Ahead of the GRAMMYs, Twitter hosted a series of chats in order to show celebrities, marketers, and fans that it is not only the go-to platform for live updates, but also a place to build buzz – and measurable buzz, at that.
As we covered in September, Twitter’s data shows that “[w]hen a program is on the air, there is a 6.5x lift in follow rate for the show’s official account when they don’t live-Tweet. When a show does live-Tweet, that increases 15%, to 7.5x.” Tweet volume also increases when official show accounts and cast members join the conversation during the show’s live airing.
But what about engagement ahead of an airing?
In total, more than 27.3 million tweets from the GRAMMYs chats were seen by users, and the chat hashtags were consistent top trending topics in the U.S. This resulted in a multiplying effect: the chats built buzz for the show, and the participating stars gained new followers and saw upticks in engagements – this, in turn, gave the stars (and the GRAMMYs) a head start on the conversation on Sunday.
In total, there were 5 Q&As featuring 7 stars:
- Usher and Charlie Wilson: Feb 5 at 4pm ET
- Sam Smith: Feb 6 at 1pm ET
- Pharrell: Feb 6 at 2pm ET
- Tom Jones and Jesse J: Feb 8 at 1pm ET
- Nick Jonas: Feb 8 at 2p ET
The results: 185,000 RTs and favorites for all of the Q&As combined; 27.3 million impressions; 55,424 followers gained for the participating celebrities.
Join my #GRAMMYs chat TOMORROW 11am PT/2pm ET. Tweet me your questions using #AskPharrell pic.twitter.com/XZQkQ8g1xA
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) February 6, 2015
.@maudlinbear @thegrammys I put all my self doubt into my music. Create something you think is perfect if you don't feel perfect #AskSam
— SAM SMITH (@samsmithworld) February 6, 2015