Since taking over Late Night and later the Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon has pretty much created the manual for how TV personalities should utilize social media. In today's world, it had become much more rare for viewers to sit down and watch television live. With Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and other subscription based streaming services, the appeal of live TV just isn't what it used to be. So for shows to get into public view, they need to take advantage of all the mediums now available. While all programs should utilize Youtube, Facebook and Twitter, I would argue that it is most valuable for talk show and late night programs. These type of programs often play more like variety shows then one long piece, making them perfect for Internet. With so many different blocks/segments on late night TV, internet videos services are the perfect way to share chunks of the show without having to push the entire hour of content.
Over the last few years, no late night personality has done this better then Jimmy Fallon. A staple of Fallon's Tonight Show has been his many different comedy bits. Fallon consistently rolls off hugely popular segments, with great celebrity cameos and his popular band The Roots. He does everything from funny games, to musical numbers, to surprise reunions. Each of these 2-10 minute segments, instantly goes on to Youtube, where they are viewed, and shared and a rapid rate. These blocks are perfect for Youtube and almost always build enough buzz to start trending on social media. The great thing about sharing these individual segments is that they show the greatest part of Fallon's show while allowing viewers to skip the rest of his program. On a show like the Tonight show that airs five times a week, not every bit hits, but with Youtube, Fallon fans can skip the mediocre parts, pretty much getting a best of highlight reel instead.
Last night, Fallon continued his streak of popular segments, when he reunited Kenan and Kel, popular Nickelodeon stars from the 90's for a "Good Burger" sketch. A big chunk of the Tonight Show's audience has been college students, a group the Fallon usually plays to in his segments. During his run he has staged a series of 90 reunions from "Full House", to "Save By The Bell." These videos have millions of views on Youtube and I'm sure his latest bit will reach high numbers. The "Good Burger" sketch is just the latest example of how Fallon uses perfectly utilizes YouTube, something I'm sure we'll see more of during his reign.
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