Marketing is Fan Advocacy
Entertainment marketers think entirely about the show’s audience. We represent the fan (and future fans) by putting ourselves in their heads. Content creators don’t…or at least not as much as we do. They focus on the story telling. That’s their job. It’s the marketer’s responsibility to supplement and grow fan interest in the show’s story before the premiere, as well as week-to-week until the end of the season. So whether it’s a TV show or Web series, the common digital marketing goals are to connect fans deeply with the show’s story and characters when they’re not watching it, and also bring them together as a community to spark discussions and share opinions. Hopefully they will also share content  with their friends on Twitter and Facebook, etc. to generate wider interest.

Prepping To Go On Set
It’s important for marketers to feel connected to what they’re promoting, or efforts  are likely to fall flat for the show. In entertainment marketing, feeling as excited as the content creator about a show is invaluable for generating creative marketing ideas. For me, the best place to capture this energy is on set. But before you step on set, you should do a few things to prepare to maximize everyone’s time:

• Read the Script: Before anyone can market a show, they need to read all the available scripts in order to “get” it. I read the scripts for Season three of Anyone But Me many times. Why? Because I needed to immerse myself into the characters and imagine what the show was going to look like to the audience. What are the compelling moments where fans would most likely have a significant reaction, character motivations, if there were any new characters introduced that could cause a stir, resolution to any cliffhangers from last season, etc. These tend to be universal questions for any show.

• Read Fan Comments: Next, if your show has already released a few episodes, read all audience comments you can find across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and any other distribution networks you use,  to get a feel for which characters are clicking with the audience in a positive or controversial way. It’s helpful to know which characters are generating buzz.

• Review Viewer Numbers & Distributor Promotions: Which distribution channels are attracting higher traffic? Are your distribution partners running ads against your content and if so, how much are you making and which brands are they? Do you have a promotional partnership with any of your distributors to help improve show discovery? If it’s a TV show, research which episodes from last season drew the most broadcast and online viewers to understand where in the storyline interest was greatest and which characters were most involved.

Creating Digital Marketing “Extras”
As a fan of Anyone But Me for the past two seasons, I’ve been getting to know the characters throughout its 20 episodes. It’s both rare and special to work with a “long-running” Web series that has a devoted fan base, but the goal remains to grow the audience, appeal to potential sponsors and underwriters, and deliver a quality entertainment experience to current fans. My goals on set were:

Take Photos: Full cast, mixed shots of characters, candid.  I’ve selected my new favorite behind-the-scenes still of Body of Proof’s Dana Delaney hopping onto the examining table with a “live” corpse. (Photo credit: ABC)

Film Video Clips: There are many exciting storytelling strategies that can be used for video clips. Most Web series and TV shows create these, but quality varies. I define quality as “would a fan enjoy this?” because it offers insight into the characters, the actors, the storyline, creators’ inspiration, it’s funny, and is  it in good taste for the show’s brand, among other reasons. (See examples below.)

Talk With Talent: Get insight from the actors about what they think about their character and how its interact with other key characters in their storyline, etc. Marketing ideas can be sparked by talent’s interpretation of a character for a storyline.

Have a Liaison on Set
The crew knows who is “one of them” and who isn’t. It’s important that you have a liaison on set who introduces you around and ensures that everyone understands why you are there and what you’ll be doing. You’ll also need this person to have authority to clear time for you with talent, the director and anyone else relevant to creating assets as part of the digital strategy. Remember, cast and crew are focused on making a great episode. Stay reasonably clear of the set when taking photos and have video clip interview topics/angles and still shots of certain scenes in mind to make the most of everyone’s time. Talent is used to behind-the-scenes photos and videos these days, but a few staged funny photos are great too. Remember, you’re there to create fun and engaging material for the fans and to build show loyalty. Just be polite and work the same 12 hour day as everyone else does to get the job done.

