Social media has become one of the most convenient ways for people to interact with friends and loved ones across the world. It is also one of the best ways for people to connect and follow their favorite celebrities in addition to celebrities being able to interact with their fans. Now there are right ways to do social media, and then there are wrongs ways. George Takei would be an example of the right way to do social media, as he has over 8.4 million likes on Facebook and 1.62 million followers on Twitter. Many people know him as Mr. Sulu from Star Trek, however I would bet that even more people know him as a human rights icon and prominent social media figure. So how did he accomplish this?
As popular as Star Trek is, it is still somewhat more of a niche show. I mean, it’s hardcore science-fiction that has been well known to be viewed by more nerdier individuals. I don’t think I would consider it a mass market show, however that is not to say that it has a significantly passionate following. So George Takei first entered the world of social media in 2011 when he made his Facebook account. He would regularly post and interact with fans, not just online, but in the real world too. He made appearances at various Comic Con conventions and on popular radio shows like Howard Stern. This would slowly increase his following, and then a year later he already amassed some 1.4 million followers. However unlike other celebrity Facebook pages, George regularly posted on the page.
As his fan base grew, George used Facebook as an outlet to become a human and social rights icon. After he came out as gay in 2005, he became well known as a rights activists for no only just marriage, but things like the environment as well. He posts routinely about ways that we can make the world a better place, and that has attracted even more followers. Celebrities as prominent as he is are the perfect faces for various social and environmental rights, as they typically have a large following to begin with. George would also meet with other prominent celebrities, politicians, and scientists and then post about it on his Facebook and Twitter. He used various tags and hashtags which are the best ways for people to see your posts. Now he has become one of the most prominent figures on social media.
George was able to accomplish this relatively easily, and realistically any celebrity can do this. He had enough fame to build a strong initial following. Then he not only responded, commented back, and tweeted at his followers, he also used the correct ways to spread posts on social media. By using social media as a platform for social, environmental, and political rights he was able to attract more like-minded people to his page. If you want to figure out how you can become popular on social media, George Takei is certainly a great example.
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