THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Special Project

Special Project
From the 14th Annual Shorty Awards

The L Word: Generation Q S2

Entered in Community Management, Filter/Lens

Objectives

We set out to make The L Word: Generation Q *the* most talked about show amongst LGBTQ+ audiences. Our Challenge: Our IP made our audience feel seen at a time few other television shows did. How could we mirror that powerful connection to extend online? Here’s how:

In Season 1, our Sr. Manager, Social Media, a diehard fan of The L Word hid behind the @SHO_TheLWord handles, was commonly being referred to as the anonymous intern in line with Internet tropes. However, as Season 2 neared, we set the record straight, letting our fandom in on who was behind the handles. Non-Intern Kelsey was born.

This season, we positioned the @SHO_TheLWord as a fixture of The L Word community, using Non-Intern Kelsey as our way in. We established ourselves as a member of the community, reacting and celebrating right alongside our fans. Non-Intern Kelsey became the #1 source and #1 bestie for super fans, giving updates on everything from a trailer, to a Premiere Date, to a first episode. She never let them down. Through hyper-shareable queer content, fan-first community management, and Non-Intern Kelsey’s community connection, we established @SHO_TheLWord as a staple within queer culture.

Strategy and Execution

The L Word originally aired in 2004 and deeply resonated with fans, providing representation that had yet to be explored on television in this way. Extending this connection online was our #1 challenge and motivator. 

Our strategic approach for Season 2 of The L Word: Generation Q was to establish the @Sho_TheLWord social handles as not only one of the fans, but the fandom’s very own friend and insider (Non-Intern Kelsey). Positioning the account in this way, allowed us to cultivate genuine connections with The L Word fanbase and the queer community as a whole, using community management to do it. Here’s how:

Always-On Community Management:

For every twist and turn, steamy moment, and cultural beat, we were right there reacting alongside our fans, while giving them the tools they needed to keep the conversation going. 

Weekend Celebrations:

With The L Word: Generation Q episodes streaming every Friday, weekends became a celebration for fans. 

Fan Engagement Stunts:

Throughout the season, we utilized engaging prompts and CTAs to foster a relationship with our fanbase, while furthering episodic plot points online. Examples:

Through various community management tactics, we created a safe space for fan discussion and queer culture, enabling us to speak directly to our community. As a result, the @Sho_TheLWord handles continued to make this fandom feel seen

Results

We quenched fans' thirst with fandom-forward community management tactics, forging genuine connections with fans while making every episode a must-talk-about party on social. These were our results:

Media

Entrant Company / Organization Name

GLOW, SHOWTIME

Links

Entry Credits