Many children’s literature publishers have embraced social media as a way to connect with their readers. Social media allows children’s publishers to interact directly with customers on a regular basis. Perhaps the most popular social media site is Twitter with children’s publishers such as Little Brown (@lbkids), Harper Collins Children’s (@HarperChildrens) and Candlewick press (@Candlewick) utilizing this mini blog format to update statuses of book releases, author signings, book-to-movie updates and related book happenings.
Scholastic is an aggressive user of social media boasting 24 Facebook pages, 11 Twitter handles (usernames/accounts), 3 YouTube channels, a Pinterest account and the company blog. The Facebook pages raise questions since those under 13 are not supposed to have a Facebook account yet scholastic has Facebook pages for Clifford and The Magic School Bus series which are clearly aimed at a young audience. It appears that Scholastic uses its social networking sites to connect with parents of young children as much as with the children.
Other pages, such as The Baby-Sitter’s Club Facebook page, are not aimed specifically at parents or children. The Baby-Sitter’s Club page has comments by younger adult women who remember reading the series in their youth. The series was recently rereleased with new covers but the Facebook page showcases several photos of the old covers with which the older readers (and legitimate Facebook users) identify. In this way, Scholastic is creating a generational bridge by recapturing the interest of original Baby-Sitter Club readers who will purchase books to complete their series and prompt their children to read the series.
The Scholastic YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/ScholasticKids?feature=watch) is more obviously directed at children with videos of children’s writing and illustrations, professional book trailers, author interviews, celebrity shorts (like Tony Hawk talking about reading) and kids reporting on events such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and interviewing people such as Olympic medalists, famous journalists and President Obama.
Scholastic has embraced social media as form of storytelling and not just a medium for communicating information about its products. The press uses social media to share culture of which books, literacy and storytelling are a part. Users may leave comments, ask questions and discuss thoughts with other readers and scholastic representatives. Users can retweet a Scholastic tweet and be retweeted by Scholastic on Twitter. Social media connect readers from around the world with each other. Social media connect readers with book events they may not be able to attend but can enjoy a Twitter Party as someone tweets live from the event. In this way, Scholastic’s social media are not just news feeds or product pushers but a place for cultural exchange.
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