Mini Case Studies: Launching a New Series or a Season Premiere
Following are examples of digital marketing strategies by new and returning TV shows. I selected them because I like these shows, and more importantly, believe they do a good job of sharing content with fans.  All of the promo content is captured on set. If you’re a Web series creator, the needs are the same for your fans. Really. The only BIG differences are A-list talent and a marketing budget. Aside from that, you can create meaningful Extras for your show that can be less slick, but still valuable to your audience. And who doesn’t have a camera?

New Series Premiere
If  introducing a new series, what information is most important to share with potential viewers that can turn them into active viewers and members of an engaged online community?

ABC has been introducing audiences for the past few weeks to its new show,  Body of Proof. The show’s site is nicely prepped with episode one video clips, many on set photos and more. I found the episode one clip valuable to connect with the lead’s character (a bit arrogant) and the show’s vibe (some sarcastic humor). The character’s background is extremely important to the story, and hasn’t been shared in the broadcast commercials. The show’s Web site communicates it all more effectively than any commercial or billboard could. It premieres next week and already  has over 13k Facebook Likes. (I’m sure lead Dana Delaney’s Desperate Housewives fan base has contributed to this amount too.) I admit to being a bit confused about why there isn’t more promotion on the site of co-star Jeri Ryan of Star Trek:Voyager (Seven of Nine) fame, among other TV series. Her fan following, as for all actors, should be tapped to generate viewers for the show. (If you work with new undiscovered talent in a Web series, see my post about strategies for finding your audience.)

Fox is a few weeks into the premiere of its new crime drama The Chicago Code, starring  Jennifer Beals and HBO’s Brotherhood star Jason Clarke. It offers up a lot of fan extras, including stills and video interviews, but also works to introduce the show to the audience with a show description on the home page (placed a bit too far down in my opinion), a cast list with a character description and episode recaps that match stills to each episode. Unfortunately, thisshow  overview info is buried under the “About” tab on the site. I would promote this content more on the homepage.

The slideshow promos at the top of a show’s homepage are extremely important for visitors. They should highlight the most important show  information or call- to-action on the site. Fox offers three rotating ads at the moment: one that captures the character motivations of the show (nice), one that encourages visitors to watch the latest episode online (good), and one that encourages wallpaper downloads (huh?). I would swap the wallpaper promo with a more important call to action that is community-focused, such as “Join the Chicago Code Community” with a link to the community homepage. It’s important to prioritize your promos.

Something unique to Fox shows’ homepages is a News section (bottom right) that offers external links to media coverage about the show. The article quality in this section varies across the shows. If you decide to include third-party media links to your show’s homepage, make sure the content quality you send them to is GOOD. (I suggest not doing this because you want to keep visitors on your site and immersed in your content.)

Returning Series – Season Premiere
If a show is getting ready to premiere a new season, what can be done to pump up current fans to reconnect them to the characters and get them back in the groove to watch? Let’s take a look at what Showtime is doing to prep for the season premieres of their hits United States of Tara and Nurse Jackie.

Showtime’s United States of Tara started a journal for the many personalities of Tara, the lead character, a month out from its season three premiere date. (Very creative.) The journal’s homepage lives on Showtime’s site, but each “alter’s’” page was customized on Tumblr with a unique domain name that matches the character’s personality, with fun graphic design and journal entries written in their voice. They also notify fans know about new journal posts via the show’s Facebook fan page.

The show’s homepage and creative design also set up the season three storyline, letting the audience know that Tara is going back to school. That thought alone, knowing the character, lends itself to hilarious situations. Point being, it’s okay to reveal new season storylines to aggressively entice a new (or returning) audience to watch.

There’s also a promo ad encouraging fans to buy season two of the show on iTunes. One of the best times to drive purchases of a past season is just before the next season’s premiere and throughout the new season, when fans are most excited and engaged. So don’t forget to do it if this applies to your show!

Nurse Jackie’s season three premiere is also coming up. In addition to Edie Falco’s revealing interview about the new season, including new cast members and challenges for her character, there’s also a fun cast video where the actors talk about their favorite scenes.

