Category: Strategy - Page 2

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.

In my line of work I’m often called upon to write social media strategy for brands and that’s good, I like helping people figure out how to build communities based around their offerings. Oftentimes it’s the marketing department that contact me. Again, as is to be expected as social media was primarily touted as a marketing channel. But here’s the thing.

It’s not.

I mean, it is, in that it’s great for marketing. BUT social media is also excellent for customer services, for product feedback, for sales leads and a myriad of other things.

A few years back, before social came of age, there was a big question about who “owned” social – the marketing dept or the PR folks.

I think it’s time for us to revisit this question, but instead of asking who ‘owns’ social, come up with a cohesive way of all departments working together to get the most out of social, and to ensure they’re providing a worthwhile service to their users/community/customers.

According to SproutSocial, 5 out of 6 messages to brands go unanswered. Now I can understand that not all of these questions are answerable customer enquiries, my time managing @GOVUK taught me that, but I’m reasonably sure more than 1 out of 6 is a question that can be answered.

Not dealing with your customer’s enquiries is hugely detrimental to your online presence, it doesn’t matter how good your marketing strategy is if the basics aren’t being taken care of.

So before you talk to an agency or a freelancer about helping you out with social, talk to the rest of your departments and get them involved. It’ll make them feel involved, it’ll make your job easier, and it certainly makes your customers happier.

This isn’t a new idea, but I thought it was worth repeating.