The odds were definitely in favor of Lionsgate, as The Hunger Games was a smash hit over the weekend, but before it opened it theaters, Lionsgate made sure that it was trending on social networks. It's nothing new to promote a movie online yet it's another story to effectively use social networks to amplify the buzz about a movie. While most movie studios would opt for a viral approach to create buzz for upcoming movies, The Hunger Games social media team knew how to use every social platform to integrate it into one social campaign.
The multi-platform strategy of their social media team paid off. Since the target audience for The Hunger Games are relatively around the 12-20 bracket, it's a no-brainer that Lionsgate will capitalize in leveraging social networks to generate buzz and create awareness for The Hunger Games. It has covered Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr in order to promote the movie through content marketing. This gives non-readers of the books a glimpse into the world of The Hunger Games. Aside from using social platforms, mobile was also a key contributor to promote the trailers and encourage ticket sales. Fans accessed 10% of 7 million video streams using mobile devices.
The Hunger Games' social media outreach proves that the viral approach isn't enough to spread awareness. It's a great example on how to promote a movie which could be applied to brands as well. Here are some important points that marketers can learn from The Hunger Games social media campaign.
- Ascertain the demographics of your target audience. This will give you an idea which social platforms they're always engaging in, thus, enabling the brand or a product to penetrate smoothly in a social network.
- Convey the message of a campaign in an organized manner. Create an itinerary in order for content to be released in a relevant schedule. It's always a good thing to share a video or a photo when everyone's online, right?
- Humanize your content through accompanying vids with captions. Ask fans how they'd react to a situation or better yet encourage them to reply via video or photo. The more you merit emotions from users, the more you're capturing their attention.
- The community is already present, key here is to organize them and entice them to share every content you're feeding them so other people can learn about the brand or product. This paves the way for cross-platform marketing as well.