The show is uniquely offering a special promotion for Bliss Spas to practicing nurses to celebrate the new season. This is the only corporate tie-in I’ve see with a season premiere among the show sites I’ve reviewed.

Marketing Budgets: TV Show vs. Web Series
Broadcast networks understand the importance of marketing their shows to rise above the noise of competing shows, and together with the show’s production company, provide resources to grab viewer mindshare. For Web series creators, budgets tend to be entirely focused on production, with nothing left over to promote the series. That’s fine if you just want your family and friends to watch it after you contact them via email or Facebook. But it will be difficult to develop a series brand, and attract potential sponsors or investors for your next season, if these are your goals. You can’t expect your series to go viral like a single YouTube video. Episodic serials require marketing – and note that I haven’t discussed media relations yet! If you’re serious about building a loyal and engaged audience, digital marketing assets, at minimum, need to be rolled out with the pilot (or first episode) and continue from there to leverage character development and plot line changes throughout the season. As I’ve said to clients over the years, you get only one chance to premiere or launch a show or product. That moment sets the tone for a very long time.

Show Quality: Marketing Can’t Perform Miracles
Most importantly, entertainment marketers are dependent on the writers and directors to produce a quality show. A mediocre show will not attract a large and loyal fan base, regardless of great marketing and a billboard on Sunset Strip. At the end of the day, marketing builds value for shows that are strong, but need help being discovered. As soon as discovery begins, fan engagement and hopefully growth begin. This is a process that takes time and trying out new creative strategies on a regular basis is important. In the end, the audience always decides which shows last!

Related Post: Tips For Marketing A Web Series

TV Check-Ins
Checking-in is no longer limited to a physical location, which Foursquare has made popular, but is now extended to “experiences,” such as watching a TV Show or movie, or even reading a book.  A group of entertainment “check-in” startups have latched on to this idea and are gaining traction with networks and studios. Time Warner-backed GetGlue is one of the first to validate this concept and has grown its user base to over 700,000 so far. GetGlue TV fan stickers (aka badges) range from Boardwalk Empire and Burn Notice, to Sons of Anarchy and Revision 3’s The Totally Rad Show. Competitors include Google-backed Miso (which Oprah Winfrey’s new OWN channel has partnered with), CBS-owned TV.com Relay, Comcast-owned Tunerfish and Philo, where you score points instead of earn show badges.

All except Relay currently have a Web-based community and mobile apps. (Relay’s Web site is expected in the Fall.) Mobile features, Web site features, badges, points (or both), and recommendation engines vary across each provider. Also, some are tied to live broadcast only schedules and sync with the viewer’s nearest cable provider (based on location and time zone), so review your selection carefully to assess which is best for your show(s). Given the time-shifting going on with audiences thanks to VOD, tying viewers to a live schedule may not suit your show’s viewer behaviors. Also review the analytics dashboard available to help define and gauge success. Check out this related article.

TV Tagging
Syfy just launched the premiere of its new series, Being Human, with an interactive TV tagging component. Partnering with Shazam Entertainment, viewers can “tag” any scene in the show by pointing their smartphone at it and clicking to immediately receive links to exclusive video, music playlists from the show, competition entry form, etc. An on-screen promotional campaign encourages viewers to download the required free Shazam application onto their mobile device and to watch Being Human every Monday night at 9PM ET/PT on Syfy. Digital markers are embedded into the show’s format so the Shazam app can detect them. This is being complimented with a mobile entry only sweepstakes that runs through the end of the season, with prizes for three winners that contain a Being Human: Season 1 DVD set and one Being Human t-shirt. Not quite an Oprah car, but  a competitive giveaway to stir up new fans for a tech savvy show demographic.

Gamification
Gamification? Is that even a word? Guess it is now that the industry is using it. Gamification extends a show’s experience with show-related trivia, polls, challenges, and uniquely branded games related to the characters’ interests. The goal is to offer engaging and competitive ways for fans to interact with the show. This strategy has proven successful for USA Network’s popular show, Psych. They have a members-only Club Psych area on their site dedicated to rewarding active fans with loyalty points, virtual goods, and merchandise for points. An NBC Universal representative reported that game-like reward programs generated a 130 percent increase in page views for the show and a 40 percent increase in return visits, with more games to come for other shows on the network. These are impressive stats.

