HarperCollins, which launched its daily Facebook Live programming in June and has since reached nearly 10 million views, kicked off its holiday programming last week. The publisher is broadcasting the videos, which vary in host and subject and typically last between 15 and 45 minutes, live from its website as well as on Facebook.
Last week, HarperCollins' senior v-p of creative development Lisa Sharkey hosted a tour of the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore in New York, while the HarperCollins library marketing team discussed librarians and their favorite holiday reads. This week, authors including Dorothea Benton Frank and Wendy Corsi Staub will use the platform to show viewers their Christmas decorations. In the past, the publisher has used the program to spotlight bestsellers and to give viewers an insider look at the HarperCollins offices and their inner workings.
"We had a lot of success with our Halloween and Thanksgiving themed programming and so we decided to extend it to Christmas programming," Sharkey said, adding that the publisher is now roping in staff from HarperCollins U.K. and HarperChristian for its Live videos in addition to HC staff and trade authors. "We feel the Christmas programming so far has gone very well and we will be extending the concept of themes into a 'new year, new you' motivational series of Facebook live programs, as well as something that is themed for Valentine's Day in February."
According to Sharkey, the programming is generated from a number of different places, depending on the host and subject. In the case of writers like Frank, the videos are pulled from the author's own Facebook page; others are filmed for HarperCollins's Book Studio 16 page, which was created last year to keep the publisher's video content and Live programming in one place.
"We are literally the only company in the country that does scheduled daily programming on Facebook with themed days," Sharkey said. "The authors really love this because it connects them directly to their fans, and the fans love this because it connects them directly to their favorite authors."
