By: Heidi Myers, Marketing Communications Manager, UK, Middle East & Africa, Meltwater

This year, social media changed the way the world saw the Oscars. The celebrity world has always remained a mystery, with outsiders waiting eagerly to catch a glimpse of their favourite star on the red carpet.

But with the rise of social media, non-Oscar ticket holders were, for the first time, able to voice their opinions in the build up (who will win?), hear the personal views of the celebrities attending the ceremony (best dressed?), and share in goings-on at the glamorous after parties.

Even before the event, the general public had a voice in the conversation. Meltwater, the Global Media Intelligence Company, tracked billions of social media sources in the lead up, to see what the general buzz could reveal. Meltwater Buzz is a powerful suite of social media monitoring, engagement and publishing tools to help drive, manage and measure social activities and initiatives. Fascinatingly, 5 out of the 6 nominations tracked were successfully predicted in social media.

But what does it mean that social media can predict such outcomes? Firstly, the public voice is very much heard. Previously, where the average Joe might have shouted at the television, or shared his views among friends – he is able to share his views globally. Secondly, it could actually sway the end result. We have seen a correlation between rise in Social Media buzz surrounding a film and the footfall at the box office. It begs the question; Could Twitter have influenced the result of the Oscars by encouraging tweeters to view in the first place? Or helped sway the general opinion as positive or negative? In any case, it is clear that the power of Social Media can no longer be ignored by brands.

8.9 million Oscar related tweets were sent on the day of the event with a number of celebrities joining in and supplying running commentary via twitter including:

Samuel L. Jackson “Formally Avengeful!! pic.twitter.com/kgkFU7PRPK”

Jake Whetter “Can you spot Anne Hathaway? #Oscarspic.twitter.com/wP6sFCygTQ”

Mark Wahlberg “This is happening! http://yfrog.us/058w3smmohmwwvibcqgnujvqz …”

Jamie Foxx “Amazing show! Now it’s party time w@jimmykimmel #Oscars #AfterParty http://say.ly/lcx5fcs”

Ben Affeck shared a picture at the after party http://instagram.com/p/WJOwwBQ67l/

Even celebrities who weren’t present shared their views. Harry Styles tweeted “Jennifer Lawrence needs to win an Oscar tonight” which was retweeted 86,380 times. Rihanna tweeted “God is real #JHud #Oscars” about Jennifer Hudson. Steve Martin joked “Congrats to George Clooney’s hair, who won the night” and J-Lo told the world “EVERYBODY SHHHH!!! I’m about to sob!! #Barbra #thequeen #myidol #oscars”

Social media also comes with potential consequences. Publicly shared opinions can reach millions, against the wishes of the subject. Retaliating to Harry Styles, one user tweeted “Harry Styles made Jennifer Lawrence famous” and Anne Hathaway mightn’t have been so happy to see the trending #annehathawaysnipples during the awards.

But, for the general public, social media provided a detailed insight into this year’s Oscars and brought the mystery of the celebrity world a few steps closer to home.

To see how social media tracking could benefit you and your organisation, Meltwater will be exhibiting at stand 7 at #SMWF Europe on the 18th -19th March and demoing the newly designed and launched social media tracking tool Meltwater Buzz, so come over and see us for more information.