Use Social Media to Build Audience Loyalty and Earned Media Potential

Use Social Media to Build Audience Loyalty and Earned Media Potential March 26, 2014

The impact of social media on audiences will be discussed in-depth at the BroadcastAsia2014 and CommunicAsia2014 conferences

Singapore, 26 March 2014 Social media has changed the way people interact with one another, and also how they discover, share and use content. It has become a unique and innovative platform for broadcasters to adopt, to effectively reach out to their existing and target audiences. Social media platforms also provide opportunities for personalised engagement with each viewer to enhance awareness and build loyalty. With the advent of second screens at home, viewers are savvier than ever and fans of popular TV shows have also leveraged on social media to express their views or even create their own stories (fan fiction).

BroadcastAsia2014 speaks to Erin Dwyer, Executive Director of Digital Marketing of Starz and conference speaker (pictured below) at BroadcastAsia2014 International Conference for her perspectives on social TV and social media how this phenomenon can enhance a broadcaster's brand and content offerings.

Benefits of a social media strategy

Broadcasters can leverage social media in a variety of ways, but the most important thing for all networks to understand is that social media is a long-term investment. If you're in a great situation, with a pre-existing fan base, you may have quick activation capabilities. Ultimately, social is about breaking down barriers; it's about providing accessibility, and one-on-one communication, that will lead to increased loyalty and stronger consumer relationships.

Fans reward shows and brands for considering them, and that in turn builds earned media potential. This can offset large media buying costs, or dovetail with them to increase efficiencies.

Broadcasters can use social media to:

Build loyal fan bases, which generate word of mouth for them and their content

Leverage earned media to compound your paid media reach

Build valuable communities that are dedicated to your content and programming, which in turn become recurrent viewers

Reward and engage your viewers to increase retention and weekly viewership

Integration of social media with content challenges and opportunities

The largest challenge is being nimble. It's vital to take advantage of timely opportunities, while navigating internal and external groups, and providing a value proposition that everyone can support.

Social is still a very new marketing initiative; in fact, in its truest form it's not really marketing' but community evangelism. Moreover, it's changing every single day, so communicating all those evolutions, and their impact on strategies, is a sizeable challenge. However, I think the entertainment category has the greatest opportunity in social. After all, which other category has natural super fans' who live and breathe for characters, quotes, actors and shows? Many marketers are forced to create content that's valuable or interesting about their services, or packaged goods brands. Entertainment is ripe with content that is already valuable; the greatest opportunity lies in how you package, leverage and provide this content to your communities.

Important strategies for enhancing content offerings

First and foremost, you must leverage existing fan bases and influencers. You should engage and encourage your super fans, and also create unique experiences for your communities; feed them the content story you want your fans to share. Use your metrics and listen to what is resonating with fans; they will always tell you what they want. And, complement your content with paid social media campaigns to create larger reach, and in turn, boost high performing content.

Finally, you're in the business of content creation. You should continue your value proposition in social by providing complimentary and parallel social content.

Monetisation of social media is it possible?

Monetising is possible, but it's also a means of redefining what that word actually means to your organisation. If you have access to your consumer or subscriber base, you can likely develop a cost of retention model; one that shows how your investment in social media has helped retain more consumers than before you participated in it. However, I think social media, at its core, is less about direct monetary gain and more about the perception of your brand. You can empower your fans to tell the story for you, and thus build loyalty through authentic communication.

I would avoid using social media to direct sell through ads for entertainment companies, simply because entertainment has a bigger opportunity in social media than that. E-commerce companies can benefit from direct monetisation, but in the entertainment space it's indirect. The focus should be on long-term gains rather than immediate sales/monetisation. Furthermore, long-term ad-based networks will be able to leverage their social media footprint as an additional value in advertising discussions and negotiations. As such, they can find direct value in their social investment through those opportunities.

BroadcastAsia2014 International Conference: Where the Future of TV Begins

Held from 17 to 20 June, the BroadcastAsia2014 International Conference will address the implications, challenges and opportunities of the second screen and social media for the broadcasting industry. Together Daniel Keens, Director of Media Partnerships at Twitter and the Founder and Chairman of LiveRelay, LC Lee, Ms. Dwyer will participate in a panel discussion titled The Role of Social Media in the Future of TV' which takes place on Day 3 on 19 June 2014. She will also present a keynote case study on monetising social media on the same day.

Other confirmed key speakers sharing their exp

LINK:	http://www.broadcast-asia.com/index.php/media-centre/broadcastasia-pre...
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