The Creeping Tentacles of Social Media
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| The Creeping Tentacles of Social Media |
Today, in an attempt to discover why my audio drama Creeping Wave Radio is stagnating online, I will be analyzing the social media platforms of audio drama productions whose success I am bitter and envious of. I do so only partly because I am a masochist, but mainly because I hope to steal their techniques and implement them for my own benefit.
I'm also hoping that by associating their names and shows with mine, I can possibly influence search results to show my work as related. That's kind of a stretch though, but I'm desperate at this point.
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| Behold, the face of desperation! I'm crying, it's sad, like my audio drama! |
It is my eventual hope to turn my audio drama into an animated series, so I will also be analyzing the animated series "The Venture Brothers" and "Bo-Jack Horseman" as I feel their style of humor and fan base are potentially similar to mine. Both shows are either in the midst of coming back from a cancellation (The Venture Brothers) or have reached their series conclusion and are no longer creating new episodes (Bo-Jack Horseman). My own show is on hiatus, while I reevaluate my the efficacy of my marketing techniques.
Obviously, these two shows are owned and operated by larger corporations (HBO Max and Netflix respectively). Nevertheless, I hope to break down what the creators behind this show are doing to maintain their internet presence and maintain a fan base despite not producing new episodes.
Welcome To Night Vale: https://www.welcometonightvale.com/live/
Welcome to Night Vale is the audio love child of Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, was definitely my main inspiration behind transforming my novel, turned comicbook into my own audio drama, Creeping Wave Radio.
The series follows the bizarre happenings in the titular, desert town of Night Vale, where the supernatural has become only natural. The daily rundown of town news and events are delivered by Cecil Gershwin Palmer (voiced by Cecil Baldwin) who serves as both narrator and host, guiding the audience through the peculiar goings on of his fair town.
Once during the show, Cecil will announce the weather, and instead of a meterological report, a song by an independent band plays. I thought this was a brillant idea, hearkening back to early episodes of Scooby Doo. It allows the show to give an up and coming band some exposure while hopefully drawing in new listeners from their existing fan base. I have had several local bands on my show, such as; The Digital Lizards of Doom, Pink Eye, Quel Bordel and more.
Welcome To Night Vale is available to an international audience for download online, with new episodes available the 1st and 15th of each month. In addition, the cast also does touring shows, performing live readings on stage to fans world wide.
The only social media link available on their website is for Twitter. Interacting with fans through a text based format makes sense as the show is essentially a long form novel, read and performed by an ensemble cast. Indeed, there are several novels that have been written by the series creators, set in the Night Vale universe, which follow the further adventures of characters introduced on the show.
Their twitter posts come quite regularly, at this very moment 6:11 p.m, September 2nd, their last tweet is only 9 hours old. They seem to average two to three tweets a day, all of which seem to reference their episodes,
or offer up a cryptic phrase, in keeping with the tone of the series.
It's All Been Done (IADB Productions): https://www.iabdpresents.com/
I'd like to think that this show accomplishes what I could do if I actually enjoyed being around people. Of course, that would be underselling the accomplishments of writer Jerome Wetzel and his intrepid team!
I've actually had the pleasure of interviewing Wetzel for my Creeping Wave's sister podcast The U Mind, and he is indeed a creative force to be reckoned with. Wetzel has gone on to write several books, expounding upon the worlds and characters he's created. His imagination has clearly overflowed the one hour time slot. IABD produces 14 individual podcasts, with original songs and spoof commercials. They are available to a worldwide audience online through your favorite pod-catcher. In addition to this, they perform live stage shows at the Red Herring Theater in Columbus, Ohio.
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| The IABD Team |
IABD also maintains a Wiki page for all their shows, and is available across the platforms of You Tube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. All of these are linked at the bottom of their website. They are regularly active across all platforms, posting videos from recording session and candid photos of the cast.
On the now infrequent occasion that I myself post to my own social media, IABD never fails to swoop in with a like. It's silly, but there have been times I actually wanted to cry, because I was so grateful that people as accomplished and talented as the IABD team took time to notice my work. A testament to the power of social media I guess!
On YouTube, they have 89 subscribers. Their last post for the series "It's All Been Trekked Before" debuted 23 hours ago (as of 9:05 p.m on September 2nd, 2021.)
On Facebook, they have 455 likes, and 479 followers. Their most recent post went up 12 hours ago (as of 9:09 p.m)
On Instagram, they have 817 followers, their last post having deployed yesterday (It's still September 2nd at the time I'm writing this.)
