Monday, August 9, 2010

Social Media

Social media is the new kid on the block. Its potential unlimited, its usage still unknown. I have been amazed to see its power unleashed when it comes to re-connecting with someone from the past. I have been to reunions with former work colleagues and look forward to my high school Face book reunion in September. It is great at bringing people together but how is as a P.R. and marketing tool?

I have been invited to join a lot of groups on Face book. I have been reluctant to join them all for fear of privacy and security issues. Recently, I was invited to join the group for the TV show "Lost". I was amazed at the number of fans in the group, over 5 million and the conversation stream is endless. As this assignment to critique a social media campaign from our niche came up, I decided to look at another popular TV show, one that fell into my niche, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" with Larry David.

On Face book, there are over 500-thousand friends on the site. On Twitter, tens of thousands more on the show site and on sites for each of the individual actors and actresses on the program.

The HBO website allows you to watch any one of the 70 episodes from the first 7 seasons. There are forums where fans of the show can have discussion with other fans about particular episodes, discuss your favorite guest star, decide who you want to see on an upcoming show, or just get the latest news releases about the show and its stars. You can even join the Face book page from there.

I think you really need to be a die hard fan of a show to get the most out of these social media channels. With the way characters and episode plots are dissected I don't think a casual fan would understand or appreciate it. The big plus for me is a place to be able to view episodes of the show on demand. I give the web site very high marks for its offering.

If there is to be a weak link in the social media chain, I think its with Twitter. Yes, millions of people want to know what 140 character pearls of wisdom comes from the mouths of celebrities, but, it just doesn't seem to employ a big enough payoff for time and energy spent on it. I have been using Twitter as part of our class assignments but I do not follow anyone on a regular basis and do not use it as a running commentary on the events of my day. Maybe its a generational thing, but I enjoy Face book much more than Twitter.

Again Face book, as it pertains to Curb Your Enthusiasm allows for individual reflection and critique of each episode. It allows you to post small video samples that can be viewed in a short amount of time. Like the web site, it allows for discussion amongst fans and allows for divergent points of view.

Overall, I would say that the use of social media for popular TV shows or movies serves its purpose as a PR and marketing tool. It is a way to get in front of the most pairs of eyes in the shortest amount of time. It brings about name recognition and if your on Face book and 15 or 20 of your friends are fans of a certain show, it may force you to ask about it and give it a try for yourself.

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