How do you give fans what they want, when they don't know what they want? Here are five tips from the guy who runs social and apps for Fox's "Glee," "The X Factor," "The Simpsons," and more.
Glee. The X Factor. Family Guy. The Simpsons. Powerhouse TV shows with enormous fan bases. But how do you turn a 30-60 minute weekly experience into a 24/7 superfan connection point, especially in the quickly evolving television experience?
In the past, the obvious strategy was connecting with audiences through the major social channels. For example, in 2007 Homer Simpson joined Twitter, and began sharing his insights with the world.
Fox's Glee now has enough Twitter followers to fill 17 Yankee Stadiums. And until recently, The Simpsons had more followers than President Obama. But there's no standing still in digital. (This week's top Twitter rankings go to @ladygaga, @justinbieber and @katyperry. @BarackObama is 8th.)
The next element of Fox TV's digital strategy quickly became the mobile experience.
“People are spending a lot of time with tablets and smartphones while watching TV, and we are looking for ways to take advantage of that with our apps,” says Hardie Tankersley, VP of social media and innovation at Fox Broadcasting.
But what works in today's connected/social TV environment? Find out in the clips below. We spoke with Fox's Hardie Tankersley, the guy responsible for Fox's social media, innovation, and apps. He's very smart. Also pretty funny.
So social is critical. Mobile is critical, especially as audiences move to a multi-screen, live interaction TV experience. The problem is we're facing two major challenges: fans don't know what they want, and no one knows what's going to work. Here's more:
Hardie wouldn't reveal all the specifics about his 2012 plans, but he recently gave these five important tips:
5 tips for creating superfans
1. Content is king
2. Give the fans something to talk about
3. Make it easier for fans to find your channels (on-air mentions)
4. Guest judges and celebrity performers increase fans/followers
5. Live tweet chats, polls, and contests increase engagement and fans
So, is anyone doing it right? Hardie says yes: Angry Birds.
As audiences get more used to the interactive experience, including tweeting and voting during live shows, watching shows on multiple devices, and using interactive program-related apps, there's an important question we need to ask: should the experience across the various devices be the same, or unique? Should we design programs specifically for tablets vs. iphones? Or do consumers want to find the same thing, no matter the device?
Here's Hardie explaining his approach to designing intereractive TV experiences for phones vs. tablets vs. computers vs. smart TVs.
One thing Hardie is insistent about is that the experience needs to be fun. He's excited to find new digital toys, and to create new interactive ways to tell stories. Here's what's coming soon from Fox.
Finally, we got to ask Hardie what his favorite show is this season. Any guesses? (Hint, it's animated. And new!)
As a bonus wrap-up, here are eight tips from Hardie's co-presenter Jeff Zabin on ways to win in social.
8 bonus tips for creating superfans
1. Tap into people's emotions
2. Long and boring don't go viral
3. Reach out to influencers
4. Do active listening
5. Make it easy to share the word
6. Think in terms of optimization
7. Make changes as you go
8. Use gaming techniques
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Hardie Tankersley manages the portfolio of social media properties and apps for the FOX broadcast network. He started creating online and interactive entertainment by building a local BBS on a 300 baud modem on an Apple II back in the 70s. In the intervening years he has managed the development of online entertainment products including internet access for Apple’s eWorld, the official backstage webcast of the Grammy Awards, the Moxi cable media center DVR, the online video portal for Real Networks, and Yahoo!’s TV and Movies properties. He thinks that conventional wisdom is almost always wrong.