On Twitter, they have a whopping 1518 followers. The last post here was also yesterday.
Their posts are either updates about the show, links to new episodes or behind the scenes footage of the recording process. I know from experience that the team is very quick to respond and always makes time to react to their fans' posts.
Girl In Space Podcast: https://www.girlinspacepodcast.com/
Girl In Space follows the journey of X, a lone botanist, stranded on an abandoned space station. The story unfolds through her personal audio recordings, documenting her findings and experiences. It's a marvelous sci-fi/mystery yarn, which in its unraveling has managed to snag quite a few awards, not to mention the notice of the press.
The writer/producer/editor/executive producer/etc Sarah Rhea Warner has created a witty, insightful story with a strong, relatable protagonist. The fact that she also works as a ghostwriter and web designer while doing so astonishes me. The world of her creation is so rich and visceral, and the sound design makes the end of each episode feel like an abrupt reentry into the real world.
I love that the website also features a fan art section of the characters, with animatics. Its comforting to know that this world and its characters are just as profound and real in the heads of others as they are in mine.
The podcast is available online to a worldwide audience. It's got a back log of episodes dating to 2017. The 2021 season is currently in production, as is a television series.
Girl in Space has an active Twitter page, with 9,742 followers. Their last post was made yesterday, but their last reply came just 13 hours ago (10:45 p.m September 2nd, 2021)
They also have an Instagram, with 2,226 followers. They are less active here, likely because the latest season is still in production. Their last post came on February 15th of this year.
The Facebook page, boasting 823 likes and 1128 followers has been less active as well. The last post being made on August 12th 2021 at 6:49am. I do think its notable however when posts come either later in the evening or earlier in the morning (outside the 9am-5pm business hour range) This usually denotes that the person posting has a full time job, where they can't afford to play online. I'd say that's got to be the norm for most smaller, independently produced podcasts out there.
Girl In Space also has a YouTube, with 347 subscribers, which posts episodes of the podcast. The last post dates back to 2020, or last season, which is typical for a show requiring the intensive production that this one does. I'd rather wait a year for something amazing than have a ho hum episode delivered promptly every, single week. When the new season resumes, episodes will air every other week.
Animated Series: One of my big frustration points in promoting my podcast is that I feel like I am constantly being ushered into the wrong audience. It's partially my own fault. When I first met with the editor for my novel, she encouraged me to befriend people in the "new age community." She should have said sci-fi, (I should have said, 'oh, do you mean sci-fi?') but I figured she knew better than me. Thus, I hitched my dreams to the cart of various podcasters and influencers who were active in the new age community.
The new-age group that I was able to integrate the furthest with slowly transformed into an alternative news and conspiracy theory hub. Scrolling through their archives, you'll find a good deal of anti-vax, prepper type material along with alternative scientific theories and medicine techniques. Regardless of where you stand on these subjects, such things were not relevant to my work. I realized it was time for me to move on, lest I ostracize all the people and connections I'd made while working with them.
I next set my sites on comic book and video game conventions. I knew it wasn't a great fit, but there seemed to be some overlap with sci-fi/fantasy themes and world building. I always struggled to relate to this group, and never seemed to keep up with all the conventions that they religiously attended.
It was only this year that I realized, I wasn't invested in comics or video games the same way these people were. Sure, I could find enjoyment in them, I was excited about certain titles, but I didn't get the same sort of joy they did. It was that joy which kept them on the hunt for new conventions and new outlets through which to share their passion.
Likewise, I had never pursued podcasting conventions. I liked podcasts, there are some I'm very devoted to. Yet, I've never felt the kind of exhilaration from a podcast or audio drama that I feel from an animated series or film. Animation is the genre I can't stop talking about, with the characters I am deeply almost obsessively ardent about. Be it Disney, Hanna Barbera, Ralph Bakshi, or any other cartoon varietal, this is where my heart is.
I realized that in reality, Ive always seen my audiodrama as an animation without visuals. I even write the scripts with settings and notes about the environment. I have clear concepts of what each character sounds and even looks like, which I draw in the cover art of each new episode. On some podcast platforms you don't even see the cover art. I was well aware of that, and yet I would go as far as delaying an episode if I didn't feel art was ready.
I had to be honest with myself. I had chosen the podcast/audiodrama format because it was immediately accessible. I was excited by the prospect of sound production, incorporating music and voice over, but what I really wanted was to make an animated series.
