The document discusses how Discovery Communications uses social media to engage with viewers in real time. It outlines Discovery's large social media footprint and strategies for various shows like Mythbusters, Cake Boss, and Deadliest Catch. It also provides examples of successful social media campaigns like live tweeting An Idiot Abroad and a Facebook chat with Buddy Valastro from Cake Boss. Overall, the document advocates for listening to fans, empowering teams, and being nimble with social media strategies.

1. ®
How Big Brands Use Social Media
Discovery Communications
Amber Harris & Gayle Weiswasser
The Power of Real-Time Engagement:
TV & Beyond
Washington, D.C. | May 4, 2011
PDF processed with CutePDF evaluation edition www.CutePDF.com

2. The
Power
of
Real-­‐Time
Engagement:
TV
&
Beyond
Gayle
Weiswasser
&
Amber
Harris,
Discovery
Communications
BlogWell
DC
|
May
4,
2011
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

3. Today’s
Evolving
TV
Landscape
✦ Hundreds
of
cable
networks
in
the
U.S.
✦ Increasing
number
of
choices
✦ Time-­‐shifting
behavior
✦ 86%
of
mobile
Internet
users
are
using
their
mobile
devices
while
watching
TV1
✦ 40%
are
reading
or
updating
social
media
sites
✦ 24%
are
looking
for
TV
show-­‐
related
content
1Nielsen/Yahoo! Study, November 2010
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

4. Discovery’s
Social
Media
Goals
✦ Build
community,
loyalty
&
brand
affinity/ambassadorship
✦ Drive
tune-­‐in
✦ Increase
online
page
views,
streams
&
purchases
✦ Gather
insights
to
optimize
programming,
outreach
&
marketing
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

5. Our
Social
Media
Footprint
✦ 32M+
“likes”
on
official
pages
(+500%
YoY)
Snowball
growth,
adding
500K+
“likes”/week
✦ 1.7M+
followers
on
managed
accounts
(+400%
YoY)
Reach
more
than
doubles
with
talent
accounts
✦ 850K+
subscriptions
&
40M+
streams/mo.
(+100%
YoY)
✦ Custom
campaigns
for
over
10
series
across
networks;
top
series
include:
55K+
MythBusters
Check-­‐Ins 26K+
Cake
Boss
Check-­‐Ins
35K+
Firefly
Check-­‐Ins 21K+
Pit
Boss
Check-­‐Ins
28K+
An
Idiot
Check-­‐Ins 19K+
Deadliest
Catch
Check-­‐Ins
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

6. What
is
Social
TV?
✦ Online
experiences
that
allow
viewers
to
share
their
TV
interests
in
real
time,
independent
of
place
✦ Community
✦ Check-­‐ins
✦ Chats
✦ Complementary
content
✦ Connecting
with
fans
✦ Connecting
with
talent
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

7. An
Idiot
Abroad
Takes
Twitter
by
Storm
✦ Generated
record
volumes
of
social
media
buzz
for
Science
✦ Real-­‐time
engagement
during
Saturday
night
premieres
✦ Weekly
GetGlue
stickers
✦ Extended
campaign
to
reward
fans
by
airing
their
Tweets
on
air
during
April
1
marathon
✦ Updated
bug,
custom
IPMs
and
Twitter
promo
✦ Live-­‐streamed
fan
Tweets
in
primetime
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

8. Chatting
with
TLC’s
Buddy
Valastro
✦ Supported
premiere
season
of
Next
Great
Baker
through
Cake
Boss
Facebook
page,
leveraging
affiliated
audience
✦ Extended
engagement
with
Next
Great
Baker
viewers
with
Facebook-­‐hosted
chat
with
star
Buddy
Valastro
✦ Simple
approach
connected
fans
with
talent
and
each
other,
drove
Facebook
results
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

9. Deadliest
Catch
Fans
Tune
In
&
Log
On
✦ Hosted
live
online
streaming
version
of
CatchCon
2011
for
fans
on
April
9
✦ Paired
with
on-­‐air
marathon
on
Discovery
Channel
✦ Integrated
tosses
between
two
experiences
✦ Used
to
introduce
concept
of
‘checking
in”
to
Deadliest
Catch
fans
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

10. So,
You’re
Not
in
TV...
✦ Social
TV
is
just
a
fraction
of
real-­‐
time
engagement
opportunities
for
Discovery...and
your
brands.
✦ The
power
(and
challenge)
of
social
media
for
your
business
lies
in:
✦ Transparency
✦ Flexibility
✦ Equalizing
platforms
✦ Immediacy
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

11. Influencing
Decision
Points
✦ Be
aware
of
social
media
environment
and
competing
forces
✦ Find
fans,
customers
and
partners
“in
the
moment”
and
engage
✦ Build
brand
equity
and
ambassadors
on
an
individual
level
✦ Humanize
your
brand
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

12. Sharing
Fandom
✦ Move
beyond
the
“like”
or
follow
to
ambassadorship
✦ Provide
mechanisms
to
make
sharing
easy
-­‐
on
your
platforms
and
off
✦ Focus
on
content
selection
and
ask
“Would
I
want
to
share
this?”
✦ Reflect
and
reward
fans
for
sharing
to
encourage
others
to
do
the
same
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

13. Engaging
Influencers
✦ Leverage
your
stars
to
add
value
to
the
conversation
✦ Identify
expected
and
unexpected
influencers
✦ Engage
swiftly
and
strategically
✦ Build
on
relationships
and
extend
beyond
social
media
(and
vice
versa)
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

14. Embracing
Pop
Culture
Moments
✦ Take
a
chance
on
pop
culture
moments
✦ Engage
offline,
create
partnerships
to
create
social
media
buzz
✦ Know
when
to
say
“no”
✦ Don’t
expect
results
every
time
or
often
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

15. Being
Topical
✦ Extend
your
brand’s
relevance
by
connecting
it
to
current
events
✦ Enter
the
conversation
on
your
own
terms,
define
your
value-­‐
add
✦ Anticipate
newsworthy
events
and
opportunities
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

16. The
Takeaways
✦ Gain
buy-­‐in
from
leadership
to
allow
for
agile
actions
✦ Listen,
listen,
listen
✦ Empower
your
team
✦ Be
nimble
but
strategic
✦ Build
on
your
engagements
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

17. Thank
You!
Gayle
Weiswasser:
@gweiswasser
Amber
Harris:
@TheNuwanda
blog.discoverycommunications.com
|
@DiscoveryComm

18. ®
How Big Brands Use Social Media
Learn more about upcoming
and past BlogWells:
http://socialmedia.org/blogwell
or
live@socialmedia.org
Washington, D.C. | May 4, 2011