TMI Weekly
Created an engaged social network surrounding a web show
I set out to create an engagable community that would respond to the web show TMI. I built a foundation for exponential growth that will one day become a network of active individuals that the show can depend and thrive off of. TMI wasn't inherintly set up to inspire interaction and the community was weak and not engaged. I came up with a strategy to build and engage their community through social networking.
I started promoting the idea that the girls were having a conversation, and that anybody can comment and contribute. This made the show feel more interactive and accessible.
In order for TMI to have people that interact there needed to be a bigger community in place. I therefore began by building the size of the community. From there I was able to start focusing on enagagement and testing individuals willingness to join the TMI conversation.
Not only did the fans on facebook increase, but those fans are actual engaged fans willing to respond and interact with the show. These are the type of fans that will talk about "Summer Style" or an topics we want them to focus on. Last week we had 100 interactions, before I started there were 0.
Likes
(Then called "fans")
Interactions
(100 interactions on last week of consulting)
To gain more followers on twitter I asked simple one word questions to get others to @tmiweekly. I also responded on a more personal level, announced new fans from the fan page, and set links appropriate to the topic. If I referenced a specific moment in a show I'd link to that time code (a hot spot drop off usually).
Followers
Youtube
I found where the audiance attention dropped and put annotations in the video that were interesting dialog from the comments. This would hopefully keep the audiances attention, but better yet inform viewers that there is a community and they are interacting dynamically with the show.
I would then tell the user that their comment was featured and link them to that specific time in the video. I would ask them to join the fan page, and link them to it. I would announce the new annotation to the community on twitter and link them to that same point where there is a drop off. I would announce it as if it were an award for interacting.
Community Sizes
(over one month)| started | ended | % of change | |
| YouTube | 2,215 | 3,844 | +73% |
| 112 | 567 | +406% | |
| 1,667 | 1,880 | +13% |
Image Tagging
I went through and tagged the girls on the Facebook fanpage.These tags appeared on the girls pages and generated more visites and fans.
Facebook Fan Album
I created a fan album. I wanted TMI fans to get to know one another a little more, and feel like they're really a part of somehting. I also wanted to reward the power users. Specific fans are regularly invited to join the fan album. Their photo is posted along with their name, a quote, and a link of their choosing. I would imagine this to be somehting a litte more prominantly featured on TMI's main page in the future.
Behind the Scenes of TMI Weekly
For the show I asked the girls to stop asking viewers to email. Email is too closed to stir community response. No one sees others reacting. In the coming episodes the girls will be asking fans to tweet or do wall posts in response. That way TMI fans will see other's participating in an interactive web show, and better yet, fan's friends and followers will see TMI interaction
The girls were also asked to message specific fans on the facebook page to thank and interact with them.
TMI Rolodex Used To Track Fans
To keep track of comments, refer back to, and easily find them I created a quick and easily form or "TMI rolodex." You can use the database it creates for finding specific topics or comments, and where they were posted.
Tumblr
I started a tumblr blog that is focused on conversation and the idea that people are talking and communicating all over the TMI world. You can get interesting quotes, funny exchanges, and new episodes.
Conclusion
I made a firm foundation for an active community. A community that will communicate with the show and communicate with each other. This community is more responsive to the show and the shows promotions. TMI Weekly will become an interactive "womens magazine" with content choosen by fans. In the near future TMI fans will be the ones running the site and the show will be for the community, instead of a community tacked onto a show .
Having such a community will certainly draw in more fans in to watch each episode of TMI weekly.
After
A month after looking back on TMI weekly, the community continues to thrive. My contribution can be see on the lower image in red. The producer Kathleen Grace and the 3 hosts, Mary, Julia, and Megan all now have an understanding of viewer engagement. The show's audience grows and each member of that community (not spam), is an engaged viewer that desires participation.
