Digital media is here to stay. Last year, many online video portals saw triple digit increases across the board. While TV properties have good digital media initiatives, here’s a checklist for new TV properties:
1. Website
Despite the rise of social media, a website is required for every show. The website not only acts as a portal, but it’s a place to build a dedicated community. Furthermore, this website should be part of a network. For example: NBC has dozens of shows. Each of their shows are part of www.nbc.com. This allows network brands to strengthen their position and cross-promote between different properties.
2. Video on demand
Some shows are still not available online after they’ve aired. This is a mistake. Every show should be available as a free video stream with ads and should be available for purchase via iTunes or Amazon Video on Demand. The cost is relatively minor and the income could help offset digital expenses.
3. Social Media: Facebook & Twitter
Every show should have a Facebook page. These are extremely easy to create and could generate awareness. By using Facebook’s advertising and promotional tools, shows can quickly build a community of passionate fans that interact on a frequent basis.
While a show should have an “official” Twitter feed that broadcasts news, producers should also encourage talent to talk about the show and interact with their audience in a personal manner.
4. Community forum
Web forums allow you to interact with your audience in very cost-effective ways. These forums get hundreds of thousands of page-views and the engagement time is longer than most web properties. Allow people to discuss the show and see what people are talking about. Apart from that, it’s also free market research.
5. Digital Content
- Blog: Social media continues to grow in importance, but a show blog that is not entirely promotional is a great way to interact with your community. [Ex: ChuckMeOut.com]
- Behind-the-scenes: Audiences love behind-the-scenes content. And, this content doesn’t have to be heavily produced. You can post bloopers, photos from the set, etc. Such content is extremely easy to publish and greatly improves audience interaction.
