This is a guest post from @DanFarkas.
Roll Tide.
Alabama won its third national title in four years Monday night and wasn’t the biggest winner of the evening. Katherine Webb was.
Ms. Webb isn’t on the team. She is dating Alabama’s quarterback and also served as Miss Alabama. This combination yielded her tens of thousands of Twitter followers in less than 12 hours. How? It boils down to three simple principles you can use with clients today.
Third Party Validation Matters
Brent Musburger is the voice of college football. He’s also known for referencing attractive women in the stands. The rest is YouTube fodder.
Ms. Webb started trending. Certain athletes tweeted Ms. Webb their phone numbers. Her phone died because of all the incoming traffic. None of this happens unless a national football commentator makes mention of the quarterback’s girlfriend. Does that mean you need to tweet Brent Musburger? I don’t think he’s even on Twitter. But you can identify key thought leaders in an industry, break ice and engage when the timing is right for both parties.
Capture The Moment
The Alabama game was the highest rated college football game in two years. It was also over within an hour. If you’re a Notre Dame fan, don’t watch.
Had Notre Dame been able to compete, there would have been far fewer shots of parents, girlfriends, spouses, happy Alabama fans, sad Notre Dame fans, random celebrities and the Miami skyline. When audience and opportunity match, your team has to be ready to “Embrace the crazy” as Heather Whaling so often says. Speaking of crazy.
It’s Crazy To Avoid Multiplatform Thinking
This is example 1,564,245 of people watching television with phones, tablets or computer in tow. We all know this. But what are we doing to make sure we integrate multiple platforms in a successful consumer experience? Simply asking for a follow or like isn’t enough anymore. What are specific action steps that can enhance the experience and extend the interaction beyond said experience? If you can’t answer that question, you can find yourself with a social project that looks like Notre Dame’s defense Monday night.
It’s a distinct probability you won’t ever become Miss Alabama. But finding third party validation, capturing the moment and thinking multiplatform can help you roll tide in the social space. Maybe Brent Musburger will even notice you.
Dan Farkas is an Instructor of Strategic Communication at Ohio University. He also comes up with blog ideas when his newborn Will is up in the middle of the night. Find him @danfarkas on Twitter.