How do you run social for a show with a massive global following? There are a lot of elements to consider—the authenticity of the social presence, the voice in the posts, the media used, and so much more. Who best to find the right formula than the social team for the renowned animated show Bluey? We spoke with Simon Clarke, Head of Digital Programming at BBC Studios, to explore what it took to build a digital community of more than 3.35 million fans across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and more—not counting the nearly 3 million page views they generate on their Facebook alone.
Find out how they harnessed original and user-generated content, and thoughtful engagement with followers to win a Lovie for Best Overall Social Presence.
To start, can you tell us a little about Bluey’s social media identity and the inspiration behind it?
Everything we do springs from the show and the brilliant episodes crafted by Joe Brumm and Ludo Studio in Brisbane. There are so many layers to Bluey which gives our BBC Studios Social team huge scope to create digital content to engage and entertain Bluey fans worldwide.
What did the process of developing the digital presence look like?
We worked closely with Ludo Studio as Bluey launched to ensure we put in place solid foundations for building our social presence. The show is brilliant on so many levels and fans were quick to take Bluey and her family to their hearts. We wanted to shine a spotlight on the craft of making the series and to celebrate fans and all the brilliant UGC content they create.
Our focus was to ensure we had the right content for each platform. We have evolved and refined our content pipeline over the past few years and are always eager to launch on new platforms.
We now have social channels in 5 different languages and 10 Bluey YouTube channels. Last year we launched on TikTok and saw massive engagement from fans who were discovering us solely from the platform—we now have 2.4M TikTok followers!
What themes or schools of thought influenced the direction of Bluey’s social media?
As a team we all have so many varied and different references to content between us that we love and connect with—from TV, films, theatre, creators and beyond. Being connected to fan communities is something we hold dear. Our social themes obviously come from Bluey and all the fantastic characters. Our BBC Studios Social team are massive Bluey fans and have loads of fun creating new social content.
Who did you have in mind as you were developing Bluey’s overall social presence? And what about the final direction resonated so much with your audience?
Our social channels are for parents and grown-up fans of the show.
We were very much focused on ensuring our channels reflected the same voice and authenticity as the show. We strive to offer as much content as we can to delight fans and we work hard to ensure all posts have that genuine connection back to the show. Social channels often have a lot of asks placed upon them, but we’ve found that leading on content creation—and specifically social-first content—we will always find the ‘Bluey way’ of sharing updates. I think our audiences feel genuinely connected to our social channels and they do a brilliant job of sharing our content. It’s so rewarding following the fan reactions to new content as it launches.
Did you encounter any issues while creating and developing content for the accounts? What steps did you take to overcome them?
It’s always a challenge trying to get content to work in different formats. You have to get creative with vertical video, but that’s part of the fun. We’ve adapted and found ways to bring the joy of Bluey to life whatever the format.
Video always performed hugely well and we’re always looking at ways to work with new creators to explore things like stop-motion, timelapse and 360 video.
We’re focused on multi-format content and testing new formats and functions on different social platforms.
@bluey It’s a Bluey adventure, like you’ve never seen before! See the figures brought to real life by the magic of @kevinbparry
Bluey’s accounts feature a wide range of multimedia content, including behind-the-scenes and fan-made content. What impact has this made on the overall social presence of Bluey?
We have always aimed to offer a mix of content on our social channels. We know that fans love to see ‘behind-the-scenes’ content and it’s a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on the talented team who make the series so special. The designers, artists and animators at Ludo Studio have really embraced social content, often doodling social assets for us in their lunch breaks. Having access to such a talented team of creators and minds has been a massive bonus.
We’re also delighted to see how fans are celebrating Bluey through their own art, crafts, bakes, dance, music and beyond. The Bluey birthday cakes just get bigger and better all the time!
Social is a great place for experimentation. We’re always learning new things and there will always be new buttons to press!
Bluey’s Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook accounts garner millions in likes, views, and overall engagement. What does it take to develop and maintain a great social media presence with such a large audience?
At the heart, it’s the genuine connection to the show. Fans love to discuss and share their feelings about Bluey – how the show connects with them and their friends and family, and what they love the most…. and it’s our job to offer up the chances to connect through fun content. By working super-closely with Ludo and the creative team on the show we can craft social assets to help spark social conversation. We know fans love the detail in the show so as we launch new episodes it’s a great opportunity for fans to come together. Our fans know the series inside out so anything you can do to surprise them is a big win.
What digital tools are instrumental in the production of Bluey’s social media content?
Mainly tools that help us create assets and to also give insights such as Procreate, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere, Emplifi, Sprinklr, YouTube Analytics and Tubular.
How has your Lovie-winning project impacted your work in social media?
It was really lovely boost to the whole team and the award has taken pride of place on our cabinet.
What does winning a Lovie Award mean to you?
It was an honour to be recognised with a Lovie Award and to have a chance to a part of the celebrations with all the other brilliant nominees and winners. We were delighted!