My hope is to study the two examples of such that I feel are most similar to
Creeping Wave Radio and try to extract what I can from their techniques.
Venture Brothers: featured HBO Max formerly aired on Adult Swim There is a webpage, but it appears to be outdated.
The Venture Brothers, created by Jackson Publick and co-written by Doc Hammer aired for the first time on February 16th, 2003 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim Line Up. It was immediately different from some of the more absurdist, adult, shock humor that Adult Swim had become known for.
The Venture Brothers used clever pop-culture reference and satire, framed around a spoof of Hanna-Barbera's Johnny Quest. It blended comedic elements with drama, and wasn't afraid to step into darker territory with its plots. It loved it from the get go.
The show took many long breaks and had an erratic schedule. The fourth season was split into two, and aired with a full year in between. After the fifth season in 2013, which aired only 8 episodes, there was a two year break, In January of 2015 the special "All This and Gargantua-2" aired, with nothing else until season 6 debuted one year later. Then, two more years of silence until season 7 emerged in 2018.
That could have been the death of many other shows, but The Venture Brothers came back with totally unexpected plot twists. It was uncompromising, irreverent and unlike anything else in its genre. Perhaps it was both this high strangeness of plot and schedule, in part with contract issues that I don't really understand (but probably should), which caused the show to be suddenly cancelled after 17 years. The news came just as the writers were in production on season 8 (in 2020, another two year break).
Team Venture had by this point risen to a cult like status. Fans wouldn't stand for the show that they'd so patiently waited for being snatched away like this. They sounded the battle cry and took to social media, messaging Adult Swim and letting them know that this meant war! These fans would not let Venture Brothers go without a fight.
It was then that HBO Max stepped in to renew The Venture Brothers' contract and fans across the globe celebrated their victory! The strange little show would go on.
So, how were the show's creators able to keep interest alive and not completely lose their audience during these lull periods? Well they have a pretty solid social media presence for one.
When the show first started, I followed
Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer on Myspace but have since forgot my
password. That's probably good though. I was an angry, edgy little
creature back in the day. I'm not sure most people figure Myspace into their marketing plan these days.
Since then, Jackson Publick has branched out on to Twitter with 25.5K followers. His tweets aren't all that frequent, with the last one surfacing on August 13th, before that, two tweets on June 9th. However, his fans, myself included, are a patient breed. Most of his tweets are about the show, featuring illustrations of the characters or news about where to stream old episodes.
Doc Hammer's Twitter following is a healthy 7260. His tweets are a bit more surreal; like live tweeting his bowel movements for instance.
Both are on Instagram as well. Publick has a follower count there of 2,782, though his last post is from back in March 13th of this year. The top comment at present (3:08am September 3rd now) is a plea for Publick to "Post more, Dude!" The post is of a very cute cat, walking a ceiling beam while an equally cute dog scampers below.
Most of the post are of his artwork or pets, all of which are gorgeous. Quality over quantity am I right?
Doc Hammer's Instagram with 2491 followers, showcases his beautiful paintings, with some Venture Brothers sprinkled in here and there, with artistic, self-portrait photography. His most recent post, a sassy jab at his past hair do is pictured below. The post is from 8 weeks ago, but of course, creating art, music, and writing and cartoons takes up a lot of time.
The infrequency of posts in both these cases actually lends authenticity to these social media pages. If the posts came rapid fire, it would more than likely be a social media manager at the helm, rather than the artists themselves.
This authenticity is more what I believe causes people to love this show and its creators with such intensity. While I've been a fan since the pilot, "The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay" which debuted on February 13th 2003, my love for the show was actually solidified when I met Jackson Publick at Comicon.
I had a terrible time at the convention that year, having gone with my then boyfriend. He didn't want to go to see any of the speakers, panels or presentations, and had no interest at all in new comics or art. He just wanted to stand at the gaming stations and play video games for hours on end. I was obligated to stay by his side the whole time, because he refused to get a cell phone of any kind, and he had been my ride. I realized too late that I had just been brought along as a passably cute accessory, who could to carry any freebies that were being handed out.
I had cosplayed one of the characters from The Venture Brothers that year and I was incredibly dissapointed to learn that I would have to miss the creators' panel. That, and I hadn't realized dressing in character invites people to get really up close and personal or demand picture after picture of you till they get just the right shot. Between that and having to be my boyfriend's beast of burden, I was feeling dismal.
