Establishing a presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube is a necessary step in promoting new productions, but it is not enough. Effective social media marketing is complex and posting a few links on Facebook or fun facts on Twitter each week is just the beginning.
Using social media management tools to monitor relevant online chatter and respond to patrons’ feedback is very important. For instance, if there has been more buzz about rude front of house staff than the cast’s acting abilities, but that’s unbeknownst to management, then that’s a serious cause for concern.
To stand out amongst the noise, which characterizes social media, stay up to date about industry-wide best practices and assess competitors’ social media activity. If you want to improve your Facebook page, then find brand pages that frequently share interesting content that has high-quality visual elements and understand the approximate 80/20 split between being conversational and promotional. Viral videos like Will It Blend? demonstrate how easy it is to produce engaging content at minimal cost.
There is “so much [comedic] talent out there and not enough time to show it all,” Sandra Bullock astutely said during the People’s Choice Awards. The award-winning star of The Heat and Gravity took home four trophies on Wednesday night, while I sat at home wishing I had her brown wavy locks.
Kat Dennings, my other favourite brunette Hollywood star, dazzled in her role as co-host. When she quoted fans’ tweets and introduced which song Beth Behrs would sing next, she quickly made that segment a highlight of the 40th People’s Choice Awards. I promised my Facebook friends that I won’t blog more about the dance move Miley popularized last year, so let’s just say Beth’s rendition of Wrecking Ball was epic. Matt LeBlanc joked about singing a song too, but claimed that he couldn’t due to time constraints. The former Friends star then announced that The Big Bang Theory (the show with a Barenaked Ladies theme song) was named Favourite Network TV Comedy.
Kaley Cuoco AKA television’s sweetest newlywed accepted the award for Favourite Comedic TV Actress. She started the year with a bang by wearing a pink Vera Wang dress to her wedding, which she decorated with an upside-down cake hanging from a chandelier. Watching her in the opening sequence on the set of 2 Broke Girls was amusing. Remember, stars are just like us. They’re busy people who care about loyalty programs at Jamba Juice.
Whereas Justin Timberlake spoke about his team in the context of how they’re obligated to deal with his neuroses, Jennifer Hudson brought her sister into the spotlight to emphasize the importance of teamwork and family. “My mother always taught us that without family, you have nothing,” she said. Cover girl material right there. Sponsorship-related pun intended.
Surprisingly, last night marked the first time Britney Spears won her a People’s Choice Award. Britney celebrated her prize and comeback in a dress that screamed Las Vegas style and reminded me how much I want to return to the west coast.
I’m not afraid to admit I watch daytime talk shows when I’m home. Ellen DeGeneres graciously accepted her 14th People’s Choice Award before Queen Latifah won the title of Favourite New Talk Show Host.
Viewers enjoyed a few more laughs when Adam Sandler read a fan letter containing more grammatical errors than those found in papers on most elementary school teachers’ desks. It was supposedly written by his glowing former co-star Drew Barrymore and his wife seemed to get a kick out of it.
Other entertaining moments included Shemar Moore flirting with Malin Åkerman, The Good Wife‘s big wins and Chris Colfer’s remarks about fans following him online and offline. The Olay commercials that aired during the People’s Choice Awards are also worth mentioning because I love a cheery TV spot that references Instagram.
Let’s not forget about Stephen Colbert! He spoke about democracy’s role in the award show, noting that the PCAs feature his 3 favourite things: people, choices and awards. J. Lo knows how to stand out at award shows (we’ll be talking about her green Versace gown for years), so naturally Stephen’s speech ended once he was distracted by her impromptu off-camera appearance.
Unfortunately Zooey Deschanel didn’t win in her category, but her sister Emily represented the family onstage when she presented an award to Sarah Michelle Gellar. I couldn’t write this post without mentioning Freddie Prinze Jr.’s wife, let alone an actress who stars in a sitcom about agency life. Mad Men is one of my favourite shows and it’s cool to watch the success of a funny and contemporary version inspired by Leo Burnett. For the next few months, we’ll have to keep calm and wait patiently for the final season of Mad Men. I’ll be ready with my remote and iPad the night of its season premiere.
