Social Media Tracking Week Two: TV Show Suspense = Social Media Success

Demi Lovato

Demi's most-liked Instagram picture of her new piercings.

Demi Lovato is very active on social media. Throughout the week, she has posted Facebook statuses, tweets, and Instagram pictures. From my observations, it seems that Demi uses Facebook to promote business ventures such as upcoming interviews, shows, and appearances. For example, she posted a status about an online audio interview that was now available for listening. In addition, she shared several photos from her Neon Lights Tour, all of which received an overall positive response in the comment section. On Instagram, Demi’s popular post on Instagram was a video clip of her Clean and Clear commercial. This post reached 317 thousand likes. However her most-liked Instagram post was a picture of four new ear piercings, which got over 476 thousand likes. On the Twitter front, Demi tends to be much more personal and open. She often tweets random thoughts or funny stories. This week, the tweets that got the most attention were her personal musings rather than business-related posts like those on her Facebook. Her most popular tweet, which got almost 29,000 retweets and 31,000 favorites, reads “Always remember.. while you're procrastinating, there's always someone else killing the game.....” Her second most popular tweet was an ambiguous and cryptic personal tweet, simply saying, “Wish you were here” with heart emoticons. This tweet got many retweets and favorites, as well as responses from her followers speculating who this tweet was about.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is definitely less active than Demi Lovato on social media, however she still has a distinct online presence. Like Demi, Taylor saves professional and business-related posts for Facebook. This includes posts about voting for award shows, her various endorsements with companies like Keds and Diet Coke, and deals about her online merchandise store. These posts seem as if they are written by her publicity team rather than being personal messages. However, Taylor often “pushes” her various social media posts to her other social media pages page, meaning that the posts appear on both social media outlets. For example, Taylor posted a picture that she painted on Instagram, and pushed it to both her Facebook and Twitter accounts. This means that fans and followers on all sites were able to see her picture. While she does this with most of her social media posts, there are some tweets that she leaves solely on Twitter. Like Demi, these tweets are more personal. This week, Taylor tweeted about her celebrity friend Lena Dunham, who is the star of HBO’s Girls, praising her interview on The Tonight Show. She did not push this to her other accounts, which I found interesting.

Taylor's tweet about friend Lena Dunham, which only appeared on her Twitter.

Cara Delevingne

Cara Delevingne’s social media activity differs from Demi Lovato’s and Taylor Swift’s because all of her accounts (Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook) significantly vary. While she does push some of her Instagram posts to her Twitter, Cara’s social media posts are typically unique to the outlet the posts originate from. This week, Cara took to Twitter to express her support for a charitable cause called drop4drop.org to promote World Water Day. These posts do not appear on any of her other social media accounts. These tweets did not get many retweets. Cara posted one picture to both Instagram and Facebook. It was a “Throwback Thursday” post of her first Burberry campaign. The post was very popular on her Instagram, getting over 245 thousand likes. However the same picture got only 14,000 plus likes on Facebook. I thought this was interesting because there was such a vast difference between the reactions on the different vessels. Contrarily, a picture Cara posted only on Facebook received over 60,000 likes, which is significantly more than the picture that was posted on both Facebook and Instagram. This leads me to believe that pushing a post to various social media accounts leads to less feedback on each social media outlet. This may be because people may have liked a post on Instagram and do not feel the need to like the same post on Facebook.

The Mindy Project

The Mindy Project has been on hiatus since February. The show returns on April 1^st and the people behind the social media accounts of the show have been heavily promoting it. On both Twitter and Facebook, the show’s accounts have been posting screen grabs of the upcoming episodes, often with the number of days until the premiere printed on the picture. In addition, the social media runners have been sharing and retweeting content from the show’s writer, producer, and star Mindy Kaling. The posts they share from Kaling are typically her promoting the return of the show. The thing that really stands out about The Mindy Project’s social media presence is that their accounts consistently interact with fans. For example, on Facebook, the account responds to individual fan’s posts, often with personalized messages. I myself have been retweeted and responded to from the show’s Twitter account. I think that this interaction with fans of the show keeps viewers invested in The Mindy Project and makes them feel personally connected with the program, which is a great public relations strategy.

