What can social media marketers learn from a tornado filled with sharks?
With only a 3.6 out of 10 rating on IMDb.com and 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, how could a SyFy movie like Sharknado trend number one on Twitter with 5,000 tweets per minute and social media mentions from celebrities, politicians and everyone else? To start off, the popularity of anything related to sharks during summer months (ever heard of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel?) draws a crowd. However, the social media and marketing strategy delves a bit deeper.
1. Curiosity – The title gives the entire movie away. Sharknado, I wonder what that could be? Instead of luring in viewers with a mysterious title, they used tactics such as posing the question “Too violent for TV?” on the film trailer. The YouTube video has racked up 5.2 million views.
2. Scarcity – Supply and demand played a role in gaining viewers. Just as the Disney Vault creates urgency for fans of the classic animated films to purchase the DVDs while they can, Sharknado had limited showings.
3. Listen to fans – The premiere didn’t have as many viewers as hoped, but generated enough social media buzz that fans demanded an encore, and then another. By the third showing of Sharknado the SyFy channel had 2.1 million people tuning in to see what the fuss was about.
4. Fan engagement – To build a social media community around the B-movie, the people behind Sharknado’s Twitter feed utilized the fans. They retweeted fan’s posts to engage the audience and recently ran a Twitter contest to pick the sequel’s name.
5. Promote publicity – After landing on the front page of the New York Post, Sharknado’s Facebook page posted the article a few days before the encore showing.
6. Networking – To create more interest in the movie, Fathom Events and The Asylum (the producer of the film) joined up to have midnight screenings at Regal Cinemas all over the United States. Many cities were selling out and adding more screenings.
Marketing successes like Sharknado might be as scarce as an actual shark attack, but these strategies can be implemented to any social media campaign. Did you see Sharknado? If so, what did you think of it?
Photo Credit: The Asylum
Special Offer: Complimentary Consultation
Three Girls Media, Inc. is a public relations and social media management agency with teams in Silicon Valley and the Seattle area. We love working with small and emerging companies across the nation to raise their brand awareness and name recognition. We offer a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation with our CEO and can answer your questions and discuss your specific marketing needs.
Call 408-218-2391 or Contact us today to arrange yours!