A couple of days ago on Twitter I noticed that TNT was promoting its account for the upcoming TV series Falling Skies. The series has a Twitter account, but a report from Tweet Stats shows the account has less than 50 tweets and has NEVER left a reply on Twitter. So basically, Falling Skies is using Twitter as a promotional channel for the show, and pushing out updates, interviews with stars, etc.
This is why I think Twitter Chats would be perfect for a television show. Create a chat that brings together fans of a show, in order to generate interest. And ironically, TNT has a history of using Twitter Chats to promote its shows, as they did with Saving Grace two years ago. All they would have to do is have a fan run the chat, and go from there. I did a quick Google search and found a fan that has already started a podcast for Falling Skies, so someone like this would be perfect to host a Twitter Chat for the same show.
This really seems more effective than promoted tweets or accounts because you are tapping into activities that fans are engaging in anyway. Fans are going to be on Twitter talking about the show, an organized chat simply makes this process EASIER for the fans. So by creating the chat you are not only building a channel to create buzz for Falling Skies, you are also making it easier for fans of the series to engage in EXISTING behavior. That’s the key, you aren’t asking fans to do something that they weren’t already doing, and you are going to make it easier for them.
And when you consider that #Blogchat generates up to 5,000 tweets and a few million impressions in an hour, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect similar or even higher numbers from a #FallingSkiesChat. I am sure TNT could organize this chat for far less than what they are paying Twitter for promoted tweets. In fact, a show poster signed by the cast might be enough of an enticement to a fan of the series to moderate a chat on Twitter.
The point is, there are a ton of opportunities on Twitter for companies, especially media presences, to leverage Twitter chats to promote their offerings. Don’t just view promoted tweets and accounts as your only options. That’s very old-school ‘push’ mentality. Have you seen any other examples of movies or television shows leveraging Twitter chats besides Saving Grace? Which ones worked, in your opinion?