Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the final film in the uber-successful Harry Potter film franchise, opens in the United States on Friday, July 15, 2011.
The film series has generated billions at the box office, and with the eighth installment, Warner Bros. has kicked up its social media marketing game. In addition to the official site at HarryPotter.com, the following social networks are being used to promote the film.
Warner Bros. has long maintained a solid Facebook presence for the Harry Potter film series. With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, the studio ramped up its efforts in engagement and in Facebook app features.
Nearly 29 million users have "liked" the Harry Potter Facebook Page, with a big chunk of those users "liking" in just the past week.
The Independent reported on the surge in Facebook "like" activity in the days leading up to the film's London premiere. In the week before the premiere (which occurred on July 7, 2011), the Harry Potter Facebook Page gained nearly 100,000 new fans per day.
That kind of growth is spurred by a page that frequently posts images, behind-the-scenes tidbits, interviews with stars, links to coverage on other media outlets and movie trailers.
In a particularly nice touch, Warner Bros. Entertainment has created local Facebook fan pages for a variety of different countries and languages.
The studio also allows fans to rent and watch past Harry Potter films right on Facebook.
Online ticketing for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is being heavily promoted via social channels. Not only do ticket sites like Fandango and MovieTickets.com have their own Harry Potter campaigns, but Warner Bros. has integrated a slick Facebook ticketing app into the main Harry Potter Facebook Page.
The Harry Potter ticketing app is similar to other Facebook ticketing apps we've seen in the past. It allows users to not only find showtimes and buy tickets, but also invite friends and share their ticket purchases on Facebook.
Fan Sites and Pottermore
The success of Harry Potter is due in no small part to its loyal fan base. The fan communities surrounding Harry Potter have been used to help keep the film promoted across the web.
Fan sites like The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet post a frequently updated stream of news and information not just to the main webpages, but also to Facebook and Twitter.
These sites also run contests and promotions to keep the masses enthused and engaged. The sites also played a role in hyping another Harry Potter announcement.
Last month, J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, announced Pottermore, a fan-centric online experience for the Harry Potter book series. Rowling has started to tweet out previews of the site, which will open to a limited audience at the end of July and to the public in October.
Social media, or at least, social gaming, seems to be a central part of Pottermore and though this network isn't directly tied to the film, the announcement was obviously timed to coincide with the final film's release.
Box Office Impact
We won't know the full impact of the media campaign until the first box office receipts start to pour in, but if past performance is any indicator, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 will be a huge hit.