Lately I’ve been intrigued with the growth of GetGlue, the social network of entertainment. In 2011, GetGlue had over 2 million users check-in over 100 million times – that’s huge! Last week Mashable reported that during the Season 2 ‘Game of Thrones’ premiere, GetGlue had so many users on their website that it temporarily crashed. By ‘so many users’ they meant the 50,000 users who checked-in to let other people know they were watching the show. Mashable also reported that the premiere generated 60,000 comments across all social networking sites – I find that fascinating.
Splash Media reported that Marvel has partnered with GetGlue to provide users with a special edition Iron Man sticker for those who check-in to ‘The Avengers’ page. Once users have unlocked all 20 stickers, then GetGlue will mail them the real ones… how funny 
. The film industry is really trying to find creatives ways of using social media to build excitement for upcoming films alongside having a Facebook, Twitter and YouTube presence.
Photo: Courtesy of GetGlue
GetGlue is one example of how entertainment companies are embracing social media to promote their films. They are finding that they need to go beyond the simple posters and movie trailers to explore other ways of engaging with their audiences. Most recently, the film ‘Hunger Games’ earned accolades for its approach with social media. Lionsgate promoted the film through Twitter contests, videos, podcasts, interactive game sites (yes, more than one) and tumblr. There was even an initiative through the website TheCapitol.pn to have fans divide themselves into districts (a key element of the campaign). Fast Company has more details about their success story.
Photos: Courtesy of The Hunger Games Facebook Page
All this goes without saying that the power of social media is enormous and people want to feel empowered and in control of the marketing that surrounds them – social media has given them the medium to do just that. Along with this, people are more than willing to share their experience of a product or campaign with others, which presents endless word of mouth opportunities for companies.
I am excited to see the creative ways the industry is trying to market their films. Word of mouth marketing has taken over and they are acknowledging it. Have you seen great online marketing for an upcoming film or TV show? Please share below!
