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Frankly My Dear - 5 Lessons In Social Media From Oscar Award Winning Movie Lines
February 26, 2013
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The Oscars is always a great awards show – beyond celebrating the magic of the movies – it's those unexpected, memorable moments that many people come to love and talk about.
From the streaker in 1974 to the late Jack Palance in '91, dropping down to do one-armed push-ups at age 72 as he accepted his Best Actor award for "City Slickers," anything can happen during these live shows.
But proper perspective and prepared procedure in dealing with those fun or awkward moments enables this awards show to thrive each year.
These unexpected moments play out in the social space, too.
So what better way to share social insight this week than from a few lines taken right off the scripts from some of the best movies of all time – well, according to Oscar.
Let's start with this year's winner:
Argo (2013)
"If we wanted applause, we would have joined the circus." – Jack O'Donnell
I love this line because it reminds me of all of those brands looking for validation socially. You know the ones always asking you to "like" them and everything they do?
If fans have "liked" your Facebook page or are following you on Twitter – they already like you. Go beyond superficial chit chat, begging for likes, and just pushing stuff out.
Use this space to visually shape your brand and get involved with your fans - enhance their experience.
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
"Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever ... matter." – John Nash
The world is not suffering from a lack of information or content. What fans are suffering from is everybody telling them the same thing – in the same way. Show (rather than tell) them something they don't already know. Find ways to stand out and be memorable – differentiate your brand from the pack so that you matter.
The Social Network (2010)
"We don't even know what (Facebook) is yet, we don't know what it can be, and we don't know what it will be ... we know that it's cool. That is a priceless asset and I'm not giving that up." – Mark Zuckerberg
Ideally, social offers the ability to tap into our target's turf – be part of their own personal space online - and identify each radio station's true social mouthpiece to grow our reach and ratings.
But if you're approaching social media with, "What can Facebook do for me?" rather than how to serve your fans, your brand will never get near the potential of these amazing platforms.
This space is about serving first – benefits such as ratings or dollars may follow – but only when you treat social as a priceless asset.
Casablanca (1943)
"Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." – Rick Blaine
The secret to a great friendship is that it's not always what we want to talk about but what our friends deem important too, right?
So because the biggest part of any exchange you're going to have socially involves the fans, it is essential that you master the art of dialogue. Understand your audience and what matters to them. Recognize why they use their preferred platforms in the first place, and get them involved.
By the way, if you're not responding to fans socially – perhaps Woody Allen's character, Alvy Singer, from Annie Hall in 1977 sums it up for you very well:
"A relationship, I think, is like a shark. It has to constantly move forward or it dies. I think what we've got on our hands is a dead shark."
Patton (1970)
"There's one big difference between you and me, George. I do this job because I've been trained to do it. You do it because you LOVE it." – General Omar N. Bradley
You can have all the knowledge in the world about how to "do social," – but if you don't love "being social" on these sites and apps, you might be wasting your time. Just look around at various social brands. You can tell that the social team at Denny's Diner loves what they are doing on Twitter. They are fun, witty, and memorable when they interact with fans.
It's such a powerful way of building on emotional capital.
Can you tell whether your brand loves being social with fans? Or is it just because they were trained to do so?
The digital and social arenas are a very fluid space - technology and consumer habits will keep it ever changing. But as long as your brand practices the basic fundamentals – like focusing on impact rather than "likes," being memorable, treating each person like they count, looking at what this space could really mean for your brand, and "loving" being social – you'll keep up with this space just fine.
And maybe even win a few awards along the way.
Tweet me anytime @lorilewis.
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