Twitter Has Hollywood Quaking in Its Jimmy Choos

Your friend, of course. And, as we know, the loose definition of “friend” now encapsulates social media peers. With the rise of social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook, word of mouth now moves at the speed of an iPhone. Think about it – as soon as someone leaves the movie theatre he or she can tweet instant raves — or pans — to hundreds of people just minutes after the credits roll. This phenomena has Hollywood quaking in its Jimmy Choos.

Gone are the days when TV commercials and newspaper ads dominated movie marketing. According to Nielsen’s “Trust in Advertising” study, only 14 percent of people trust advertisements whereas 78 percent of people trust the recommendations of their friends. Empowered consumers now have a greater ability to influence companies, brands, and yes, even movies.

Studios are trying to gauge the impact of an avalanche of tweets and how it affects the staying power of a movie. This summer, movies such as “Brüno” and “G.I. Joe” have had unexpected tumbles at the box office — just within their opening weekends — while “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” survived blistering critical reaction to become a blockbuster, reports The Washington Post.

What’s the learning from this? Word of mouth — particularly with turbocharged social media channels – is a real and powerful force that can’t be stopped. Studios now have the opportunity to engage in conversations and directly engage with consumers. People want real-time news, and suddenly a studio can give it to them in a first-person way. Also, this may prompt studios to create quality movies instead of shoving garbage movies down people’s throats through aggressive marketing campaigns.