Pretty Little Liars

PLL's success on social media during the finale.

The star of social media this week is without a doubt Pretty Little Liars. This week, the show’s much-anticipated season four finale aired. The episode was entitled “A is for Answers” and involved the show’s most mysterious and interesting character sitting down with the main girls and answering many of their questions. Fans have been waiting for these answers for years and the finale was very hyped up on social media, even before it aired. A few days before the show, the social media account runners started the hashtag #AliTellsAll in order to promote the finale. The Pretty Little Liars fans, known as the PLL Army, trended #AliTellsAll before the show even aired. During the finale, the show broke many social media records. After this episode, Pretty Little Liars is the most tweeted show of 2014 and the fourth most tweeted show in television history. This involved 1.5 million total tweets with 9.9 thousand tweets per minute, resulting in 82 trending topics. These are remarkably impressive stats. During the broadcast, the show flashes hashtags such as #IsEzraAlive and invites viewers to tweet it, which most likely contributed to the show’s social media success. More details about the season four finale’s success is available in the infographic below.

Scandal

While not as successful as Pretty Little Liars this week, Scandal also was very active on social media this week. Last week’s episode ended in a cliffhanger. The show ended with a gunman shooting towards a group of two men, leaving viewers unaware of which of the two men got shot. Both men were significant characters, which left viewers dying (no pun intended) to know the outcome. The show started the hashtag #WhoGotShot, which was promoted on social media accounts throughout the week. When the show airs on Thursday nights, the majority of the cast “live tweets” the episodes. The Scandal Twitter account retweets many of these tweets, allowing followers to see what the cast is saying about the episode without having to follow each individual actor. I think this is a good tactic, however these tweets often contain spoilers. As someone who does not often watch TV shows live as they air, it is kind of annoying to have to avoid social media in order to avoid finding out what happens on the show. 

Social Media Tracking Week One: An Introduction

I am very passionate about pop culture. I am always keeping up with celebrities, TV shows, movies, music, (and yes, I’ll admit it, the Kardashians.) In today’s day and age, a big part of “keeping up” with my passion entails closely following social media. I religiously follow my favorite celebrities on all forms of social media. In addition, as a self-professed TV addict, I also monitor the social media accounts associated with my favorite shows.

For Comm 471, which is a class about public relations writing methods, I am going to monitor the social media use of selected celebrities and television shows and note the public’s reactions. I will be looking for what works, what doesn’t work, which types of posts get the most feedback, who knows what they’re doing when they post, and who does not. I want to work in the public relations industry, more specifically entertainment PR, and social media has become an integral part of the field. I feel that monitoring and evaluating social media accounts of people I look up to will help me learn how to effectively manage social media from a public relations perspective.

I have chosen to follow six accounts for this project. Three of these accounts belong to celebrities; the other three are TV shows. The three celebrities I have chosen to follow are Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, and Cara Delevingne. The television shows I am tracking are The Mindy Project, Pretty Little Liars, and Scandal.

For the first week, I have decided to give a brief introduction of each person and show, describing who/what they are and their current social media presence.

Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato

Demi is a singer and actress who became popular by starring in the Disney Channel movie Camp Rock alongside the Jonas Brothers. Since then, Demi’s career has been a whirlwind. She came out with two successful pop/rock albums after Camp Rock and even starred on her own Disney Channel show called Sonny with a Chance. However, Demi checked into rehab in 2010 for a multitude of problems. When she got out a few months later, Demi was extremely vocal about her issues. She admitted to struggling with eating disorders, self-harm, and bipolar disorder. Instead of letting this end her career, she used it as inspiration. Since leaving treatment, Demi has put out two more successful albums, has been a host of the X Factor, and has inspired millions die-hard fans, known as “Lovatics,” to speak out about their own issues. Demi has accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. She is not afraid to speak her mind and share her opinions on social media, specifically on Twitter. She currently has over 21 million Twitter followers, over 31 million Facebook “likes,” and over 4 million Instagram followers.

Taylor Swift

Swift on her Red Tour.

