If you love “Lost” or “Heroes,” chances are you've visited one of the endless Web sites devoted to the shows. Perhaps you've even blogged about what might happen next to Hurley or Hiro. Or maybe you're a hobbyist who watches videos online to learn woodworking or needlecraft techniques. Direct talked recently with Rusty Williams, vice president and co-founder of Prospero Technologies, about how social networking can help build relationships with television and publishing audiences.
DIRECT: Why is social networking such a good fit for TV?
WILLIAMS: Social networking is about people with a very strong affinity getting together and sharing that affinity. It's a natural transition for fans of particular television shows or sports or other things to share that enthusiasm online.
DIRECT: How are networks and TV production companies tracking the response of these efforts? Is it viewership, or is there another metric?
WILLIAMS: It's primarily Web traffic. We're compiling the results of a recent survey which supports that most people are saying [they're tracking] by Web revenue or total number of visitors. It's really the metric of attention. And that's the key driver of all advertising — how you capture attention. It's the main goal for nearly all these campaigns.
DIRECT: You worked with Fox on a live blog it did at the Emmy Awards. What did Fox hope to accomplish with that campaign?
WILLIAMS: A couple of things. It added to the promotional efforts around the Emmys and showed some cutting-edge things [that were] happening. And there was a more practical component — a tie-in with a new mobile phone from Sprint. Fox had on-air mentions of the bloggers and the Sprint phone which drove recognition and revenue for Sprint. That was the critical ROI or cost justifier. But it also helped show how Fox is pushing the envelope with innovation and interacting with fans.
DIRECT: Are there any do's and don'ts for constructing a social networking campaign for television?
WILLIAMS: The answer isn't specific to TV. The important thing is to build [campaigns] around people's actions and their interests. That's what they're going to want to share. Devout fans of ‘Lost’ are going to be very interested in sharing their theories about what's happening after each episode of the show and have other people comment. Another example is a contest [ABC is running for] ‘Grey's Anatomy,’ where people are speculating about which characters will do what, who will kiss who. These are good examples — focused and directed examples — of getting people to share their interests and enthusiasm for a show. A bad [move] is building things that are not directed toward what people are talking about. A message board about ‘What's on TV tonight?’ isn't the same as ‘Let's talk about the final episode of ‘Jericho’’ or ‘Come talk about who got kicked off ‘American Idol.’’ You want to direct people to things they're going to have a reaction to. It may be a bit of a stretch, but it's like being a producer for talk radio. You need to bring up topics that are current, and prompt people to participate.
DIRECT: What types of social networking options work best for publishers.
WILLIAMS: There are different types of publishers, and people react in different ways. Newspapers have news happening continuously. A talk-back feature [that allows] people to react to published articles can be a really good model for news, where discussion can be spawned around current events and specific topics. On the flip side there's Taunton Press, which has a concentration in hobbies and crafts like woodworking, sewing and home building. People have an ongoing interest in becoming better and more informed [in these areas], and in seeing what others have created. Taunton has a blog called GlueTube for its woodworking readers where you can see different projects and how they're made, step by step, narrated by those who did the work.
DIRECT: Are publishers tying online communities into offline products?
WILLIAMS: We really haven't seen that yet. That's an interesting opportunity in print. Boston.com is [heading in that direction]. It's taking excerpts of comments made online and featuring them in the print publication. In the future I think the idea will be to find, cull and elevate commentary from the public.
DIRECT: How are publishers judging the ROI of their online social efforts?
WILLIAMS: They're all in the business of advertising, so they want to drive more traffic, and ultimately clickthroughs, to advertising. It's still a game of attention: How do you keep the people who've been reading your publication from going to other specialty sites? How do you give them a sense of ownership in the site? It's all about building that footprint and repeat traffic.
DIRECT: In general, what should people avoid in social networking?
WILLIAMS: It's a mistake to take the same approach to advertising that would work on a branded site, such as an overt pop-up ad or an expanding video ad. Those kinds of intrusive or interruptive ads aren't good when you're in a social networking or participatory context. There's really a different mindset for somebody who's commenting and collaborating with others. They're engaged in a way that's different from when they're in search mode and gathering information. A better [approach] is when they integrate themselves into the context and give relevant information that fits what people are talking about. Marketers need to be genuine, approachable and ready to participate in the dialogue, vs. just presenting a packaged television or print-style ad. There are risks to social marketing. There's criticism and the [medium] is not as controllable as [traditional] print or TV advertising. But in the end you get feedback, commentary and direct dialogue — all the things that really engender a relationship with the company.
NL
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