Your Post Intention May Not Be Good Enough

The South Beach Wine and Food Festival hosted by The Food Network Channel features big-ticket events sponsored by even bigger brands.  Events range from intimate settings to parties with hundreds of fans in attendance.  I experienced several of these styles of events at SoBe Fest this past weekend.  While making sure to absorb every special aspect of the extravagant, I was closely connected to social media the entire weekend- including the SOBEWFF Facebook page. 

Prior to the start of the weekend, the wall was being filled with anticipatory, excited posts by those with tickets or those hoping to score a ticket to any event at all.  However, on Sunday at 6PM a post was made by the page admin that stated it was “time to say goodbye” as the Guy Fieri and Ziggy Marley closing ceremony started up.  A short 40 minutes later (while at the event!) attendees were responding with negative, and even angry, comments about the over-filled capacity of the event.  One Facebook user writes, “In line, too long…”  These types of comments continued as people expressed their extreme disappointment with the experience and how they won’t be returning again.  

The influence of the initial Facebook post, while intending to generate excitement, backfired in such a way that could have negative affects on attendance to #SOBEWFF events in the future.  Social media tends to have a mind of its own.  Or, should I say, the mind of millions- all who read, process and write in unique ways.  Social media professionals are palpably aware of this dynamic environment and work to manage it as best they can.  However, users can are known to burn intentions and add their own seasonings. 

Your Thirty Seconds of Fame

Thirty seconds is barely enough time to search for and find a video, but it’s all the time you need to be entertained by the Harlem Shake.  Skyrocketing in popularity and quantity on YouTube, the videos last only for about thirty seconds.  From the armed forces to a Greenpeace office in Stockholm to the UGA Men’s Swim and Dive teams, groups are getting together to create their own rendition. 

In the last fifteen days, nearly 15,000 of these videos have been produced and that number continues to grow.  Several videos have taken off in popularity and been featured on news and late night television programs.  Each video builds anticipation until half way through when the beat drops and the whole room is going wild.  Having been referred to as 2013’s “Gangnum Style,” these videos are likely to become even more popular before the trend dies down. 

The imaginative plots of these videos continue to become more and more creative as the trend picks up speed.  Just like “Call Me Maybe” videos once were in the spotlight, we’re now in the era of the Harlem Shake.  Fifteen days have brought us this far.  Anticipations are high for what crazy twists will we be entertained by in the next fifteen. 

Your Taste Buds Tuned Into Social Media

The excitement conjured by social media is often all-encompassing and over the top.  In some cases, it can even make your mouth water.  The South Beach Wine and Food Festival’s array of social media tactics do just this.

Between their Facebook and Twitter posts, they are able to build anticipation through visual aids and descriptive narratives of what an attendee will experience.  This not only creates a unified buzz across social media sites, but on an individual basis as well.  The excitement among all those planning to attend prompts the promotion of the event by individuals.  As a Facebook friend or Twitter follower is mine, you would know that my sweet tooth is most eager for the Godiva Indulge event.

In addition, the Food Network’s YouTube channel offers videos of events and photo galleries of last year can be viewed and shared via Flickr.  Being able to see what past attendees have experienced stimulates the strong desire to be present this year.   The variety of social media approaches allows consumers to see how swanky, luxurious and appetizing the events will be.  They have my mouth watering already.

The 10 day countdown starts today as my taste buds attempt to prepare themselves for some of the most delicious food ever produced by the Food Network channel’s most famous culinary artists. 

Your Official Source of Bachelor Wisdom

Went to get another much needed scoop of Double Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream during a television show and don’t have DVR.  Never fear.  Just check your Twitter feed to catch up on anything interesting you may have missed.  Not surprisingly, this experience is witnessed on significant events such as Inauguration Day and Super Bowl Sunday.  However, it is also carried through in prime form on Bachelor Mondays. 

For the 2 hour period of show time and beyond, Bachelor watchers tweet constantly about the spectrum of events happening on the show in real time.  In fact, one could essentially have her television turned off and be able to keep pace with every juicy detail through her Twitter feed. 

@BachelorABC uses tactics throughout the week, as well as during the show, to create buzz and entice viewers to tune in.  By soliciting viewer opinions and pictures of fans’ “watching parties,” ABC engages dedicated Bachelor lovers everywhere. 

However, what would the Bachelor be without a little chemistry and a limo-full of drama?  While ABC does maintain an interactive and promotional feed, we must all say a little “Thank You” to the Twitter universe for the creation of the @TierrasEyebrow account.  Viewers are arguably more tuned into their Twitter feeds than the show as they become more and more entertained by the antics of their friends’ and anon accounts that offer witty, laugh-out-loud tweets. 

Not a member of the Bachelornation?  First off, your loss.  Secondly, be sure to stay away from Twitter from 8-10 PM on Monday nights, else have your feed be consumed with #Bachelor and #Tierrable hashtags.  But realize- nonetheless- that history is being made here, people, both in the Twitter social media arena and in the heart of the finest Bachelor of all time.