassador @ Dare
To follow Helen on Twitter go to; http://twitter.com/helenium