Too Social?

Have we as consumers become too social? 

As I look down at my iPhone - connected to GPS and with a camera + voice recorder built-in - and then at all my social apps; Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc...I realize that I have the ability to share my everything with the world. Thankfully, I don’t. But the point is I could and some people do. And what happens when the consumers are too social? Can they be too social? I think so – but what’s the response?

Some companies decide to bury their heads and pretend that social media is a fad that will go away. Some barely accept it into their lives by creating a Facebook page that is never updated and adding ‘like’ buttons to their website, while some jump right in and engage with their audience through live video chat, online events, social promotions, online customer service, etc. But can too much social engagement become detrimental to the brand?

Earlier this month, pro wrestling's Vince McMahon brought his social media event of the year to the screens – emphasis on screen(s) – of millions of wrestling fans! With the pay-per-view event on TV, exclusive content available on YouTube and Facebook and super star interactions on Twitter, it isn’t surprising that Wrestlemania had 110 trending topics in 5 hours, received over 3.9 million views on YouTube, plus an event hashtag that was mentioned more than 600,000 times in less than 24 hours. 

But are all these social add-ons a good thing?

I still remember years ago, when I was sitting with family laughing, screaming and reacting to the matches on TV. I enjoyed every moment of it and became emotionally attached to my favourite wrestlers. And guess what - I wasn’t Tweeting or posting on Facebook while I did it. Sometimes I’d wiki-search for a wrestler’s bio if he was new, but I was experiencing the show with real people and acting like the perfect fan, falling for every stunt and becoming angry when the heel would cheat - and now it’s all changed.

Flash forward to present day. To understand the full story lines of a weekly show, I now need to watch the YouTube channel and listen all week on Twitter to catch up on the latest feud between the Bella Twins and Kelly Kelly. Even when I’m watching on television, there are constant references to something on Twitter that I should have paid more attention to and the experience, as a result, becomes a lot of work. Relaxing with family and friends is hijacked by another 2 hours spent on my mobile screen trying to find out everything I need to know in order to follow the plot. 

So, what happens when a company becomes TOO social? Can a company cross the line of usage when it comes to social media? Or, are fans like me just being a little too resistant to the future of entertainment?

-@mandamwright

How One Company Used Their Fans To Fund An "Impossible" Idea

Ever wish your consumers would fund your ideas?Zenescope did, and it looks like it's working! With a combination of fan loyalty, an interesting product and exciting incentives, Zenescope has raised $20,000 in less than 72 hours! 

• The Challenge

Some quick background: even though fairy tales are extremely popular at the moment with Once Upon a Time, Grimm, and the Snow White movies coming out this year, Hollywood decided there was no room for an animated series. Zenescope - one of the top independent comic book and graphic novel publishers in the world - disagrees, and so do their fans. With the support of Kickstarter (the world's largest online funding platform for creative projects), they've teamed up to create a 46-day campaign between March 16th and May 1st to raise $175,000 towards the creation of the Grimm Fairy Tales: Animated Series.

With a tough goal to meet and no backup funding, Zenescope must rely completely on their fans to not only pledge money but to spread their message. Now that's fan loyalty...and company trust. And what’s the best part about this campaign? The fans actually WANT to donate!


So, how did they do it? How has Zenescope tapped into their loyal fanbase to generate funds for a project that is, at this point, merely a POSSIBILITY?  

How'd they do it?

Zenescope has a very niche segment in the market, attracting not just comic book enthusiasts, but also the devoted fans that specifically want to support independent companies. It's allowed them to create a strong and personal relationship with their fans, which is key to their success with this project. Crowdsourcing like this only works when you have a well-established relationship with your customers - one that’s strongly focused on trust and open communication (kind of like a healthy marriage).

Larger companies with a broader fan base may have a more difficult time gaining and maintaining this type of dedicated support. When operating on a massive scale, it isn’t as easy to relate and communicate with your target market on an individual level – though social media is certainly making it more possible. Larger consumer bases with less loyalty to the brand are more likely to interact with a company because of offers, cost, location, and not because of personal connection. 

Zenescope, on the other hand, has done a great job of connecting with their fans and not only listening to them but also responding and adapting to their collective feedback. They allowed their followers to feel like a part of the team and by taking their advice and sharing behind the scenes material, they were able to lean on them for support when the need arose.

