Kim Townend

Digital & Social Media Strategy Consultant

The Blog

How to really connect with your audience in the age of ‘Peak TV’

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Earlier this year, I gave a quick talk at the TV Connect conference about how you can use social media to get right to the heart of your viewer base, even in the age of peak TV.

Below is a shortened version of my speaker notes.

So first a bit of background. What is peak tv? Put simply; it’s just that there are too many shows.

According to Research, 455 original scripted programs aired on American television in 2016, that’s up from 210 shows in 2009. A massive increase. Now I realise we’re in the UK, but with global release dates becoming more common, access to Netflix and on-demand programming, alongside satellite and cable, we’re in a very similar situation. There’s ‘too much’ great stuff out there.

I don’t know how much you guys know about fandom, so I’ll explain a little.Fandom has been around for a long time. It’s not new. Fun fact, loads of the fandom vernacular  (shipping for example) actually originates from the first Star Trek series.

Fandom essentially means anything that fans create around the thing they love, and the fans themselves. E.g Comicon is all about fandom.

Tumblr, a slightly lesser know social/blogging network is the home to all things fandom.

The takeaway here for social TV is that the fandom itself LOVES the show we’re trying to market. They’re overwhelmingly positive about it.

So, how do you find out about what your fandom are into? (click for gif)

Always start with Tumblr.

Fandometrics is a weekly updated part of Tumblr that ranks all the different fandoms on Tumblr by subject. It is an invaluable research tool for Social TV with any kind of millennial/Z fanbase.

My strategies always start with talking to the fandom. Identifying these guys is like finding the biggest built in advocates for your show. So I start with them and then the social influencer and bloggers start to pay attention, and from there you can reach the mainstream.

Back to Doctor who again. While I was writing the strategy for the Mission Dalek campaign, I felt it was really important to understand the implications of the different types of audience who were fans of shows on different platforms. For example, when looking at the best way to connect with Dr Who fans on Instagram I identified a huge community of girls who cosplay as the various female assistants. I decided to leverage this as a way to get the often overlooked younger female Whovians involved in our competition, by allowing them to enter with cosplay images.

The US broadcaster CW knows this better than anyone else. Social TV champions from the get-go, they figured out which shows had the biggest audiences on which platforms and prioritised content there way back in 2014. Reign was all about Pinterest due to the costumes; Supernatural has always ruled Tumblr and the then new ‘The Flash’ was fast becoming a YouTube sensation.

Understanding which of your fans are on which platforms and the content that resonates on that platform will help you more than anything else when it comes to engagement planning.

And so to my final, and most important point.

When social first started, way back a decade ago, building communities was the whole point of Twitter. Then marketing came and suddenly it was a place just to advertise. Community was out of the proverbial window.

Well, the one sure-fire secret to really engaging with your fans in the age of peak TV, is to hire a great community manager.

A community manager is like a social media manager ‘plus’ They are tasked not just with publishing updates and responding to enquiries, but actively being involved in, and growing the community that they’re looking after.

I was writing the social strategy for E4 a couple of years back, and to test my hypothesis I took on community management duties for one week.

During that time e4 were airing Supernatural but weren’t really aware of the huge fandom around it. I created a strategy to truly engage with the fans by doing things like:

  • Creating content that would resonate with them
  • Speaking in their language ‘shipping terms etc.’
  • Live tweeting key moments of the shows

This resulted in not just an outpouring of love for e4 from fans during the week, but also with metrics.

The week leading up to my community management, there had been a paid campaign running, I won’t disclose how much, but it was a not insignificant amount of money. This achieved 572k impressions.

The week I took over, organically, we achieved almost 750 thousand impressions.

Which just goes to show what a combination of a good social strategy and a good community manager who knows your content can do.

What the hell is full stack social anyway?

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Before we start this, I just want to reiterate, that I really, really hate stupid buzzwords. BUT. I have been looking for a way to describe what it is that I do succinctly, and I believe I’ve found it.

A full stack developer is a dev who has an understanding of each part of the process, back end through front end.

A full stack designer is a someone who knows enough front end stuff to be a better designer.

Here’s a great description of what full stack strategy is.

I do full stack social media – which essentially means I’m cross-disciplinary and able to take a project to completion.

Back when social started, it was one job. ‘social media manager’ and then as Twitter and Facebook grew and more platforms were born it stopped being a place for just the internet cool kids, and people began to realise it was a slightly bigger gig than we first thought.

