HYPING SWITCHED AT BIRTH ON SOCIAL MEDIA

As a Chicago Blackhawks fan, it’s awesome to see #Blackhawks trending on Twitter. It’s even more awesome to see the Blackhawks continue their point streak game-in and game-out. While I’m very excited to see the hockey community raving about the Blackhawks, I’m even more excited to see the attention the Switched at Birth, the hit TV show on ABC Family, is getting on social media and beyond.

It is interesting to me Purple Communications and Gallaudet University were the only two organizations that ran a commercial during the first ever all-American Sign Language (ASL) episode on regular television. I thought there would be more deaf-related commercials or at least deaf-related product placements within the show. Nonetheless, I wanted to congratulate Purple Communications and Gallaudet University on a job well done.

I’m not necessarily talking about the content within the commercial, but rather the way they utilized social media to build up hype prior to the show, as well as maintain said hype after the show was run.

These two organizations were not alone in hyping up the show – the company in which I work with, E-View Connections, parent of the Engage app, broadcasted two news stories about the Switched at Birth to all members and shared Deaf Mosaic’s feature on DPN (video below) on social media platforms. The National Association for the Deaf sent out a press release about the episode, and in this episode, incorporated related Twitter hashtags and actors’ Twitter handles.

I could go on and on about all the organizations and what they did to promote the Switched at Birth episode, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll share one consistency I’ve seen across the board.

It’s that the deaf community has come together to spread like wildfire to the masses something so valuable to them, American Sign Language (ASL). While there are individuals out there who oppose the usage of ASL on the show, it is absolutely wonderful to see how one single episode on a national television show can spark such conversation about ASL and deaf and hard of hearing people!

Corey Axelrod is an experienced internet marketing professional specializing in developing online and email marketing, advertising, and social media campaigns, as well as managing online reputations through brand management strategies and campaigns. With experience in digital marketing, Axelrod founded Synergetic Business Solutions to work with companies and help them build their online presence. Axelrod also currently serves as the director of social media at E-View Connections, the developer of the Engage App. Axelrod’s experience includes serving as the digital marketing coordinator for Purple Communications, director of marketing and business development for Hager Productions and senior field sales manager for Vector Marketing. Axelrod earned his bachelor’s degree in business management and master’s degree in business administration (MBA) with a concentration in marketing and sales management from the Rochester Institute of Technology.