Show-Branded Twitter Community Destinations
Bravo TV recently launched an ambitious social media destination called @BravoTV. Fans enter a comprehensive, curated and beautifully branded universe of all Bravo TV shows, which also serves as a convenient discovery tool. Features include Tweet Tracker, which serves as a gateway to real-time Twitter conversations by show, and Tweet Battle, where fans can challenge each other on a statement about a character or a related show topic, with the community voting to determine the winner. This is great news for fans who no longer need to feel lonely as they follow a show’s hashtag in a sterile TweetDeck column. Now they can go on over to The House Wives of Atlanta page (for example) and take part in the larger fan community. These destination communities also offer unlimited brand sponsorship opportunities, with metrics and viewer trends easily available to woo brands. Lisa Hsia, Senior Vice President of Bravo Digital Media, shared insight into @BravoTV’s creation in a recent Mashable article.

(Disclaimer: I didn’t realize until after writing this post that all of the cable networks mentioned are owned by NBC Universal/Comcast. Also, none of the above are clients.)

Throughout the day leading up to the President’s address about the BP oil spill, the White House social media team prepped The White House YouTube channel and Web site by integrating Google’s Google Moderator product to create a forum for the public to ask questions about the disaster, which would be answered by Gibbs. Wow!

Though I only found out about this historic Q&A a few minutes before the President’s address via the White House web site, I quickly logged into Google Moderator below the live stream window to add my questions before the Q&A with Gibbs began.  Viewers who logged into Moderator were able to submit and vote for questions they liked the most (popular ranking), which helped determine which questions would be answered by Gibbs.

Results
The metrics were impressive! The number of votes, questions submitted and people logged on mostly doubled from the time the live Q&A started to when it was finished. Video-based questions were also shown and answered as well. Within 30 minutes the vote count went from 67k to 172k, the number of questions moved up from 3,350 to 6,342 and the number of people logged in jumped from 7,385 to over 13k. (These metrics were publicly visible.) And though these are low numbers considering that there are over 300 million Americans, it demonstrates the American people’s interest in feeling a more direct connection with what is going on in Washington in an unprecedented way – beyond voting. I suspect that better promotion about this opportunity would have attracted a larger audience.

Lessons For Business
Though press conferences continue to be an important way for businesses to communicate their messages to a wide audience, the value of communicating directly with your customers/community members through a live stream presentation and Q&A is important as well. Give your community members access directly to your spokespeople and some of your executives. You can still screen the messages you want to answer, but you win valuable face-time with interested community members, regardless of whether or not you answer each person’s specific questions.

Placing media in between you and your audience is the old way of thinking about media. Embrace your community directly! Give them the same access and attention you would give to media – but in a more conversational and informal tone. Leverage live streaming and community engagement tools, from moderated forums to twitter live streams visible during the public session with a single hashtag to use whenever you do one of these events.

Adding a live stream communications strategy to your tool set may feel revolutionary at first, but I suspect it will be commonplace very soon. If the President of the Unites State’s spokesperson can do it, surely you can too, with far less at risk. Be a first mover among your competitors!

I Have a Web Series. Now What?
For many independent content creators, I’ve learned that the greatest challenge after securing funding (or self-financing), talent and a crew is to market the show for a successful launch and ongoing audience building.  Marketing is especially difficult with no budget, no friends with marketing skills, no prior successful Web series shows and show content that doesn’t fit neatly into a pre-existing entertainment genre (i.e., comedy, horror, gaming or tech geeks).  So how can independent show creators rise above these barricades to be discovered?

