THE CLIENT:
HLN; The Daily Share
HLN, CNN's sister network, is a national TV network focused on news and trending topics during the day, with shows around mysteries and investigations at night. As part of a network rebrand, to become the "social-first news network," HLN launched The Daily Share – first as a digital brand and then as a live TV show. The Daily Share focused on pop culture and other trending news stories of the day, while integrating top daily trends across various social media platforms.
The Challenge:
As part of an overall company rebrand, The Daily Share was the network's first introduction to the "new" HLN. Network leadership determined that launching first on digital was the best way to gauge interest in the content, narrow down target audiences and more. The Daily Share was essentially a sub-brand of HLN, taking on the new brand identity of the overall network.
So the challenge was: how do we successfully launch, and create an audience for, a future live TV show using only digital content? And, what was that going to look like?
The Solution & Process:
The solution and process of implementing that solution involved several steps, from developing the new HLN/TDS brand identity to determining the type of content that not only would fit the brand, but also bring in the desired audiences. The goal for the brand was to distribute content that was newsworthy, fun, entertaining, humorous and informational.
So we began by rolling out various franchise series that represented who/what the brand was, and some were published in an appointment programming style cadence – just like TV. We also tested various content formats, in order to determine which ones would drive the most user engagement. A few examples of these franchises included:
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Happy Hour: Publish a piece of fun/funny content to each social media platform at 5 p.m. EST.
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While You Were Sleeping: Morning update on news and other trending topics that emerged overnight.
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No Filter: Quotes from famous people saying crazy things.
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News Break: News updates throughout the day.
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Throwback Thursday: Content around past pop culture topics etc.
Once we rolled out different series, we then took a look back to determine what types of topics were resonating on each platform, as well as the optimal writing style and other details that made content successful and engaging. After digging into the analytics a couple of months after launch, here's what we learned:
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Facebook: Hard-hitting news, dramatic content, heartwarming, humor, emotional
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Twitter: Top tweets featured short, clear and engaged copy.
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YouTube: Big improvement on titling but need focus on better thumbnails.
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Vine: Good use of archive content. Continue to hone in on the tone of the account.
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Instagram: Clear, clean aesthetic, relevant photos with short copy and descriptions worked best.
A few things that were designed, developed and implemented:
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New Brand Identity/Image (New URL; New logos)
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New & Expanded Brand Messaging & Content Strategy
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Website Redesign
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New franchise series
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Audience Research & Development
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Expanded Social Media Strategy
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Expanded Marketing & Communications Strategy
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New Branding & Style Guidelines
Project Samples
The Results:
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In the first four months after launch, The Daily Share Facebook Page gained 110,000 Page Likes — 4x competitors’ growth during their initial launch period.
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Average 20% more engagement on posts compared to top 10 competitors.
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Created Social Media Playbook used by all HLN staff & teams to communicate best practices and implement consistency.
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Created & implemented network-wide, cross-promotion strategy across all platforms.
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Created & implemented social media marketing campaigns to raise awareness around show launches, including hosting a round-table chat with Kim Kardashian to highlight a network special on mental illness.