AMC’s “The Walking Dead” has fully embraced social media and turned the show into a “ratings slam dunk” for the network, as well as consistently topping Google and Twitter trends, according to Entrepreneur.
The show’s Facebook page has just under 8 million likes, with 144,876 “talking about this.” The @WalkingDead_AMC Twitter account has over 380,000 followers, and AMC works to increase this Twitter following by live tweeting during each show. The network also created an after-show companion program, the Talking Dead, a talk show hosted by “popular web and nerd savant” Chris Hardwick.
Robert Kirkman, executive producer of “The Walking Dead” (and author of the comic books that inspired the show), is no stranger to Twitter popularity, with 112,000 followers. He believes that the show’s theme – “people band together in order to survive” – translates well into social media.
It looks like he’s right. The show’s season 2 finale had a huge presence in social media circles despite going up against the final games of “March Madness.” Based on Trendrr’s analysis of social comments on Twitter, Facebook, GetGlue and Miso, “The Walking Dead” received 489,141 mentions throughout the day on the season 2 finale and 366,844 during air time (Forbes). According to data by bluefin labs, it is “one of the most social shows on TV” and averages 76,000 social media comments per new episode.
AMC is also teaming up with RockYou to launch an interactive social game on Facebook based on “The Walking Dead.” The game will officially launch this month, though previews have been available on the show’s Facebook page. It will be a “next generation game for social networks” according to Stephen Griffin, CEO of Eyes Wide Games, which is helping to develop the game (EW.com).
Kirkman told Entrepreneur that AMC put a significant amount of effort into working across platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and the AMC website, to build awareness of the show and turn it into an “all-encompassing experience for people to watch the show and interact socially.”