We saw the advent of community managers, and social media copywriters and social strategists and social media analysts.

And then we needed to monetise it somehow, and we started seeing ‘paid social’ experts appear.

That’s where I come in.

Having been around working in social since the very beginning, I’ve worked across all the various disciplines.

For me, doing full stack social manifests like this:

  • I can write your social strategy for any or all of the social media platforms that are appropriate for you/your brand (this is primarily what I do these days)
  • Does this strategy include a big creative idea? I can usually build this for you, and if I can’t, I know a whole team of designers and developers and video creators who can.
  • I can also implement your strategy (I will advise my community managers on best practises for your bespoke needs)
  • Need paid social advertising? (Probably, it’s 2019! ) I write paid strategy that works alongside your organic. What’s the point of having a media agency who don’t talk to your organic social team? I understand how to get people to see your content, how to get people to engage with your content and how to get people to convert. Across all platforms.
  • Want to know how it all went? I heart analytics. What’s the point of doing something if you’re not going to use the learnings to improve?

 

What’s the advantage of having one person see the process through from beginning to end? There are a few.

  1. A strategist who also manages communities from time to time, will have a better grasp of what is possible in terms of execution
  2. Creative ideas work differently on social than other more traditional digital creative. A full stack social person is going to be able to help you understand how and where the content you’re creating is going to be distributed and what you need to consider during this process
  3. You don’t need to hire a separate copywriter to write updates/blog posts. That’s a thing we can all do!
  4. There’s less miscommunication, as one person who understands each element of the process is involved from start to finish.

 

So, that’s it. All it means is that I can work across any part of your digital output, and understand it. This doesn’t mean I want to community manage everything that I work on or be responsible for the creative, but it means I understand how to. And that’s always an advantage.

 

Brands and Tumblr and Social TV. Things you should know.

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This post started out as a bit of a rant about certain brands on Tumblr not using it very well, but on re-reading , I decided it might be more useful to talk about why Tumblr is great, what it’s great for, and why you should be using it. So this is that.

Tumblr (when used properly) is a brilliant platform for the right brands to reach the right communities.

Tumblr themselves have made it so easy for us as marketing types. They update Fandometrics every single week, so you can always be up-to-date on what’s trending in your field. Imagine Facebook doing something as helpful!

According to a 2015 study by Global Web Index, 48% of Tumblr users say they follow their favourite brands on the platform, and when executed properly, it’s a great place for brands to distribute platform appropriate content to their fans. Take a look at the ‘Sponsored Posts’ Year in Review section for superb examples.

The Tumblr community understands fandom and nerdiness and ‘the internet’ in a way that other platforms of a similar size seem incapable of doing. Look back at Dennys and the advent of ‘foodom.’ If you’re interested in learning more about the platform and its key demographic, Elspeth Reeve just wrote a brilliant article for the New Republic.

Tumblr is – as far as I’m concerned – the undisputed home of social TV, (in the post-show sense, Twitter is still the go-to for real time viewing) Yet few networks/shows take advantage of the massive fandoms that keep the platform ticking over.

This is the place that the fans that ‘get’ the shows live.

Remember the Hannibal Tumblr? It was so great that people would write articles about how great it was. Tumblr was the place that the Fannibal community was born – it exploded onto Twitter and Instagram and the rest of the internet. Same with Supernatural, Doctor Who (the reboot), Sherlock, Teen Wolf – the list goes on and on.

Tumblr is where the things you’ll be reading about in two years time are getting started now.

Tumblr represents a massive (and currently woefully under-used) opportunity if you’re a UK publisher/TV production company/games developer/create anything that people get nerdy about.

One of the problems I have when trying to convince clients/agencies that we should be looking at Tumblr as a platform is ‘reach’ –  the idea that UK Tumblr numbers aren’t worth the investment.

According to 2016 data from Global Web Index –  11% of UK interenet users have used Tumblr in the last month. The number rises to 30% in the 16-24 demographic. But it’s when you look at behaviours, that the numbers become  even more attractive.tumblr

Alongside the 48% of users who follow their favourite brand, 70% of Tumblr users have bought a product online in the last month and an even more incredible 64% of users have reviewed a product online in the same time frame*.

The Tumblr community might not be as big as some of the other networks, but they’re early adopters who review online as a matter of course.

