While preschoolers aren’t the key demographic targeted with social media campaigns, in executing a comprehensive campaign celebrating Sesame Street's 40th anniversary, PR team at Sesame Workshop was able to reach thousands of people who no longer watch the show regularly, but were regular users of social networks. Here’s some insight into making social media work for secondary audiences:
• Know your fan base: Clearly, 2-to-4-year-olds are not on Facebook, but other fans were, including moms, college kids who grew up watching the show and parents who grew up watching it that now have their own kids. “We knew that we could get Facebook and Twitter out there for those fans,” says Ellen Lewis, VP of corporate communications for Sesame Workshop.
• Reach out to key influencers: Mommy bloggers were a huge viral component for Sesame Workshop’s social media efforts. “They really helped get the word out,” says Lewis.
• Stay within your brand: The Sesame Street Twitter account featured five different characters as its voices. By tweeting through the characters rather than a corporate voice, Sesame Workshop delivered messages that resonated with followers.