Forty seasons of groundbreaking television deserve groundbreaking social. And that's exactly what SNL delivered: a social strategy designed to celebrate our rich history while simultaneously sharing the comedy and personalities of today.
Share the best of today's SNL:
To compliment our live activations on Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms, we relaunched the SNL Tumblr to be one of the most visually impactful spaces to share digital assets.
Provide a unique behind-the-scenes look:
Instagram is the hub for the insider's perspective. We take you inside the creative process such as pitch meetings, writers' night, read thru, soundcheck, promo shoots and more. You'll see the POV of a cast member, host or musical guest during the many Instagram Takeovers. On Saturdays, Instagram becomes the ultimate second screen companion, from rehearsals to the standby line to hair and makeup; from the host's opening monologue to just before the musical guest's performance; from last-minute edits to Weekend Update jokes until wrapping the night .
Celebrate the 40 seasons of comedy, characters, and actors:
Material from 40 seasons have been curated across our platforms. One of the most exciting components was the new This Day In SNL History Tumblr, which shared content from 800+ episodes each day.
Connect the audience and cast:
With so many new faces, actors utilize social to introduce themselves. In our series #Freshman15, cast talk about their new sleeping habits, favorite things about moving to New York, and their memorable moments on the show.
Instead of relying solely on episodic content to engage fans from episode to episode, Saturday Night Live serves up fresh content daily to keep viewers actively part of the show's creative process. The show's behind-the-scenes content is like none other, both during the week and the live show.
Production Week:
**Backstage Photography - In the pitch meeting, during writers' night, at the table read, the musical guest's soundcheck, pre-tapes, and more - and this is all just Monday through Friday
**Follow Friday Video Series - Playing off Twitter's popular #FF hashtag, the digital team took this concept one -- or maybe ten -- steps further. The idea is on Fridays, the camera would follow a cast member through their office, dressing room, the show's makeup lab, or even in Aidy Bryant's case the wardrobe room
**#Freshman15 Instagram Series - With six new cast members joining the show for Season 39, Saturday Night Live utilized Instagram's then-new :15 video feature to introduce viewers to these new cast members. The new cast was allotted 15 seconds to do anything they want - talk about moving to New York, their most memorable moment on the show thus far or discuss their new sleep habits
**#AskSNL Video Series - Cast members answer fan questions from Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram
**Platform Takeovers: Hosts, musical guests and cast members alike share their backstage looks with fans via Instagram Takeovers (ex: Maroon 5), Twitter Q&As (ex: Andy Samberg), and more
**Time Lapse: The digital team set up GoPros at various locations during the production process, giving fans to see the show from a vantage point they've never been able to enjoy before.
~~Inside Studio 8H
~~ At the Page Desk in the hallway outside the studio:
~~ On the set of a pre-tape
**Digital Exclusive Sketches & Bonus Content: Extended cuts and behind-the-scenes clips from pre-tapes are no rarity, neither are full sketches
**Cut for Time Sketches: Some sketches that get cut for time get a second life online, like "Morning News", "Tweet" and "Christmas Romance"
Live Show:
**Saturday Night Line: All season, fans wait for days in line for the chance to see Saturday Night Live. SNLine is a video series that showcases those devoted fans, as cast members head out to the line each week to hang out with fans, play games and often give out tickets to a few lucky fans
**Live coverage on all platforms: The live show coverage is not just a live tweet, you can consume Saturday Night Live content alongside every new episode on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Vine, including backstage photos, social art and GIFs of the show
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Of course, much of the plan is to share key moments and highlights from each show, as the show carries momentum from the live social coverage Saturday night into Sunday morning and throughout the week.
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With the show's rich 40 year history, the social channels are filled with archived content fans adore. Saturday Night Live took #tbt a step further this season, giving viewers the opportunity to discover newly-unearthed throwback SNL content on a daily basis at thisdayinsnlhistory.tumblr.com. This archival blog is a virtual museum of television artifacts, ranging from classic episodic photos to fresh GIFs of sketches that aired well before the Graphic Interchange Format was invented.
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Hiatus Content:
And the content doesn't stop rolling out of Studio 8H when the show is on hiatus or once the season ends. Digital exclusives are produced for holiday breaks and summer vacation, including the fan-favorite "Most Memorable Moments of Season 39" video series in which the cast offered commentary on their favorite parts of the year. Examples:
Aidy Bryant on "Dyke and Fats":
Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney on their first SNL goodnights:
Vanessa Bayer on shooting a web exclusive video with Lena Dunham:
Or even the farewell video the cast shot for Seth Meyers as he was heading to start his new show:
Ever the tastemaker, SNL's social push is a sign of where television is headed. Social media, when done correctly, grants the audience more access, more transparency and a deeper connection to their favorite show. - Mashable
