Patrick Star has 24 Million Facebook Followers

Last week, I wrote about an author who took to Reddit to tell a twisted and convoluted science fiction narrative. This week, I’ll be writing on something similar—another unconventional way to use social media for creative writing. This week, I want to talk about making social media profiles for your own fictional characters.

Sounds a little cringey, right? Why would you want to craft a social media presence for a fictional character at all? Well, there are two reasons. One is branding. Someone finds a character they like on Facebook, follows the profile, and is thereafter directly and repeatedly exposed to content relating to that particular franchise. The second reason is character development. You write a character, probably for a story set in the modern day, and you set up a real account for that character for sleuthing readers to find. The profile would, ideally, give further insight into that character and/or allow readers to directly interact with them, allowing for a deeper connection.

So, let’s talk examples.

First up is Edward Cullen’s Facebook page. Yes, the vampire schmuck from Twilight. The other main characters from the franchise also have Facebook pages, but all three post almost exactly the same content. These accounts are 100% advertising. Never are posts written in the character’s voice (I assume—I’ve never read the series.) and the About sections actually spoil the novels. Despite the droll content, however, these pages all have about thirteen million followers, so I guess you could call them pretty successful.

Moving down the line we have Travis Maddox’s Facebook page. One look at this page should tell you exactly what kind of novel our boy Travis is from. (What is even going on around that guy’s bellybutton? Is that natural?) Paradoxically, this page showcases arguably the most effective merging of fiction and social media. “Travis” posts memes in-characters, comments on real-life events, responds to fans, and occasionally advertises for his creator, Jamie McGuire. As much as I hate everything on this page, it’s undeniably effective.

The last example I want to briefly go over is Dave Strider, a character from the infamous Homestuck, and his equally mind-boggling blog. First off, be warned that the content of that blog is heinous at best and offensive at worse. Second, this is the only example I could find of a fictional social media account that is not even a little concerned with pushing a brand. Dave’s blog (and also his personal webcomic, Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff) exist in-universe in Homestuck, and are mentioned occasionally. The blog itself has no other purpose beyond a platform for more of the (parent) webcomic’s bizarre humour; arguably, it doesn’t even characterize Dave Strider beyond what’s already in the comic. The blog does serve as a sort of Easter egg for readers, however, as it discusses real-life topics and is made using a legitimate blogging website (blogspot). It’s as if the author is saying, “This story exists beyond the confines of the page.”

Sources:

Beckwith, S. (2015). Put your fictional characters on social media. Retrieved from https://buildbookbuzz.com/fictional-characters-on-social-media/

Robertson, A. (2013). Using social media to breathe life into fictional characters. Retrieved from https://blog.digi.me/2013/07/04/using-social-media-to-breathe-life-into-fictional-characters/