Thanks to a combination of blogger outreach and posts by Zenescope, as well as articles on comic news sources, they were able to quickly spread the word amongst their key communities and influencers. They also reached out to their Facebook and Twitter communities to connect with and inform their loyal fans who quickly responded with startling support. After only a few days, they had made significant process. Using targeted incentives, open communication and a common goal to bring these fairy tales to life, Zenescope had received over $20,000 from less than 200 supporters. 

They didn’t stop there. Following some fan suggestions, they created an HTML widget that can be posted on the sidebar of any personal blog. It created awareness and linked to a pledge page. Talk about ROI; the time they put into this small web app will be rewarded with increased share-ability and more media/blogger exposure. It also simplified the donation process, which is a key to successful fundraising. After all, the easier it is for a potential supporter to donate, the more likely they are to pledge.

The word was spread, the fans were excited and Zenescope is that much closer to bringing their fairy tale to life. Anything’s a possibility when you have a tribe of believers supporting your brand. Could your company benefit from crowdsourced fundraising? Is your fan base loyal enough to help push your business forward? 

- @mandamwright 

also published on Fuse Marketing Group's FUZZ Blog

True Blood: An Infectious Campaign #TBwithdrawl

True Blood in inarguably a very ‘Sexy’ brand, I mean come on. Look at those sex scenes. Even with it’s wild success True Blood had some strong competition from, other networks as well as within the Vampire and Supernatural genre. True Blood needed to connect with it’s audience; understand who they are, what they wanted from the brand and how they were going to keep them committed to the brand during the off season. #TBwithdrawl was an epidemic after the first season ended, fans didn’t know what to do with themselves; after only 12 weeks of this new show they had to wait an entire year before they would find out what happens with their favourite characters.

The staff on True Bloods marketing team were tasked with keeping True Blood in the minds of the fans all year long from the time of the premier to the release of the DVD/Blu-Rays and through to the next season. The beginning was simple, fun and effective. Online True Blood fan forums, Social Media Profiles for the show. You can even chat with Sookie and Lafayette on Twitter. The fans were connected, informed and eagerly awaiting the next season, but True Blood didn’t stop there. Each season meant a new and more extreme advertising campaign. They have had many and I will not be able to touch on all the online, let alone the traditional marketing implementing by HBO and True Blood for their new show.

True Bloods marketing seems to always push the limits, and with great success.

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True Blood understand their audience, their needs and desires and it plays to them well. #WaitingSucks and True Bloods’ addictive show is even harder to wait for, which makes all the content posted to the many social medias widely anticipated and expected. The fans love to know what is going on, who is new to the cast, what spoilers they can learn as well as what promotions are out for those loyal to the show. Season 4 had its campaign start this May, were you infected?

True Bloods “Immortalize Yourself” App in Facebook was widely successful. This application allows millions of fans to create videos that use their names and profile pictures, as well as those of their friends and put them into a scene of the show intended to link Season 3 and 4. The creates engagement and a sense of inclusion for the fans and is easily sharable online, and as the most important aspect of Social Media, it was shared and helped True Blood gain over 35,000 fans because of this specific campaign.

This campaign has, in the words of Caluori, "encouraged and celebrated the passion and dedication of True Blood fans" through its social media efforts over the last three seasons. This year, we wanted to give them what they've always wanted, a chance to participate in the actual world of the show," she said. "By using Facebook's technology we were able to simulate a personalized experience for every fan. I mean, who doesn't want to get a message from Eric?"

Caluori also stated that HBO sees its series campaigns as opportunities to reward dedicated fans and create tactics that allow them to engage with the series in a unique way.

"The Facebook app allows us to reach people we already know are True Blood fans, but also let them act as evangelists for the show through their own social networks," she added.

True Blood and HBO get it…now how can you get your brand Social?

TrendsTalk: Are you Sexy enough for Social Media?

TrendsTalk: Are you Sexy enough for Social Media?:

Social Media Marketing. It’s new, it’s the future of word or mouth, but is it for you? Amanda and Doris will delve into the keys of using Social Media Marketing for different types of brands to discover if Social Media Marketing is for everybody. Sexy Brands can take it and run with it, what about you?

Follow the Link to learn more about TrendsTalk: www.TrendsTalk.com