Compulsions Web Series
If you want to learn about Web series marketing challenges and how to surmount them, then you will enjoy this account of launching the Web series, Compulsions.  As the marketing lead for Compulsions, I can attest that they were formidable:

• No brand sponsors or advertising partners
• No Web TV Network Partner or distribution strategy
• No marketing budget
• No launch strategy
• No clear-cut genre
• Mediocre Web site
• No previous Web series credentials for the creator
• Eight episodes
• Needed to launch by December 2009 for Streamy Award qualification (Holiday Season)

Launch Strategy
It was October 2009, and we needed to address all of the above issues in tandem for a successful launch by December 31st. One advantage in Compulsions’ favor was creator Bernie Su’s natural gift as a promoter. He genuinely enjoys people and works in the world of online advertising to finance his artistic aspirations. So he had some knowledge of marketing and advertising. After a final push to find a sponsor or buyer, it was clear that we needed to move forward with the launch assuming no external marketing support. The clock was ticking.

Launch Checklist
Though we had a long checklist of marketing tasks, following are the core components that require the greatest amount of time and attention from content creators.

Web site: Compulsions’ site was missing key information about the show, cast, a blog, e-newsletter signup, and an overall consistent brand feel with creative that reflected the shows’ complex genre. We tackled all of these and also finalized messaging for the show to use consistently in all marketing outreach. We also finalized the show’s primary ad image for promotion and thumbnail use on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Tip: Review Web series and TV/movie Web sites with marketing budgets for ideas. Observe how the site creative reflects the show’s vibe and target audience. Keep this in mind when creating yours.

Audience Building: Compulsions is described as a dramatic thriller, but also includes a sadism theme, violence, suspense, and mystery, among others. So how do we pro-actively piece together an audience leading up to the premiere and continue to build the audience during and after for an eight-part series? (After all, we know that the larger the audience, the better chance of a second season with funding and new opportunities for the Compulsions’ cast and crew.)  Being less knowledgeable about the show’s genre, I asked Bernie and his producers to create a list of movies, TV shows and current Web series that capture aspects of Compulsions’ themes for potential audience crossover interest. Once we had the list, we divided and conquered by going into these fan communities with complete transparency to let them know about a new Web series that’s premiering soon that we think they would like, based on their interest in that particular movie/TV show, and linked them to the new and improved Compulsions Web site to see the trailer and to sign up for a Premiere Alert that included dates, times, and link to view. This went on for a few weeks.

Tip: Get your Web site and marketing creative completed at least two months in advance so you have time to begin audience-building activities for the premiere.

The Trailer: No surprises that a fantastic trailer (not a teaser, which is shorter), is critical for building pre-launch buzz. The power of the trailer is critical and as we all know, a primary tool for audience-building before the premiere. It is also valuable for supporting media outreach efforts before the launch. Bernie created one trailer and one teaser. The trailer was successful at generating expectation, presenting a “feel” for the series and as a valuable tool for audience-building before the premiere. Next, a compelling teaser was created to generate excitement at the half-way point of the series for the final four episodes in order to keep the momentum alive and the audience intrigued. (This teaser was debuted at the private screening event – see below.) Of course, the more trailers or teasers the better, similar to the “scenes from next week’s show” strategy used on TV. Trailers and teasers require time and resources. If you only have resources for one, make a great trailer. Never treat it as an afterthought or a secondary piece of content.

Tip: Pretend that the trailer is your submission for an Emmy Award. Make it count. Make it fabulous.

Social Media – Blog, Facebook, Twitter: Accounts were set up for Compulsions using the final creative for brand consistency. A combination of premiere countdown tweets and proactively finding followers and fans, interwoven with the show’s Web site where Bernie was writing blogs about behind the scenes shooting, the genre, character profiles was just enough to whet the appetite of potential audience members. All were prompted to follow Compulsions on Facebook and Twitter as well. Combined, these touch points grew awareness, gave audience members a variety of options to engage and built a connection between them and the show before and after the premiere.

Tip: Consistently engage with fans, start conversations and monitor daily to answer any questions. Offer multiple social media channels.

Distribution Strategy: There are so many distribution options for content creators. As an untested content creator with a complex genre and no pre-existing sizeable fan base, I believed that it was important to premiere exclusively on an established Web TV network. And that’s what we were able to do with Dailymotion. We negotiated site-wide and e-newsletter promotion opportunities to reach their member base, as well as revenue sharing from any advertising.