My boyfriend finally took a break from video games to go outside and smoke. I was just thrilled for a chance to get away from the gawking crowd. While were were outside, puffing away, (I smoked back in my 20's) Jackson Publick came over to me. He didn't want a picture, or anything other than to introduce himself to me as the creator of the show I had dressed for. He handed me a pin, with the emblem of the show's main villain, The Monarch, on it. It was a simple, friendly gesture, but it was incredibly profound for me.
The fact that someone whose work I loved so much had acknowledged me was, without being dramatic, one of the most pivotal moments of my life. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to recognize the importance animation held for me. Interactions like these might be a greater component to The Venture Brothers' success than social media is.
Publick had also updated his fans through his blog Publick Nuisance up until 2013 (which coincides with season 5). His posts came about once a month towards the end, the last one having been birthed on August 30th, and before that July 16th. This interaction, while it lasted, granted fans insight into his life and the progress of his work. It simultaneously built a relationship and fostered mutual admiration between both parties.
I miss that blog, but haven't really commit to a blog for my own work until just now. It always seemed like I was inviting ridicule by putting myself out there like in such a way. That, and I'd be lying if I said my experience with overly zealous "fans", though rare, has left me leery of exposing too much.
BoJack Horseman: Official Netflix Page BoJack Horseman is a comedic series that, like The Venture Brothers is unafraid of veering into the dark or dramatic. The characters are flawed, and multidimensional entities rather than clumsy, sitcom archetypes, despite the titular character being a has-been sitcom star.
The story follows BoJack Horseman, an embittered television actor, whose star has fallen. To cope with the pain of his perceived failure, and a fairly dark past, he drinks heavily and retreats into selfish disregard for those around him. However Bojack really does care deeply for his friends, his on again off again agent, and even his seemingly disdainful mother. It is in his battle between the self he displays and the self he is at heart that conflict arises.
This doesn't seem like a premise for a comedy, and yet, the show manages to thread humor and social commentary throughout each episode. That's the genius of this series, created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, who is active on Twitter.
Waksberg has 63.2K followers, and last posted August 31st, retweeting an article that argues against the recent anti-abortion legislation in Texas, proclaiming "Abortion is Healthcare". His posts tend to range from political and social commentary to humorous and thought provoking consciousness morsels.
And he certainly hasn't forgotten BoJack Horseman. He regularly posts images from the series and connecting them to topical events. Here he pokes fun at the vote to recall Governor Gavin Newsom.
The Show itself does have professionally curated and verified pages across all platforms. They are still up despite the show having been cancelled by Netflix in 2020. All 6 existing seasons are still available to stream on Netflix and there still appears to be a strong, active fan base.
The Instagram page has 713k followers. Though the last post was made on January 29th 2020, the last comment on it came just 6 days ago.
The Facebook page is still followed by 958,159 people. The last post was made on January 31st 2020, but there are still posts being made by people who've just binged the series and were compelled to share their experience. There is also a clever link to a 90's style website, allegedly created by Bojack Horseman, with promotions for the cannonical series Philbert, in which Bojack plays "Detective John Philbert, a man from another time. But now he finds himself in a new time. He finds himself in a time he doesn't understand. A time in which he is alone. Perhaps, all this time, he's been alone."
Twitter posts also cut off on the same date, but the 586.2k followers are still holding strong.
The internet and streaming services like HBO Max and Netflix suspend series like The Venture Brothers and Bojack Horseman in time, allowing a new audiences to rediscover it and old fans to return to their favorite episodes.
Of course it helps that the series is available these larger streaming sites, where people are actively seeking out new things to watch. It's much more likely to come up in recommendations than it would were it hosted independently or on a more music-centric site like Sound Cloud (where my audio drama is hosted and feeds out to other pod catchers.) I've been considering switching over to Libsyn or Anchor, specifically because it would give me exposure on Spotify (Soundcloud as of yet isn't compatible) but I don't want to mess up my established feeds, like I 💛 Radio.
This analysis sheds a lot of light on to why my previous attempts at social media promotion were so unsuccessful. I focused on making multiple posts daily, many of which were just selfies or unrelated to the projects I was promoting. This boosted my engagement for the wrong reasons, never communicating to followers that I was working on an audiodrama, or creating original art, only that I was "feeling cute, might delete later" and other nonsense.
I need to really refine my posting, and its relevance, so that I can guide people to my audiodrama, and hope the material speaks for itself.
Awesome blog post Sarah! Super interesting to see how many followers people have when their business is social media!
ReplyDeleteYou are again adding to my list of podcasts to check out.
ReplyDelete