For my final project in ICM 522, I was tasked with creating a social media strategy pitch for a brand of my choosing. Following a wave of controversies and production changes due to COVID-19, I chose the reality TV channel Bravo. The main goals of my strategy were to strengthen and grow the community, and improve Bravo’s image in the public eye. When I performed a social media audit on the brand, I found a lot of fans felt as if the network wasn’t listening to what they had to say. Looking at their social media, it seemed they mostly used it to promote blog posts and events. Looking at other reality show social media platforms, I saw other networks interacting with fans, promoting online exclusive content, and allowing fans to interact with the cast of the shows. I felt that was a good example of building online community and felt Bravo could benefit from those practices. Fan engagement grows the company and directly affects ratings.
I also studied successful Bravo influencer accounts and took into consideration what made them successful. Even though they had a significantly smaller follower count, they had drastically higher engagement rates. This was because they took the time to interact with their followers; answering questions, commenting on trending topics, and listening to what the community had to say. They made themselves accessible in a way that Bravo’s social media just did not. Bravo usually conducts mid-season and finale surveys for all their shows, but with changes in production and uncertainty surrounding certain franchises, I thought it would be important to consistently see how fans were feeling. Even if it was too late to change something in production, things can always be tweaked and adjusted in post-production.
I learned a lot from this project. I didn’t have any experience in the marketing aspect of social media strategy so figuring out what metrics I needed to prioritize to reach my goals and how much it would cost to get there was eye opening. I think my goals address a lot of the current problems surrounding the network and, even if my cost estimates aren’t the most accurate, I proved that Bravo can certainly benefit from strengthening its community. My main take away from this project is that when providing a service, it’s always important to listen to the customer because they will tell you exactly what they want.
Photo by Patrick Robert Doyle on Unsplash
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