Tag Archives: Twitter

TV Goes Social

In another life, I’d be a couch potato. Seriously. I do enjoy television. These days, with no time to watch television shows when they are actually aired, the DVR is my best friend. I also like that I can look up a hashtag on Twitter or check a show’s Facebook page to see what I missed or to check out what’s coming up. Despite naysayers warnings, social media has only served to enhance my viewing experience, not replace it.

Here is a list of 4 TV shows using social media to engage with its audience:

1. Fringe on Fox Saved by Twitter Hashtags
On its last season, Fringe has consistently used Twitter hashtags to engage its audience. This sci-fi TV series created by by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci premiered on the Fox in 2008. It stars Anna Torv (Olivia Dunham),Joshua Jackson (Peter Bishop), and John Noble (Walter Bishop), as members of a Federal Bureau of Investigation “Fringe Division” team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security. It is called that because “fringe” science refers to unexplained occurrences much like The X-Files before it. Now they are in a battle to save mankind from “The Observers.” The action is gripping, but the human drama and philosophical aspects even more captivating.

Here’s how Fringe uses twitter to engage its fans. As with many shows on the Fox network, a hashtag accompanies each episode allowing fans to comment, tweet, discuss the show. Hashtags like #turningpoint and #followthetapes give clues to the Fringe shows without giving too much away. What’s cool is, for a fan like me, who misses an episode, I can simply search up the hashtag and find out what I missed. For non-fans, trending hashtags could entice them to watch a show they otherwise would never have heard of.

Follow @fringeonFox on Twitter, and if you are a sci-fi TV fan (or come on, an old Dawson’s Creek fan, admit it), you will not be disappointed. FRINGE will probably go down in history as the TV show saved by Twitter hashtags. Read Social TV Digest’s post about that here.

2. New Girl Rewards Fans on Social Media

New Girl starring the so-called adorkable Zooey Deschanel @zooeydeschanel is somewhat new but has instantly gained a TV following with its strategic use of social media to create not just a new sitcom but a phenomenon. If by phenomenon you mean, over 244,000 Twitter followers and 1.9 million Facebook fans, over a relatively short period of time. It helps that the show is truly hilarious and has such a gifted cast (My personal favorite? Max Greenfield as Schmidt, @iamgreenfield on Twitter)

New girl has used twitter hashtags like #trueamerican and #mcmouse to grow its audience. The hashtags, released before an episode airs, are related to events happening in the storyline. In addition, followers have access to exclusive content like behind-the-scenes photos and videos. But perhaps one of the best features of its fan engagement is awarding one new follower with “Fan of the Week” status which is includes a shout out during the live television broadcast!

Follow @newgirlonFox on Twitter.

3. Pretty Little Liars Engages Fans on Various Platforms

If there were an award for the show that was most engaged on social media, it would have to go to Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family. Pretty Little Liars (#PLL @abcfpll on Twitter) is based on Sara Shepard’s young adult-novel series about 4 friends, namely Spencer Hastings (played by Troian Bellisario), Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson), Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), and Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell).

According to Bluefin Labs, Pretty Little Liars received the most comments on Twitter for a cable drama during its season 3 premiere. The ABC family series’ June 5 season premiere racked up a record 534,000 tweets during airtime. 100,000 of them were posted in the first five minutes, and it peaked at about 34,000 tweets per minute.

Like the other shows, specific hashtags air during the actual show. One of the things, that makes #PLL different is that the cast and creators actively engage online. Cast members, like Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson and Keegan Allen, are encouraged to reach out to fans via social media including Twitter and Instagram. It also helps that the show’s core audience is social savvy.

From @LucyHale89s Instagram Feed – a behind the scenes look at the Halloween episode with guest Adam Lambert

4. The Voice Connects with a Social Media Correspondent

Finally, there is The Voice. Or should we say #thevoice that uses hashtags and Twitter to get fans to communicate not just with the judges but with the contestants as well. While the banter on the show by the judges especially Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) and Adam Levine (@adamlevine) is fun, their Twitter conversations are even more entertaining!

Comments appear in a letterbox during the show, kind of like pop-up videos on VH-1. Which leads us to… yes, Christina Millian the live social media correspondent of the show. Like a VH-1 or MTV VJ from back in the day, Christina appears in between segments to call on fans to sound off via Twitter; she also fields questions for contestants from fans. She live-tweets the show as well via @cmillianofficial, her own account with 610,051 followers as of this writing.