If you’re looking to talk to the ever elusive Snapchat audience, but you’d quite like content you can track, that lasts longer than a day, and you’re also big into metrics, then you should give Tumblr another look.

Tumblr recently published their December 2015 numbers, and they’re impressive.

I’m not saying that Tumblr is for everybody – it’s definitely not. But if it is for you/your brand/tv show and you get your content and tone right, it’s one of the best (and certainly one of the most creative and fun platforms) that there is. Keep it in mind.

*All this data comes from the same GWI report

Snapchat On-Demand Geofilters are a Big Opportunity For Smaller Brands.

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Snapchat.

Just the word is enough to strike fear into the heart of anyone over the age of 35.

But why?

Well. According to the recent Bloomberg profile. On purpose.

But if you can see past all the ‘mystery’ and lack of analytics, then you should take a look at what Snapchat can offer.

One of the reasons that brands were hesitant about Snapchat were the extortionate advertising costs, coupled with the ‘TV style’ reporting which didn’t give you any real metrics to show to your boss.

But things have moved on. Snapchat is still elusive about how much most of their standard advertising costs (although one source cited the prices having dropped to around $400 000 for a custom lens), but earlier this year they made one type of ‘ad’ completely accessible to everyone.

I’m talking about On Demand Geofilters.

 

The idea is this. Snapchat already allows Geofilters for locations. You’ve probably seen them from friends who are travelling/humble bragging about where they’re spending their holiday time.

Then last year, Snapchat introduced custom Geofilters for brands, you’ve probably seen the McDonald’s filters being shared, and then there was the (not particularly well thought out) time that Hollister targeted 19 0000 US & Canadian high schools with their ‘Friday Vibes’ filter. These filters were only available to select partners and still on the pricey side of ‘give it a go’ advertising.

Roll on 2016 and the advent of On-Demand custom geo filters (not to be confused with  community filters, which are free to create for a landmark/town/university/place of interest.) On Demand custom geofilters were originally designed as a way for you to be able to easily apply a Geofilter to your Wedding/Bar Mitzvah/Premiere/Whatever. But in terms of marketing, they’re a brilliant way to create hyper-shareable content, perfect for sharing outside of Snapchat as well as in platform.

Currently, brand presence on Snapchat is on the low side, and there are a number of reasons for this, the biggest of them being Snapchat is perceived as a hard to understand channel just to reach teenagers.
I won’t dispute that Snapchat is still heavy on generation y & z users, but the fastest growing user group is the over 35s. Platform engagement rates (8 billion video views each day) are impressive, as is the sense of creativity lacking from the rest of the ‘big’ social media platforms.

Currently, a starting price of $20 will buy you an 8-hour time slot, the space of a few blocks in a major city. You’ll still need to get someone to design the filter for you, and make sure it passes Snapchat’s requirements. (No mentions of URLS or phone numbers – hashtags and usernames are supposedly fine!)

If you’re a business that hosts events/does anything location specific and you’re looking for a fun way to raise awareness among potential customers. (And you’ve got a bit of design know-how and a few bucks to spare). I would recommend testing out the Snapchat waters.

It’s not yet saturated with brands, there’s very little marketing douchery, and if you’re right for the channel and you understand your audience enough to create content that will resonate with them, then Snapchat custom geofilters might be exactly what you’re looking for. And also, with such a low price point – you can afford to test this one out.

Oh, and if you find the whole idea of Snapchat terrifying, Buffer Blog have written an excellent guide to how it all works.

 

Social Media and Social TV are not the Same Thing

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Okay, maybe that title was a little misleading, in that social media is definitely an intrinsic part of social tv as it provides the tools that make it possible.

What I’m really trying to do in this post is point out that the two things, although sounding the same, require very different approaches. 

Which is why I’ve come up with 4 principles for you to consider, when approaching a social TV project.

Social media for both brands and broadcasters, is an often awkward, slightly perplexing idea.

Yes, you need to be visible on it, yes you need to be creating some form of content as part of this deal, and yes you need to be listening and responding to your consumers. But this is where the similarities end, for one simple reason*

People are already fans of TV shows!

They’re interested in the stories you have to tell, they’re interested in the secrets you can share, they’re interested in the exclusives you can dangle in front of them as your will decides.

With brands, people are largely interested in getting stuff for free and customer service, unless you’re lucky enough/smart enough to have built a really strong content offering, solidly over time then getting them to stay interested in your content in 2015, is pretty hard work.

