Colin MaxwellSocial MediaDr. MirrerFinal Essay5/18/15

Success in the entertainment industry has thrived in the past thanks to pure individual talent and personal connections, as well as face recognition and the evolution of television. Ever since the turn of the century, the rise of technology has changed the ways we look at how these successes in the entertainment industry are viewed. Both the entertainment industries, such as the film, television, and music industries, and the technology industries have been seeing more success due to social media marketing. With the topic I choose amongst the Hootsuite modules provided, 3 Steps to Social Success in Entertainment: How MTVs The Buried Life is Growing a Loyal and Engaged Audience, the module informed me ways in which various forms of social media has enhanced the ability for an individual or a business to market and advertise themselves through numerous avenues of social media. Social media allows the entertainment industry to stay engaged and connected with their audience, as well as promote their product, or themselves, through these new advancements of technology.According to a study completed by the Hollywood Reporter, 88% of respondents view social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook as a new form of entertainment (Solis 1). The article written in Social Media Today, also states that social media is more than a digital water cooler for TV and movies, and that the global conversation that takes place around events and the experiences people share based on what they watch teaches us about consumer preferences. In another report done by The Connector, 79% of connected television viewers visit Facebook while watching TV. Additionally, 83% surf the web while viewing TV and 41% tweet about the show while theyre watching (The Connector 2). From both of these studies, we can definitely conclude that social media is growing within everybody in their everyday lives, especially in the film and entertainment industries. Although entertaining media content is considered to be highly influential on values and norms shared by the recipients, little is known about the orientation and self-perceptions of entertainment media workers conveying these values and norms. In this scholarly article in Media, Culture, & Society, it gives an overview of existing research on TV entertainment workers and it concludes that the common stereotype of commercial orientation cannot be sustained (Siegert 1). The study done in this article compares both producers and commissioners in five European countries. The studies are done to develop a typology with these two. In the scholarly journal of the Theory, Culture, & Society, Susan Christopherson finds evidence from industry reports and labor union data that indicate while the demand for media continues to rise, much of the increase in demand is in low-budget productions (Christopherson 1). The article mostly examines how production trends are affecting the media workforce. In the European Journal of Communication, the discussion of how the TV format trade became a global industry. Formatted brands exist in all TV genres and reach almost every country in the world, said Jean Chalaby. The article mainly spoke about how the global television industry really began in the 1950s and not the 1990s like most people would think. It is social media and the advancement of technology that has been the factor of changing the current entertainment industries in present day, but movies and television remain the major aspects of entertainment that started the wave of how entertainment is viewed today. This article mainly focused on the convergence of all these factors, and how the entertainment industry today is not just affected by both TV and movies, but by the evolution of social media as well. According to Blue Door Inc. when consumers post about a TV show that they are watching about social media, the company behind the show benefits from the exposure. This coincides exactly with how my Hootsuite module explains how the MTV show has gained more and more popularity by having their fans Tweet and Instagram pictures and videos about their favorite episodes. The shows producer allows its fans to also recommend potential future shows by Tweeting in their personal preference. Since the show is about a bucket list of 100 things to do before you die, social media has allowed the connection between its fans and the shows producers to basically dictate where the show could be headed. This not only gets more and more fans involved since their suggestion could be a future episode, but it is fun and more entertaining for the fans as well. This strategy by the MTV producers only makes them and the TV show, The Buried Life, that much more popular within the social media community.As the entertainment industry is still flourishing and thriving thanks to the millions of fans that are in need of pop culture, social media is the main reason why social success is booming within these industries. Being able to Facebook and Tweet live about favorite actors on television shows or share trending music is what has made both these avenues of entertainment succeed. As the entertainment industry has been a key aspect in how we as people can keep ourselves occupied and intrigued daily, social media is one of the main reasons, if not the most important reason, why the industries of global entertainment continue to thrive.

Works CitedChalaby, J. K. (2011). The making of an entertainment revolution: How the TV format trade became a global industry.European Journal Of Communication,26(4), 293-309. doi:10.1177/0267323111423414Christopherson, S. (2008). Beyond the Self-expressive Creative Worker: An Industry Perspective on Entertainment Media.Theory, Culture & Society,25(7/8), 73-95. doi:10.1177/0263276408097797How Social Media influences Film and Entertainment industry - SocialMedia.ie. (2012, December 17). Retrieved May 16, 2015, from http://socialmedia.ie/how-social-media-influences-film-and-entertainment-industry/Social Media Boosting Entertainment Industry. (2015, March 15). Retrieved May 16, 2015, from http://www.bluedoorinc.com/social-media-boosting-entertainment-industry/Solis, B. (2012, May 17). Music, Film, TV: How social media changed the entertainment experience. Retrieved May 16, 2015, from http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/music-film-tv-how-social-media-changed-entertainment-experiencevon Rimscha, M. B., & Siegert, G. (2011). Orientations of entertainment media workers: entertainment media workers disrespect and neglect.Media, Culture & Society,33(7), 1009-1026. doi:10.1177/0163443711415743