Follow @NBCTheVoice on Twitter

Surely there are more television shows that are using social media channels to engage their audiences but these are the shows currently on my DVR. More than being able to connect with my favorite show and its cast, what I love about social media, is being part of the communal experience of watching TV – albeit late and on my own time. There is still that sense of community that exists when one is able to discuss a show’s episode and hypothesize about its meaning, with a fellow fan halfway around the world.

Connect, Teach and Share at OC Social Media Summit Today

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The 1st Orange County Social Media Summit is taking place today, Friday, May 18th, 2012 at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest. Nearly 600 people are expected to attend the day-long event focused on Social Media. Topics covered feature everything from blogging, to making videos to posting tweets and Facebook updates.

I caught up with one of the organizers of the event, Rochelle Veturis Coles @rochelleveturis and asked her a few questions:

MT: What made you decide to organize the Social Media Summit?
RVC: “We wanted to give some of our wonderful social media friends the opportunity to share their skills and talents with the community – because they do it so well, and so effortlessly. I learn a lot from the people on stage, and thought it was time to share them with the world.”

MT: Who are the people behind the OCSMS?
RVC: “My sister @HaleyVeturis and I are the volunteer co-producers of the event. Headliner @TedNguyen is not only speaking, but co-hosting and leading the social good and media relations efforts, as well. The Saddleback Church Communications team has been a huge help and support with the graphics, signage, multi-media components and production of the event. Irvine-based ProGroup donated printing of the programs and the Step and Repeat. Our wonderful keynotes have served as an advisory board – and all speakers, spotlights, and panelists, have been gracious enough to help promote. It’s been a team effort, and we appreciate and thank each and every individual who has contributed to making this occasion an all out success.”

MT: What ONE thing do you want attendees to leave knowing?
RVC: “They can do this. They are special, loved, and unique. There is no one like them and tapping into that uniqueness is going to set them free in the socialmediasphere. If they need help, they can contact anyone on stage – we love new media and are passionate about seeing others “get it,” and succeed.”

Follow along on Twitter hashtag #ocsms. Or catch the LIVE WEBCAST here.

Ritual Cleanse

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My first mistake was going to two parties while on the cleanse. While I never had the urge to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes nor did I have this overwhelming hunger, the party food was very tempting. But you see, the #world knew I was on a cleanse so how was I going to cheat? That’s what you get when you announce to the world via Twitter that you are going on a cleanse.

Social Media makes you accountable. Post a status update about that new diet and your friends (or at least facebook friends) are sure to check up on you. Tweet a question or an idea and someone will call you on it. Cleansing was one of those things.. @terararestephens had talked about it then @cindywang and @thebigdebowski and I started chatting. Finally @ritualcleanse heard the chatter (or rather read it on twitter) and invited me to try a juice cleanse. Because I am a bit of a wimp, I only did it for 2 days.

Ritual Cleanse followed our Twitter Conversation and connected with me. Not long after, I picked up my 12 bottles of freshly pressed 100% organic juices packed in a snazzy green insulated bag and was good to go.

Since I had never done a cleanse before, one of the owners, Marra, suggested I do a “Seasonal Cleanse” which is still 6 juices like the Classic Cleanse but one Classic “Green” juice is replaced with a specially formulated blend that captures the best seasonal produce in a fresh new flavor. Lucky for me, pomegranate was in season. Yum!

I was never hungry on the cleanse and I didn’t go to the bathroom nearly half as much as I feared. The juices were, in fact, really tasty. On that first day however, I got really grumpy around dinner time. I figured it was the lack of caffeine. After drinking the last juice of the day, I was fine. The second day was easier.

For me, @RitualCleanse jump-started my new attitude towards health – that week I was to begin with my fitness trainer @lafitness

In the end, I didn’t lose weight (come on it was just two days) and my hair didn’t suddenly get all shiny as some had claimed but I did stop craving coffee -which was a most unexpected and happy side effect.

Would I go on a cleanse again? Yeah! Maybe we can do it together… Ritual Cleanse has a group discount program. Hmmm.

19 Essential Social Media Resources You May Have Missed

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Social Media is ever-changing, still evolving as are all the tools and apps that come with it. Here’s a handy guide from the always reliable Mashable crew. Great weekend reading. Enjoy everyone!

19 Essential Social Media Resources You May Have Missed.

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Marcie Taylor

On Social Media, Food & Travel, Art & Culture, People & Places

Tag Archives: Twitter

Ritual Cleanse

The Million Follower Fallacy: Audience Size Doesn’t Prove Influence on Twitter