Like many, many others, I #love Game of Thrones. I love sitting around the TV with friends on a Sunday evening, anticipating which one of my favorite characters is going to be killed off in this week’s episode (thanks GRRM). Like most television watching I do, I find it to be a very social experience, as it is for many others, both IRL and digitally. I once made the mistake of going on Facebook when I missed an episode one night and saw a MASSIVE GOT spoiler that ruined me (Purple Wedding, that’s all I’ll say). It was my own mistake, because I know how big of an influence GOT has on social media. We want to share our favorite “You know nothing Jon Snow” memes and clever Khaleesi tweets with everyone we know.
Which brings me to the genius team behind GoT’s social media – If I was still in college, I would write an essay detailing the innovation behind this social media. It brings together beautifully the medieval realm along with today’s digital world.
Leading into the 5th season, there’s been much obvious hype online, notably with the ThreeEyedRaven.com campaign. Fans who signed up for this website essentially had no idea what they would be getting when they signed up for this website, other than that it was 5th season GOT-related. What they did get was get a video “sent via text message and vanished, Snapchat-like, 90 seconds after people viewed them — designed to be much the way the GoT characters would experience such foresight, because you “can’t pause a dream,” according to Mashable. While perhaps this did upset people a bit who were expecting more, this is the beauty of GoT. It’s mysterious, confusing and unpredictable, and sometimes heart-breaking, which appears to be their magic formula. Their social media follows the same theme of unpredictability that the show does.
Let’s take a took at their Twitter, which has over 2.27 million followers. It often features Q&A’s, most recently with the band Anthrax who created a ‘mix tape’ for this upcoming season (they’ve even made a Soundcloud account!). When they’re making an announcement or just a regular ol’ tweet, they’re sure to include words like “Rally the Realm,” “Seven Hells,” “Winter is Coming,” or “Send a Raven.” Simple things like this adds to the magic while staying “on brand.”
Their Instagram is equally fantastic, which boasts over 367k followers. Essentially every photo features a GOT Funko Pop! figurine, which gives the account a very consistent feed. An actor from the show is also often pictured with their character (see below). This is a bit of a sly marketing scheme which makes followers want to purchase a figurine. But hey it works, I felt compelled to even buy one.
Perhaps the greatest tool they utilize is the use of the Iron Throne. What fan doesn’t want to snap a photo on the seemingly unobtainable throne to post to all of their followers (See Snoop below)? Smart move, GoT.
And then there’s the dragon skull, which is perhaps my favorite thing they’ve ever done in terms of marketing. A team of sculptors created this massive dragon skull which was featured on a beach in England to promote season 3. I don’t know about you, but I would definitely tune into a show that was crazy enough to do something like this.
Photo via HuffPost
Engaging, mysterious, and genius. Bravo GoT’s social media/marketing teams. You constantly keep us on our toes and entertained.
Leave a Reply