Tip: Maximize all promotional opportunities available with the Web TV network you exclusively sign with. Networks are hungry for original quality programs, so you have leverage. Request a list of promotional options.

Windowing: Next we needed to decide, as it was almost December 1st, when to launch and when to run the episodes. After a number of brainstorms, and the holidays fast-approaching along with the Streamys qualification deadline, we decided to run all eight episodes over a two week period, Monday through Thursday.  Holiday distraction by the audience was a risk we opted not to take, and giving the audience a back-to-back experience for a suspense thriller Web series would be similar to a multi-part made for TV movie, so the concept was not unusual – just novel for a Web series. This strategy built audience numbers quickly.

Tip: Be aware of real world events, such as holidays, Super Bowl, etc. when picking your premiere date. Don’t risk getting drowned out or ignored by your core audience.

Media Strategy: A launch press release was written and distributed to key media with the show’s official messaging and a screenshot. The world of media that covers Web series is expanding, but not fast enough to the dismay of content creators and publicists. So also encourage new fans and friends to write up brief blog posts about the show and ask them to include a link to any media coverage you do receive. And be sure to add links to coverage on the News page on your Web site (or homepage). Unless you have a notable star, previous track record of success or a million fans, be realistic about media coverage. It’s most efficient to develop unique story angles for vertical outlets that tend to cover the show’s genre already.

Tip: Do not send a reporter an email that says, “Check out my show” with a link. That won’t work .Tell them what is special about your show and why they should watch it.

Preview Event (Optional): Bernie felt strongly about having a sneak-peak event for the LA-based Web TV community and was able to do it on a tight budget. So we created a program for the evening that previewed the first four episodes, immediately followed by a cast and crew panel interview by a Web TV industry reporter. We did this a week before the public premiere. This event successfully immersed the community into the show and emotionally connected them with the talent. It also left them hanging for the final four episodes. I’m certain that the event dramatically increased word-of-mouth marketing by attendees via Twitter and Facebook, which was invaluable for audience growth leading up to the public premiere.

Summary
There is so much more creative marketing, advertising and promotion than can be done to market a Web series when you have a budget.  This is by no means is a complete list. But if you’re broke, start with these building blocks. If you’re not getting traction, don’t give up.  Ask for advice from friends who have been through a successful Web series launch. Also remember, marketing must continue after the premiere, as there are millions of Web users who are waiting to discover your show. Marketing never ends – at least not for a Web series!

Related Post: On Set: Creating Digital Marketing “Extras”

I selected both CNET and ReadWriteWeb for live blogging coverage and had them running side-by-side on my laptop. (Background: As a news and political junkie, I’m accustomed to using multiple sources of information at once  to track the latest live election night exit polls and vote counts across political Web sites, local and national news sites, radio live stream (NPR and local news stations via iTunes), and broadcast/cable on my TV. I turn my home into a virtual election night HQ.)

So now I was ready and excited to “watch” Facebook’s live “text only” news event via two quality tech news outlets, and I’m very happy that I did. What a difference in coverage style, information sharing, audience engagement and blogging platform! Both outlets provided a valuable service for their audiences, but approached it very differently.

Read Write Web
Reporter Frederic Lardinois offered a traditional straight forward, no commentary account of what was being said at the conference, from Facebook executive presentations to the media Q&A session afterwards. There was no interjection of personal opinion or insights on the privacy topic – simply an account of what was happening. It was a very clean reporting style focused on the event only. However, there was one humorous moment during the Q&A when a CBS reporter was tapped to ask a question via phone, resulting in the following post: “Q (CBS): (Dude doesn’t realize he is on the phone and talks to a colleague.)” Embarrassing for the CBS reporter, but still, I knew what was going on!