So, it makes sense that you would go about developing your social media strategy for a broadcaster, quite differently than you would for a brand.

When it comes social TV, it really is all about the fandom.

 

Fandom is something that brands rarely have unless they’re very, very good with Tumblr (I’m looking at you Dennys)

The key to creating a good social TV strategy is understanding the fandom. Only then can you create the kind of content that fans will go crazy for.

This sounds obvious, but time and experience have taught me that it’s really not.

Just to be clear, I’m not saying you need to love the shows, but you need to understand the fandom.

In every social TV project that I’ve worked on, I’ve started with the fandom and worked my way outwards to the mainstream.

Starting with the mainstream is never going to work, because those guys aren’t going to be bothered about your show unless it’s popular right now.

Fandom is what makes the show popular, it’s what buys the shirts and the boxsets and creates the art and goes to Comicon and gets the people on Facebook interested in watching in the first place.

Not all platforms are created equal

Yes, this goes for regular social too, but (kings of social TV, The CW will tell you) it’s more pronounced with TV.  (Or as I like to put it, don’t try Superwholock on Facebook.)

Different types of people naturally gravitate towards certain platforms. Always, always look at your analytics and then use them to hone your hunches.

Different platforms require different content types and different timings. Are you looking to build buzz, drive to TX or drive to catch up? Each of these things will benefit from understanding the whens are wheres and whos.

Also, people are beginning to make noise about Snapchat being the future of social TV, so you might want to keep an eye on that.

Oh, and always check fandometrics.

Everyone loves a reaction gif.

Seriously.

If you want to know more about any of this/are looking for some help with social TV, then please drop me a line.

*Yes, I know there are exceptions to this rule, but they are just that, exceptions.

How Broad City’s social media strategy delivers, as well as being MASSIVELY FUN.

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It’s probably not a big secret that I’m a huge TV nerd, and as such I love Social TV. What I’m constantly astounded by, is how little thought and effort is put into most TV show social strategies. Sure, Doctor Who and Supernatural do some stuff, but in all honestly – most of this is fuelled by fandom, not smart, creative thinking.

Enter Broad City.

Until I researched this piece, I had no idea that the creators and stars Abbi and Ilana worked in SEO/social pre web-series, but suddenly all became clear.

As the second season of Broad City launched on Comedy Central in the US, it was obvious that the girls had upped their game. Their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr presence was top notch, but not satisfied with that they decided to hit dark social as well, creating their own keyboard app, so you could now share your fave Abbi and Ilana gifs with your BFF in texts.

They partnered with Lyft and created a Broad City bus (that featured a replica of Abbi’s apartment) and drove it around picking up customers, who then Instagrammed it like crazy. (hashtags front and centre)

But the real genius was in the way the show was aware of which moments in each episode people were going to want to share. These were the ones they created gifs and stickers from and served up in their keyboard app. This was updated weekly, after each new episode with content that had just aired.

They also created in show moments that referenced online content – who can forget the al dente dentist or the glorious Body By Trey dot Biz  ?
Don’t get me wrong, these ladies were a content marketing machine, throughout the 10 episode run all of the owned channels posted regularly, but it didn’t ever get annoying, even if you followed them on everything. Reasons being

1) The tone of voice was always totally on point.

This isn’t a brands saying BAE type situation. Abbi and Ilana can talk like millennials, because they are millennials.

2) Catchphrases that are good hashtags.

There was no attempt to keep jokes running longer than they needed to. These girls (and their marketing team) understand that Twitter is all about the now so each episode would feature at least a couple of super hashtaggable moments, just ripe for the tweeting.

3) Their approach was integrated perfectly, but they kept their channel content separate.

Gifs and longtail content goes on Tumblr, videos are uploaded natively to Facebook, Twitter is perfect for gifs, memes and showing off fan art. Although the content occasionally crossed over, the strategy was clear and it worked. None of it felt like an marketing ploy dreamt up by a middle aged man who doesn’t get it.

Their social strategy feels less ‘put together’ than HBOs for Girls (which caters to a similar demographic), where everything feels a little bit more corporate than it should. With Broad City it all manages to feel natural and effortless. And this in turn, makes you really, really want to be their friend.

This is a perfect example of an always on social media campaign with well thought out content at its core.

It’s something we should all aim for.

Oh, and check this out for some of the best Broad City social moments.