The Challenge

The primary responsibility of FOX 50’s creative services team is to entice potential viewers to watch our entertainment shows — especially network and syndicated shows. However, on the Internet, most viewers only engage with local TV brands for news and weather updates, not entertainment shows. As the social media lead, I had to discover creative ways to engage viewers on our social channels (primarily Facebook) so that we could entice them to watch our new and returning entertainment shows.

Uncovering Opportunities Through Analytics and Research

When I became FOX 50’s social media lead, I decided to do an audit of six months of our previous Facebook posts to inform a new strategy. I discovered that overt selling led to poor reach and engagement, despite it being our most common social media strategy. Meanwhile, posts that asked engaging questions were performing extraordinarily well, thanks in part to our Family Feud questions of the day. I also noticed an opportunity to feature local ties as well as focus on the stars of a show, rather than just mentioning the show name.

Finally, while Facebook was our top social media channel at the time, my research uncovered communities of fans on Twitter expressing their joy and opinions of entertainment shows. I saw an opportunity to increase our presence there by engaging in conversations.

As a result of my research findings, the main goals of my social media plan were to:

• Primarily feature actors of shows
• Feature local tie-ins to our programming
• Speak like a fan, not like a marketer

Local Emphasis

Whenever possible, I would look for local connections to the shows that we were airing. Some examples of local tie-ins were:

• Behind-the-scenes content promoting the locally produced FOX show, Sleep Hollow
• Posts and videos featuring local American Idol contestants, including exclusive interviews
• Silly connections between the stars of our entertainment shows and our own local news personalities (See the mustache contest between Steve Harvey and WRAL personality Gerald Owens.)

I also led our team in being more physically present in the local community, and creating content out of our fun engagements with actual TV fans.

Focusing on the Actors

I began the strategy of using the stars of our network and syndicated shows as the primary way of garnering attention on Facebook. I created social media graphics wishing them happy birthday, congratulating them on awards, or honoring them as our selections for “Man Crush Monday” or “Woman Crush Wednesday.”

One of my favorites was a social media series I created for a comedic law show called “The Grinder.” The graphics depicted Rob Lowe in front of the Raleigh skyline sharing funny and ridiculous North Carolina laws that were still on the books. This example had the added benefit of incorporating local ties.

Leveraging Fandom

It was important to shift our voice from that of a marketer to that of a TV fan wanting to engage with other fans. Many of the blog content and social media posts I created shared elements of shows that personally resonated with me or other members of the FOX 50 team. I produced and directed recap videos featuring me and other members of the FOX 50 Creative Services team.

On Twitter, I used geo-targeting to uncover fans in FOX 50’s viewing area that were enthusiastic about shows in our lineup. Then, I would live-tweet with them as they watched, or engage them in opportunities to win show swag. I encouraged other team members to do the same. Together we created a Twitter presence that got the attention of the FOX network and some of the stars of our shows.

Significant Outcomes

Overall, I tried to use humor and a lighthearted approach that would feature community ties and a fan mindset whenever possible. The shifts in content subject matter doubled our average organic engagement, despite the effects Facebook’s new algorithm constraints had on organic reach. By geo-targeting keywords during live tweets, I was able to directly chat with viewers from our local television market, allowing for more fruitful customer conversations and increased engagement.

Alongside our organic efforts, I also ran Facebook ads targeted to possible fans of our shows (based on their listed interests), leading to a 1.7K increase in fans in 30 days .