Additionally, RWW used GoogleWave as a live blogging platform experiment, something I hadn’t seen before. I liked the clean interface, but there was no audience engagement experience. In a post-event tweet exchange with Frederic, I asked about the interactive capabilities of GoogleWave during a live blogging session. He replied, “not this time. The wave is public, but we didn’t open it up for commenting to keep things organized. Next time we will have 2 waves.” So this first experiment didn’t include the interactive piece, but I look forward to what that experience will be like. The lack of community interaction detracted from RWW’s live blog coverage, but the style was clear and concise without interruptions and distractions by audience comments in the live blog stream.

CNET
Reporters Declan McCullagh and Caroline McCarthy collaborated from different geographic locations for CNET’s live blog coverage. The style was part commentary and opinion, part straight reporting plus curated audience engagement  during live blogging.  Both offered valuable context and background to the press conference, similar in style to what election night analysts would offer to help the audience make sense of the information being reported.

However, the tradeoff to that approach was some missed reporting of Zuckerberg’s statements during the press conference and no coverage of the media Q&A portion of the event, during which NY Times tech reporter Nick Bilton asked Zuckerberg: “Q (Nick Bilton, New York Times): What are your plans for the upcoming location service? Will this create another backlash? A (Zuckerberg): We will try not to create another backlash. The new privacy controls will affect the location sharing. (Zuckerberg is not ready to make any announcements regarding location.)” Well, that perked me up! (I made a mental note to stay tuned for a future Facebook live blog press conference.)  Other reporters from GigaOm, Wired, Mashable and Robert Scoble asked questions as well. I liked knowing what these tech outlets asked and how Zuckerberg responded.

CNET used a live blogging platform with a robust curation backend called Cover It Live. It offers a lot of bells and whistles, and has a free version (no ads), free ad-sponsored version, and an enterprise version with some revenue sharing opportunties. But the moderation process was a bit mysterious. It delayed showing audience comments (no real time) or prohibited them completely. For example, Declan posted that after Zuckerberg completed his statement that he received a flood of press releases from privacy advocacy groups, including the Progress & Freedom Foundation. I submitted a comment logged in with my twitter handle and shared that it was recently reported that Facebook made a contribution to this public policy organization, which is against regulating online privacy. I wanted to share this with my fellow audience members as an interesting factoid in real time, a la Ustream.tv (minus the video). Not only did my comment not show up (which made me realize it was being moderated), but when I went back to review for writing this article, the archived version of the live blog omitted this post. Thanks to Cover It Live’s editing features, editors can fix typos and even delete posts before submitting as a final archive. So now live blog coverage can offer a revisionist experience post-event. Not sure I like that approach for a news organization that I trust to stick by what it posts on the public record, but there are benefits for companies live blogging events for a clean final version.

Additionally, audience comments that were let through by the moderator appeared in the live blog stream (not in a separate window) and made the experience visually busy (they were in italics and different font colors), especially when both reporters began to engage the commenters while also reporting what was being said at the press conference.  This dialogue resulted in some news  information gaps.

Live Blogging Planning Tips
Whether you’re a news organization or a company having an event that you want your PR team to live blog, take time to think through the style of reporting and voice you want to use with your audience, the platform tools you want to have on the backend for content management, editing and archiving, and how much openess you want to offer your audience in terms of asking questions and sharing comments during the actual live blog coverage. If you’re going to curate comments in real time, indicate this clearly on the page to your viewers with a link to a section that explains your company’s parameters for what gets posted and what doesn’t. Don’t risk alienating your audience. If is is a pre-planned event (i.e., not a live news conference) review the event’s agenda in advance to pre-determine coverage emphasis or style shifts, such as straight reporting to lighter commentary. Treat it like a live TV broadcast. be sure to prepare ahead of time so you’re ready with background information and topic factoids to add color to the narrative and to answer any questions from the audience that you can anticipate. The audience expects you to be their trusted expert.

And if you’re a news and information power user, like I am, follow more than one outlet when watching a live blogging event so you don’t miss out on information and have a variety of participation options.

(Disclosure: I didn’t pre-plan this article. The dramatically different experiences I had inspired me to share this.)