Stephanie Frasco – Musings on Social Media Marketing

“We are looking for Male & Female investigators who are scientists, explorers, or adventurers with advanced degrees, Ph.D desired.  Our ideal Investigators would be a team (husband and wife, co- workers) who fall somewhere between the FBI Agents on “The X Files” and Indiana Jones.”  One is a believer, the other is a skeptic.  One is driven by reason, science and empirical evidence, the other by feelings, intuitions and faith.”

“You have 1 month to find the pair.  Can you do it?”

This is a real conversation that occurred a few months ago, between Chris Boucher, a partner of mine on many projects, and the executive producer of a new documentary series scheduled to launch this Spring.  This production company had a green-light from the studio, but they couldn’t find their talent.  That’s where we came into play.

Can we do it?

Sure, I have some Hollywood experience, being a native Angelino and all. My first job out of college was an assistant to a Talent Manager, but by no means am I a casting agent.  But the more you think about it, these two professions are in fact very similar as both share the same goal – finding the right people.

As a Social Media professional it is my job to dig out and hunt down the most qualified and interesting people on the Social Web in different industries. My targeted approach to any client relies on the ability I have to find the most influential chatter and personalities out there in niche arenas.  The internet and primarily Social Networks and Blogs are my playground.

The more involved with the project we became, the more apparent it was that Social Media SHOULD be used more often in Hollywood Productions for many reasons.

Casting & Social Media Mini-Case Study
Project: Seekers 2012 Casting

Objectives:

• Utilize the most efficient and productive technological tools to host a private-online casting center
• Deliver “quality” interested potential hosts to the production company and network.
• Create an online strategy to engage and converse targeted Influencers to generate buzz and exposure
• Create and maintain social presence to connect with Influencers online as well as build a pre-existing audience and fan base prior to show launch.

Strategy:
1.  Build a simple website
2.  Create a social media presence for the show
3.  Research & Connect with key influencers, authors, and bloggers who are in the industry and have them post to their blogs
4.  Use targeted forums and Social Networks as a communication channel and research channel

1.  Website:
The website was a crucial element to our success for many reasons.  Obviously we needed somewhere to direct people to fill out their application and submit themselves, but the website also served as the authenticity factor.  As the website was the “Casting Center” we used a few different social media tools and applications to make the casting submission as streamlined as possible at a low cost.

Submission Page:

Essential Elements
1.  Video On-Demand by Nimbb.com
This simple API allowed applicants record a video directly on the site which was then stored in a private back-end.
2.  Form Q/A
We used a form that could be filled out on the spot with questions pertinent to the casting and the show.  Applicants could fill out the Q/A and upload photos, resumes and other documents on site.

2.  Social Presence
We started off with Twitter and Facebook as a way to build credibility as well as attract people who might be interested in the casting or possibly know someone who is.

3.  Research
The success of any campaign lies in the research.  This is what I refer to as the  “Finding Your Audience” period.  As social media is highly targeted, the more targeted your research the better off you will be.  The first step to finding your audience is defining your keywords.  To find these keywords breakdown what you are looking for.

In this particular case we had very specific people we were looking for but the main theme was around 2012 and unexplained phenomena.
The second criteria was scientists, doctors, investigators, explorers and highly educated.

With this in mind we created the following keywords.  These keywords become the search query on different social networks, blogs, forums, etc, which explains why the more targeted they are, the better results you are going to get.

A short list of keywords we used were:
2012
Unexplained Phenomena
Occult
Ancient Cultures
Astrology
Conspiracy
Mayan
Maya Cosmos
Mayan Calendar
Mesomerica
Mythology
Metaphysics

Keywords for the types of people we are looking for:
Scientists
Doctor
Investigator
Explorer
Author

With these keywords we came up with a list of around 500 blogs and sites and individuals who could be or could direct us in the direction of our “potential” hosts.

We also came up with a list of close to 100 different Forums, Groups, and Social Networks that relate to the keywords above.

HOT TIP
SIGN UP FOR HARO!!!  This can’t be stressed enough.  HARO (Help A Reporter Out) is god’s gift to people like me!  It is a massive list started by Peter Shankman, that reporters and journalists submit queries to when they are looking for experts or subjects to interview for different stories.  With thousands of publicists and savvy people getting the HARO email everyday, the quality of feedback is top notch!

Traditional Casting Methods
Beyond the “Blogger & Influencer” approach described above, we also posted to different casting and entertainment related websites which further increased our chance of finding the right person.    We used casting sites such as GotCast.com, an online casting site, Craigslist, FreeCastingCall.com, and breakdown services.

Results:
Over 100 people applied directly through the application on the site.
Over 5,200 visitors coming from 282 referring sources.  (The number of referring sources is important because it shows how far your reach is.)

As you can see below most of the top referring sites are social networks meaning people were spreading the word virally allowing us to rely on the Influencers we targeted in the beginning through our research.  I love research!!!

Pros:
1.  Money Saving
2.  Time Efficient
3.  Highly Targeted
4.  Pre-exposure and pre-buzz by making people aware of the show before it airs
5.  Access to Expert Knowledge for further story development.

Cons:
1.  Don’t have as much access to Hollywood Agents and or Managers as a Casting Director would.

TIPS FROM CASTING TO TALENT
1.  If you are an expert in something put yourself out there and make yourself found!  You never know who could be looking.