Photo: Forever Young Adult
Photo: WebProNews
Robert Downey Jr.’s theatrical acceptance speech confirmed that Mark Burnett can produce a sensational show and I hope he advocates for Kat and Beth to become award show hosts again. Thumbs up, ladies.
One of my favourite sessions at CM1, Toronto’s first conference for community managers, was led by Ryan Ginsberg from Twitter Canada. His talk focused on how social content strategists can plan ahead for and respond to big moments. This includes holidays and unexpected pop culture spectacles like Miley Cyrus twerking at the VMAs.
Last year, I wrote about how Oreo mastered social media when they were quick to post about the Super Bowl blackout. Oreo’s Super Bowl post was brilliant because their team quickly produced an image with a few words that effectively made millions crave Oreo cookies.
Likeable branded content is simple. Even though digital teams can plan for holidays like New Year’s Eve months in advance, I think a minimalistic execution is optimal. Essentially all you need to do is be engaging and say something to the effect of “Happy Holidays!” with copy and visuals that are aligned with the brand. When businesses create holiday greetings with too many CTAs, they risk appearing obnoxious, as ADP Canada’s Elizabeth Williams observes.
3 brands that understand the power of brevity when celebrating the holidays are Sharpie, Ben and Jerry’s and Holt Renfrew. Look at their Instagram posts to see what I mean:
Save the Children is an international NGO committed to advocating for children’s rights and supporting children in developing countries. When Save the Children Canada’s PR manager Kirsten Walkom tweeted that she needed an extra set of hands for a video shoot, I responded immediately and spent the day with their production team a few days later.
Many local celebrities donated their time to appear on camera, including fashion designers Adrian Wu and Jessica Jensen, nutritionist Joy McCarthy and Kiss 92.5’s Devo Brown. It was fun to hang out with them in between takes in Liberty Village.
Devo Brown (Kiss 92.5)
Running into Madiha Aziz, a fellow volunteer and competitor at QMAC 2013, was a nice surprise! She says that helping out on set proved to be a good learning experience. “Before arriving on set, I did not know how much the impact of each dollar donated is to the children of Syria. I felt very blessed to get the chance to assist with the production of this video because it will create the much-needed awareness of the critical situation in Syria.”
Madiha Aziz and Wayne Smith (Toronto Argonauts)
Director Ian Barnett’s final product looks great, as it effectively captures stories about children’s fears to inspire viewers to support Save the Children. One key takeaway from the video is that donating only $40 to the charity can go a long way. Check out the video for The Extra Plate below and share your childhood fears on Twitter for a chance to win a prize!
Melissa Grelo, Traci Melchor, Sarah Prince, Cynthia Loyst and Elaine Lui
I’ve been eager to attend a live taping of CTV’s The Social since it premiered in September. The Social is like a younger version of The Viewwith a stronger interactive component, as viewers’ social media engagement is integral to the series.
The Social takes the second screen experience to a new level because it’s filmed live and selected Twitter and Facebook posts are displayed onscreen. Offering opinionated viewers an opportunity to gain exposure on national television is definitely a better incentive to follow the show’s social media accounts than simply for the sake of entering contests or seeing behind the scenes photos.
Interestingly, the invitation to live tweet the show is extended to audience members as well, so I think Bell Media should install a mobile charging station in the audience waiting area. That would be a cost-effective way to ensure more fans can post on social media with the show’s hashtag. If iPhone chargers were available, then I would’ve taken more pictures and tweeted more commentary. Nevertheless, I preserved my battery as much as possible and was able to take photos with the hosts after the cameras stopped rolling.
I was so excited to see Wednesday’s special guest Jessica Alba that I didn’t care what brought her to Toronto. The fact that Jessica booked interviews with Canadian media outlets to promote her new line of eco-friendly baby products rather than a new movie didn’t matter. Plus, I’m certainly not complaining about getting a free copy of Jessica’s book, The Honest Life.
