This is a Blog by Tina Jagla of Juice Digital, Social Media Marketing Agency, Manchester
Sookie & Bill of True Blood
The American HBO Show True Blood (produced by Alan Ball) is showing us how to keep Fans excited and on high alert inbetween seasons and keep the buzz going. An impressive six months after the end of Season 2 in the US and with two months to go until the first episode of Season 3, the buzz on Twitter and Facebook is still undead and biting (cheesy puns are a must-have when writing about Vampires!).
I only want to briefly mention the fact that True Blood fans can google organisations like the American Vampire League and The Fellowship of the Sun and can even purchase the beverage that lends the show its name online. Despite being an amazing gimmick, the idea is not new. Back in the day (2002), in the episode “Help” (Season 7, Episode 4) of the infamous Joss Whedon Show Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, when Willow googled guest character Cassie’s website, Thousands of Fans did so as well – and found it.
What is new though is HBO’s openness towards Fans, inviting their participation and even making the accounts of the first True Blood Roleplayers on Twitter “official”, frequently retweeting them and encouraging fans to follow their accounts as well. So it happens that @SookieBonTemps now has15,370 followers despite the fact that she (or he?) is “just” a fan. The list goes on with @jasonBT, @ArleneFowler and even @QueenSophieTB…
While the roleplayers are happily playing their chosen characters lifes and interacting on Twitter, the official True Blood Account @TrueBloodHBO has invented a Hashtag #waitingsucks which is now frequently used by Fans and Roleplayers alike. When one of the roleplayers suggested to play the game of “13 reasons why #waitingsucks”, the official account retweeted him, leading to hundreds of replies – without any incentive. Of course it doesn’t hurt that True Blood is HBO’s most popular show since The Sopranos. Still, popularity online and especially interactivity online, does not happen automatically.
Another tool of True Blood is publicising very short previews by using as yet uncut scenes from the set to its official website and spreading the word on Twitter and Facebook. Of course the scenes in question are always
VILF Promo Poster
mysterious and adding to the suspense of what is going to happen in the next season. On the same track are promotional posters that are published every few days. One of them, stating “VILF” has been especially discussed on Twitter. What is this supposed to mean? The urban dictionary has the answer if you’re not a fan of riddles.
On Facebook there is not only the official Fanpage with over 1.5 Million Fans but also Fanpages for different characters and actors of the show. The official wall is very active with Fans posting comments and liking everything coming from True Blood. Using the same promotional tools as on Twitter, altered to Facebook’s requirements, the number of Fans reached is even bigger than on Twitter with Fans sharing Fan Arts and videos.
Actually there would be so much more to write about and maybe I will add to this Case Study later but for now I want to close with the moral of the story. The Social Media Marketing receipe seems to be easy enough: Give us fans what we crave: Attention and Behind The Scenes material and we will love you – at least as long as the show still lives up to our expectations.
To see if it does, UK citizens will have to wait a while. In the US Season 3 starts on 13 June, for the UK I can’t find a date .
I agree with y’all: #waitingsucks!
