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You Really Like Me - Social Lessons From Oscar Award Winning Speeches
March 4, 2014
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The Oscars is always a great time to celebrate the big movies of the year, and anticipate those acceptance speeches from the winners. That's because we never really know what they'll do or what memorable quotes they'll leave us with.
In fact, there have been so many classic speeches that they actually offer lessons in social media.
Let's start with one of the winner's from Oscars 2014, Cate Blanchett, who won for Best Actress in a Leading Role for "Blue Jasmine."
Personalized Acknowledgement
Blanchett didn't just acknowledge her fellow nominees but she truly took the focus off herself to praise the other women. Especially with Julia Roberts, when Blanchett said, "Hashtag suck it," -a funny inside joke that spoke to the social space.
While social media demands brands to be extraordinary and alert - really paying attention - we should also remember our communication should rarely be about us directly.
Social is an indirect path to our brands.
The key is to focus more on personalizing the fan experience and making them feel seen - just as Blanchett so humorously did.
The Art Of Surprise
When Jack Palance won best supporting actor in 1992 for "City Slickers" he thrilled us all by dropping to the floor and performing one-handed push-ups during his acceptance speech.
Surprise is a smart tactic to build on being memorable. Never miss an opportunity to stand out. The fans will always remember it.
Thick Skin Required
Meryl Streep reminded us of that during her acceptance speech in 2012 for Best Actress in "The Iron Lady."
As she was accepting her award, she said, "When they called my name I had this feeling I could hear half of America go, 'Oh, no, Oh, come on, why her again, you know?' But – whatever!"
Meryl put her hand up and laughed and graciously went on with her acceptance speech.
What she felt is what plays out socially every day. There will always be unhappy people trolling us, looking for something to slam. It's our job to not react defensively. While every troll requires different handling – always remember this, calm heads prevail.
And as Meryl proved, you can get out in front of it.
Brevity Works!
The shortest acceptance speech in Oscar history goes to Joe Pesci.
Accepting the Best Supporting Actor award in 1991 for Goodfellas, he simply said:
"It's my privilege. Thank you."
While socially, it's visuals that often work best, if you don't have a great photo for your thought, the fewer words, the better. We are becoming skimmers. It's important to have the discipline to write something out, then edit, edit and edit once more to use the fewest words possible.
Don't Be A 'Sally'
Sally Field's, "You like me" line from her acceptance speech for the 1985 film Places in the Heart is perhaps the most memorable of all.
It's also one of the greatest lessons you can teach yourself about social. Fans that "like" you (or have followed you) socially already like you. Focus less on how to game them into liking you even more, and instead, work on ways you can bring real value to the connection.
Relying too heavily on empty transactions such as contests can leave your brand vulnerable to being forgettable.
Use your exceptional wit and wisdom to build on loyalty that's already there. Go personal at times and strive to be unique, showing them things they haven't already seen. Or tell them about stories perhaps they already know about but in a way they haven't already heard.
The digital and social arenas are very fluid spaces, and technology and consumer habits will keep them ever changing. But as long as your brand practices the basic fundamentals – personalizing acknowledgement, creating "holy crap" moments, having thick skin, being brief, and working on ways to show why your brand is a valuable part of the fans social lives - there'll be no need to do the bribe.
You'll keep up with this space just fine.
And maybe even win a few awards along the way.
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