Stephanie Frasco - Musings on Social Media Marketing » case study

Casting in the Social Media Age

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:16:51 +0000

“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.

With out further hesitation, we had 1 month to find the perfect couple. Social Media for Casting was in full effect. And successful it was.

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.

The FTC vs. The Facebook Fan Page

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:35:13 +0000

Social Media Marketing :: The Value Lies Within Those Involved

In the game of Marketing, especially word-of-mouth and peer-to-peer marketing, testimonials and endorsements have always stood as the most valuable type of messaging out there. There is no doubt that when you hear an appraisal of a product from a friend, family member, colleague or anyone else close to you, your trust level of the product will increase. As humans, and as consumers a recommendation goes a long way. In fact, that basis is foundation of my business in Social Media Marketing. My goal is to get people talking about a product, and hopefully in a good way.

However, recently the FTC has come out with some new rules about endorsements that will forever change the way we as marketers, advertisers and business owners, can play the game. The FTC’s has updated its “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising,” which address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers.

Some of these rules include:
1. Bloggers are now required to indicate the existence of any financial relationship when they are writing about a product.
2. Celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media.
3. Endorsements on your website should only be from current clients or customers
4. You may be liable for marketing done by affiliates selling your product

While at first glance it looks as if the FTC has a strong hold on what you sell and how you brand it in the marketplace. You may be thinking, how do I get around this new rule and keep your product “word-of-mouth” friendly and keep the endorsements updated, fresh and from current clients or customers? Consider Nils Andres for example.

Where the rules might have changed for your own website, the new FTC regulation makes the case for having a presence in Social Media even stronger.

Why Use Social Media for Endorsements?
Social Media is a place for clients, consumers, and customers to talk in an open forum. It gives the consumer the power to endorse freely without the constraints of the product. How can you make sure you are not liable for the endorsements?

Step 1….Make a Facebook Fan Page. (If you need help with this, my company, SocialMediaPlans, will handle this for you)
Step 2…Build your fan base. (Again, if you need help with this, SocialMediaPlans, is your go to destination)
Step 3…Encourage your fans to endorse your product.

CASE STUDY

Last week, a company I help, SEO ARTICLE WRITING PROS, a company that specializes in creating content all things internet marketing, came to me asking me about the new rules and regulations. They wanted to build their presence on Facebook and since they were brand new to the Facebook Fan Page game, they wanted content on their page so new clients and customers could see that they had a following and they would be trusted.

How did we do this?
Step 1. Create a fan page. (SEE HERE)
Step 2. Come up with a strategy that would entice people to write on their fan page. In this particular instance we used a contest.
SEO Article Writing Pros agreed to give away $100 of free content to a member of the fan page. To be entered all you had to do was Join the Fan Page and write a short greeting on the wall. (With contests, the easier the entry level, the more entries you will receive, so for the short-term goal of getting content and endorsements on the page, this contest was an easy solution.)

The contest was a big hit for the current fans as well as a way to gain new fans through facebook marketing. (A general rule of Facebook marketing is getting your name on people’s homepage and profile. Likes and comments are a Facebook marketers best friend!)

In one week SEO ARTICLE WRITING PROS gained 100 new fans without spending $1 dollar in advertising. In addition, they also received 62 wall posts, which means they have 62 new endorsements! 62 new endorsements that the FTC can not complain about because they were written by the people themselves as User-Generated Content.

Fans offered up their opinions, praises, and regards at their own will. Whether they did it to win or whether they did it to voice their opinion makes no difference. The fact of the matter is that consumers on Social Media are willing to offer up their voice and as a marketer, business owner, you should take advantage of that.

Lastly, you can also use the fan page badge as a way to show the endorsements received on facebook on your own website. (The picture below is a screen grab of the fan page badge that I have on my website SocialMediaPlans.com)

Besides the reasons listed above, a fan page is also important because it spreads your visibility, as your page will be indexed and searchable on Google, Bing, and other search engines as well as Facebook.

You can have an unlimited number of fans, unlike your profile page which only allows you to have 5,000.
When people add your page, comment, or like something you have posted it will show up on their feed which filters out to their friends and network for increased virility.
You can establish your brand further
You can create exclusive deals, offers and content
You can use it as a forum for customer support and/or praise
You can use it as market research into your brand at a low cost.

If you like what you have read and what you have seen, make sure you go ahead and fan this innovative company! And of course you can become a fan of SocialMediaPlans while you are at it.