Friday FaceOff: Social Media Is Not A Laughing Matter @DSIComedy

2 Comment(s) | Posted Nov 20, 2009 by Pat Morrell

Patrick Morrell

Last week I wrote about beverage goliath Glaceau's social media foray with Vitaminwater, an effort which has earned hundreds of thousands of online followers and a loyal, engaged, paying customer base.  

This week, I've found a similarly progressive online business commitment in my own backyard.  The DSI: Dirty South Comedy Theater in Carrboro, NC - "Carolina's Funniest Comedy Online" - touts one of the most robust and efficient social media presences I've seen in the North Carolina small business community to date. 

DSI enjoys a quality website with a dynamic feature news graphic series as a central eye-catcher, a well organized (and centrally visible) show and comedy class schedule, and a constantly updating and personality-infused blog.

DSI also has a very active Twitter feed (@DSIComedy) to inform its 1,099 (and growing) Twitter following of upcoming shows and theater updates.  Its also used its Twitter feed to jumpstart campaigns and new shows, like its summer 2009 three-city CAGEMATCH.  Its Facebook page - 1,278 fans - is equally well-maintained and engaging (every comment with a response, daily posts, etc.). 

But YouTube and Flickr stand as DSI's most engaging platforms.  They each house a veritable library of video and pictures from the comedy shows that have made DSI an on and offline entertainment destination. This content has been viewed anywhere from 50  to 1,000+ times, which is a good informal gauge of the popularity of certain skits and activites.

DSI is spread far across the social media spectrum, but there are no ghost sites.  The brand has made a concerted effort to engage consistently with valuable (and funny) content, a winning online proposition.

DSI is also engaged in the social media community, at-large sponsoring OurHashtag's Social Media Business Forum with DSI owner Zach Ward sitting on a video-panel.  Ward has also been active in the greater Triangle area social media community, most recently helping coordinate the Deep Fried Triangle Tweet-Up at the N.C. State Fair.  Zach also maintains his own personal website and blog to promote DSI and his brand of comedy, complete with a healthy cache of personal social network engagements to boot.

Ward is one NC businessman who appreciates the impact that social media can, and will, have on his growing NC business.  As he writes on his blog, "CLAIM YOUR BRAND NAME on every possible site that comes out."  DSI appears to be doing just that.

While the comedy quality alone is enough to earn DSI a loyal following, the investment they've made on the social media front has and will propel their business further.

Click here to learn a little bit more about DSI.

Filed under: Emerging Media, Friday Face-Off