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The Secret To Sharknado 2's Social Success

By Mark Hodge (doddleNEWS)

Following the first Sharknado’s big splash on Twitter, the sequel, Sharknado 2: The Second One, made an even bigger impression, topping the original in both viewing figures and social impact.

So what is the SyFy network’s secret? Well despite being surprised at the viral success of the original, Michael Engleman, SyFy's Executive Vice President of Marketing Strategy, has revealed that the network was equipped to deal with the social media frenzy.

He said (via Wired): "I was amazed at both the volume of the conversation and the sense of humor. Like many of these phenomena, I thought it would be done in 48 hours. But it kept going and I think a lot of that was social listening."

He added: "When we saw what was happening, we were like social media Boy Scouts. We had a war chest of bite-sizedno pun intendedshareable content, and we were able to push it out in a way that didn't feel heavy-handed or overly marketed. It felt very human and relatable and conversational. We poured fuel on the fire."

Interestingly, Engleman admitted that SyFy greenlit the sequel the day after the movie aired, and announced it a week later. Producers then plotted the success of the sequel, following much the same plan as the original.

He said: “In a hyperactive social universe, you need to be analytical and methodical, but you also have to act quickly. Within 24 hours we had made the decision to make a sequel."

He added: "The overall philosophy is very similar: allowing the consumer to play an integral part in the marketing, putting them at the center of the story, and allowing them to become as much of an ambassador for?Sharknado?as they'd like to be by giving them content and assets."

This unprecedented level of social media engagement has lead to Sharknado being called the ‘the most social movie ever.’ And Engleman agrees: "Like any good conversation, we want to keep it interesting, so we created new social and digital experiences that, after a year of observing the conversation, seem to feed into what people want to do organically."

Speaking about the development of Sharknado 3, he said: "Someone asked me the other day what my casting criteria would be for Sharknado 3. Well, 20,000 or more Twitter followers and you're in."

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