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.