On its surface, it seems ridiculous. What could we possibly have to learn from a self-proclaimed cocaine addict, a possible wife abuser, and guy who waves a machete on his roof all wrapped into one?
On a personal level, probably not much. But on a professional level, Charlie Sheen has really done something interesting with social media. And all without a Facebook page.
Below we have one of the videos that started it all and had everyone asking, is he crazy? Has he lost it? Is he coked out? Or is he a genius?
But after a while people stopped caring so much about what brought on this sudden outburst from the actor we’ve known so long, and started #winning, throwing a #fastball, and discovering their #tigerblood. The simple word “winning” has gone from a cool thing that might get you a few Facebook likes from friends to “Just scored the last jelly donut at work. #WINNING” and puts you in touch with the wave of millions of Charlie Sheen fans all stoked on their fortune, all part of the most twisted and accidental motivational campaign the internet’s ever seen. And even the ironists are taking part in the trend in Chuck Norris-Joke fashion, which is just as much absurd as it is peculiarly self-satisfying. Like Sheen says,
“Admit it folks, the whole winning thing, you just feel better when you say it.”
But how’s he doing it? First, the video went viral. But how do you sustain it? He took some cues from Conan O’Brien, creating his Team Sheen, and with a Twitter the world could get as much Charlie as their smartphone put out.
No matter what’s behind the outing of Charlie Sheen’s new public game face–a hugely successful publicity stunt, a comedian that never was, whatever; as long as you’re #winning right?–there’s no doubt it’s been tremendously successful. So here are five things we can learn about social media from Charlie Sheen.
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(1) Video, Video, Video.
Here is the viral video that started it all (apologies, it wasn’t embeddable). We’re not recommending you do this–or anything else Sheen mentions in the video–with your business or with your self, but there’s something to be said for (1) standing out from your competition, (2) breaking the rules, (3) being fearless, (4) having crazy intense catch phrases rolling out of your mouth every five seconds.
But that’s not all. Sheen also does live Ustream shows for his fans. It’s called Sheen’s Korner. Branding branding. Some of this stuff is really amazing writing, and we doubt it’s all Sheen. But after all, it is Charlie.
(2) Twitter Is Powerful For Personalities
This is the link to the official Charlie Sheen Twitter. It’ll speak for itself. But here we have a mind that millions of people want to get inside of, and Twitter is the perfect platform for that. Look at the extreme use of personality to drive people to this Twitter. And also, we’re cheating here, but another lesson—Never Understimate Humor. If people couldn’t laugh with Sheen (and remember Sheen is laughing too), they wouldn’t be following him.
Just a few hours ago an article was published “revealing the secret” behind Charlie Sheen’s tweets. Surprise surprise, it’s not all him. But we can safely assume it’s mostly him, and he’s been using this to promote his “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not An Option Show”. Want to talk ROI? Now here’s some tangible, monetary ROI.
(3) There Are Some Important Considerations In Getting An Intern
There’s been a big fuss recently about last week’s tweet from Charlie Sheen saying he’s looking for an intern. The particular fuss is that once people know that Sheen’s totally removed from his tweets, people will lose interest. They want the #warlock. So there’s some good discussion on what makes a good intern. Your scale of social media probably isn’t Sheen-sized, but if your business doesn’t depend solely on your personality (or even if it does), do some serious thinking about who your intern will be and how your intern will operate within your social media goals.
(4) If People Like You, The Street Team Will Form Organically
Not everyone is so lucky to have a last name that sounds a lot like “team”, but you can get creative. If you’ve stood out from your competitor’s in an important, bold, and assertive way, people will appreciate that and promote your distinction all on their own. Word of mouth is one thing, but if your breakfast taco is “twice the power of the normal taco”, the idea is so absurd and funny that people are likely to take it upon themselves to promote it how they can. We seem to be in an age that appreciates they hyperbolic, the exaggerated, the ridiculous. Capitalize on this and find your quirk. People will want to talk about you and promote you.
(5) It Is, Always Has Been, and Always Will Be About People
Sure, we can talk about online conversion and merchandising—Charlie Sheen is making big bucks off of all this. With catch phrases like “Dyin’s For Fools” and “I only know one speed–Go!”, who wouldn’t want a shirt that says that? But in the end, no one is stoked on Coca-Cola, or Disney World, or XYZ Donuts. People really follow people. So perhaps the most important lesson from all of this is, for better or worse, be a real person, be fearless, and be yourself.
Oh and yeah, get an autotuner.