Since starting her career in 2006, Taylor Swift has made herself a household name. The classy has arguably the most impressive and successful career of my generation. She started out singing country songs in dive bars in Nashville and now has sold-out, worldwide arena tours. She has put out four albums, all with resounding success. Her albums Taylor Swift and Speak Now each sold over 5,000,000 copies worldwide. Her most recent album, entitled Red, sold about 6,000,000 copies worldwide and Fearless, her most successful album, sold over 8,500,000 copies worldwide. She has won countless awards including American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Country Music Awards, and of course, infamous VMAs. Most impressive, Swift has won seven Grammys at the age of 24. She was even the youngest artist to every win “Album of the Year” for Fearless and was nominated again in 2014 for Red. Taylor is known for her girl-next-door charm and befriending both her fans and other celebrities. Taylor has accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. She has over 39 million followers on Twitter, over 56 million “likes” on Facebook, and over 8 million Instagram followers.

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Cara Delevingne

A few years ago, Cara Delevingne was unknown. However today, her face is ubiquitous. Cara used social media to gain popularity for her high-fashion, international modeling career. She is loved around the world not only for her modeling, but for her funny, relatable, and bold personality, which many times come through on social media. She is in virtually every show during Fashion Week, modeling for major designers such as Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta, Fendi, Jason Wu, and many more. She has done print ads for H&M, Chanel, and Burberry. This year, she walked in the famous Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. In addition, she has been on the cover of many international magazines, including British Vogue. Cara is not afraid to push the envelope on social media, even going so far as to film a live video while walking down the catwalk during Fashion Week and posting it to Instagram. Like Demi and Taylor, Cara has Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. She has over 1.5 million followers on Twitter, over 930,000 likes on Facebook, and over 4.6 million followers on Instagram.

Cara Delevingne

The Mindy Project

Lahiri and her hilarious coworkers.

The Mindy Project is created by actress and author Mindy Kaling, who is best known for her role as Kelly Kapoor on The Office. Kaling left The Office to create her own show, which turned out to be a great decision. Kaling writes and stars in the show. The program follows Mindy Lahiri, played by Kaling, a doctor who is successful in her professional life, but all over the place in her personal life. Lahiri is a pop culture-obsessed, witty, colorfully-dressed gem of a character whose antics are hilarious to follow. The show highlights her many dating woes as well as the lives of her hilarious coworkers. The Mindy Project has had many famous guest stars such as Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, James Franco, Ellie Kemper, and Allison Williams. The show was just recently renewed for a third season and is currently on hiatus until April 1. The Mindy Project has accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The show has over 49 thousand followers on Twitter, around 255,000 “likes” on Facebook, and over 5,000 followers on Instagram.

Pretty Little Liars

Pretty Little Liars is a smash-hit television show on ABC Family. The show is a mystery, but also incorporates aspects of a drama, comedy, and thriller. Pretty Little Liars follows four high school friends who are trying to solve their friend’s murder while simultaneously being stalked and harassed by an anonymous villain known as “A.” The show has been on for several years and has not stopped gaining popularity. The mix of action, suspense, and a great wardrobe has allowed the show to gain a cult-like following. The program keeps viewers watching by never fully revealing who the mysterious “A” is and leading viewers to wrong conclusions and dead-ends. The show is very prominent on Twitter and Facebook. The show has over 2 million followers on Twitter and over 12 million “likes” on Facebook. There is no official Instagram account for the show.

One of the many stylish looks of the Liars.

Scandal

The scandalous affair in action.

Scandal is an extremely popular show on ABC. The drama is centered around Olivia Pope, a “fixer” who has very close ties with the White House. In fact, she has an ongoing affair with the President, who is a married man. Each week, new problems and cases come up that need to be “fixed” by Olivia and her team of “Gladiators,” all of who come with their own drama. Aside from fixing the scandals of high-profile D.C. figures, Olivia has to deal with having an affair with the President, covering up a rigged election, having a terrorist as a mother and a secret CIA agent as a father, and unbelievably, much more. The show is high on drama and is very, ahem, scandalous. The show is very prominent on social media. The majority of the cast “live-tweets” as the episode airs, adding commentary and interacting with the fans, known as “gladiators.” The show has over 2 million “likes” on Facebook and 450,000 followers on Twitter. There is no official Instagram account for Scandal.