In a modern twist to a TV pledge drive, PBS ran a Facebook “Like Drive” last week that rewarded fans for helping promote some of PBS’ most beloved people and shows. Every day, PBS promised to unlock exclusive video clips on Facebook if fans “liked” the PBS page and shared statements of support on their own walls. For example, you could click Mister Rogers to post the statement, “I support PBS because I believe in a neighborhood where every child belongs.”
Those statements helped drive awareness for the PBS page, driving new fans — more than 18,000 in all for the week, stopping just short of 950,000 total likes for the page. When PBS hit the daily “like” goal of one thousand on all seven days, fans were rewarded with a new video. For example, on the last day of the drive, fans were rewarded with an exclusive video of Mister Rogers from the PBS archives:
And my favorite, an exclusive interview with the Kevin Clash, the Elmo Puppeteer. “The leading factor in the success of the campaign was tapping into iconic programs and people—past and present—unique to PBS,” explains Kevin Dando, PBS’ Director of digital marketing & communications. “We offered up beloved personalities and memorable program moments, then made it easy to share these with friends.”
During the week, PBS posted three “Like Drive” messages a day on its Facebook page, accounting for 11,750,000 Facebook impressions, 35,267 total “likes,” 3,813 comments and 4,605 shares. “(We’re) very happy with the results,” Dando says via email. “We learned quite a bit about the power of a resonant thumbnail image and people’s deep-rooted affection for some of the PBS figures we showcased – especially Fred Rogers, Masterpiece and Julia Child.”
In fact, if you delve down into some of the comments on the Mister Rogers archive clip, you’ll find some heartfelt memories. “Mr. Rogers was one of 3 shows I was allowed to watch as a child in the early 1970s,” explains one. “I watched an episode the other day with my 4 year old and felt more comforted than I have in years. A peace I seldom feel came over me and I knew everything would be OK. His message was always resoundingly, ‘You are fine just the way you are.’”
Dando also said that timing the Facebook posts in tune with recent research was key to maximizing engagement as well.
