What Taraji P. Henson’s Golden Globes Acceptance Speech Can Teach Brands

I’m a creature of pop culture habit, especially when it comes to award shows. I thoroughly enjoy the cross section between entertainment, movies, and fans. Every award season, I wait to see if any of the nominees and winners will take a minute to address the community that helped raise not only their profile, but the profile of their show/movie – social media.

Sunday night, Empire’s Taraji P. Henson showed the world how important social media is to her career and that she pays attention to her fans. Upon accepting the award for Best Actress in a Television Drama for her portrayal of Cookie, Ms. Henson made a point to tell the teleprompter coordinator that she needed to thank her fans on Twitter. No, Ms. Henson probably does not know every single supporter and fan who was sending her messages of praise and good luck on Sunday night. What did Ms. Henson know? She knew how powerful that particular tool is for her and how important it is to give back to the community that spends time watching and sharing content about her show.

Oh, how important this point is. Yet it seems to be lost on so many brands.

In real-time, Ms. Henson most likely checked her Twitter stream and chatted about Empire during the Golden Globe commercial breaks. Thousands of conversations were happening. I bet that the other nominees and winners saw their names fly across Twitter and Facebook memes.

But it was Ms. Henson who took the time to call out the very people whose viewership helped catapult her performance to Golden Globe-worthy status. To this, Ms. Henson, I applaud your recognition. I also dig the way you handed out cookies on the way to the podium.

Now, back to brands. Why do we continue to have companies who proactively ask a community for feedback and don’t back up that feedback gathering with a response? Or kudos? Or a thank you? Or even by answering a question? I get it – not enough people to go around and answer all those questions. Have no fear – that’s why we’re here!

We have expert Mods talking back to consumers around the world in real-time. Think about some of your most excited fans. How happy would they be to get a response from you about anything from store hours to today’s pizza special?

Take it from Taraji P. Henson – a call-out goes a long way.

Blagica Bottigliero
VP of Digital Media