Often, when looking at Social Media and its promotional content  I see ads from some of my favourite Movie or TV show producers and find myself wondering if that was the best way to promote it.

To be honest often times i do not think so.

Clearly this is the reflection of a University student but I do think that many Media companies have the wrong approach.

As Hoffman and Fodor (2010) point out in the MIT Sloan Management Review, there has to be a re-imagining of the relationship with the consumer compared to traditional media marketing.

If Social-Media Marketing were the same as traditional media then ROI (return-on-investment) for every dollar would be easily accountable and every view, sale, like and favourite would be easily quantifiable and predictable.

However, that is not the case since Social Media is significantly different to previous mediums. As Hanna et al.(2011) point out consumers are not passive recipients anymore and Social Media is highly interactive, pro-active and discussion-oriented.

Instead what Social Media should be doing – according to both Hoffman and Fodor (2010) and Hanna et al.(2011) – is focus on specific objectives and then aim from there to create so called “Consumer Investment/Interaction”.

Liking a photo and moving on doesn’t imply that the user will remember your advert since he is bombarded CONSTANTLY by just as many marketers trying to grab his attention.

However, if a user becomes aware and engaged by the Media content and constantly comes back for more, then you have now gained a loyal customer who will in some form or other communicate positively on-line (but especially off-line) to friends and family about your Brand.

This so called bottom-up Marketing, mentioned by Hanna et al.(2011), is important to note since it allows Marketers to tread into the very personal and private space of people’s relationships with others. We trust our friends and their opinions, and if a friend suggests some amazing new film or TV show and you value their opinion, you will be more inclined to want to watch it and look out for it.

I believe the ROI focused mentality exists because of attachment that we have to old media and the relative ease of associating simple actions/promotions to create interest.

“Relative” ease means that there is no serious consideration  of consumers. Hoffman and Fodor (2011) state that Social Media should be part of a fully integrated Marketing campaign and not just tacked on to other promotions.

But there is a significant difference between good quality and engaging promotions as opposed to a simple (and in my opinion uninteresting Marketing Campaign) that has very few aims and is just copy and pasted on all Social Media platforms. As the examples below:

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Venture Harbour (2014), a digital Marketing Agency provides in one of their blog posts many tips that can be used to promote and create buzz around a TV show or film and provide many interesting examples. As shown below, together with some others chosen by yours truly. They are still promotional but with entertainment content and a lot more engaging, interesting and overall stand out from the rest of the pack.

The provided examples which are shown below, together with some others chosen by yours truly, are still promotional  entertainment content but they are alot more engaging, interesting and overall stand out from the rest of the pack.

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The content involves and interacts with the consumer in various ways and forms, be it in the form of user submitted Fan-art, competitions that actively engage viewers, sales or even humour.

Obviously, there has to be a decision behind the Marketing Plan which must be tailored to the audience (Age, Sex, Country), to the brand’s image (making comedy for a serious TV series is a bit out of place), but also to the objectives that have been established.

Looking at The Hollywood Reporters and BrandWatch best marketing campaigns from last year, there is a significant trend:

Difference from the rest

More memorable from the rest

Tailored approach based on what is being promoted

So if you get the chance to promote a TV show or Movie, and you want it to succeed, take a bit of time in thinking out the best and most productive way to promote – not just the easiest and laziest way.