J.K. Rowling
With over 8 million followers, J.K. Rowling is a wizard when it comes to Twitter. She posts frequently, is not afraid to voice her opinion and she incorporates Harry Potter into her tweets almost daily. Just imagining her account, one would think it to be filled with Severus Snape memes and cheesy jokes about Voldemort not having a nose, but in reality, Rowling is politically active and shares her viewpoints along with educating users about social issues.
For example, she supports the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. But she does not simply say so; she backs her claims with statistics. Not only is she targeting same-party members, but she may also be trying to target “on the fence” citizens. In other words, she is using compelling data to inform citizens that are not sure where their loyalty lies.
As stated before, she communicates with fans. On average, she replies to about 40 followers daily. This is pretty extraordinary. Because of the overwhelming amount of fan replies celebrities get, most do not read through comments nor respond. Also, she gets crafty when answering Potter questions. This is how Rowling uses Twitter as a marketing device for Harry Potter. She is promoting her projects to a core audience, and she does not go overboard doing so. She does not have to. By simply mentioning the franchise daily, she is reminding consumers of the product value and personality her stories have.
In addition to Twitter, Rowling has a Facebook page. The differences between the two platforms is how she utilizes them. Twitter is more of a personal spot for Rowling to speak her own voice on topics unrelated to the Harry Potter franchise. Facebook, while it does support social matters as shown below, is only used to promote Rowling’s written work. Uniquely, her page consists more of videos, such as trailers for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and behind the scenes looks at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Marco Rubio
The U.S. Senator of Florida has around 1.6 million followers on Twitter. On average, he tweets five times a day. While Rubio is no longer a presidential candidate, he is running for re-election in Florida. Not only is he publishing content that emphasizes what policies he would like to implement, but he also retweets content that showcases his supporters.
It is important that he interacts with users in this way, because it indicates that Rubio is reading user generated content and appreciates the strides citizens take to encourage voting. The photos above also suggest Rubio appeals to all generations, sexes and nationalities.
Marco Rubio also utilizes Facebook and Instagram daily by posting at least two times a day. Unlike Twitter, Rubio’s Facebook page almost solely posts information about his Democratic competitors and their policies (Obama Administration, Hilary Clinton and Patrick Murphy). Even though the content is meant to educate users, Rubio does not interact with them on this platform. His messages would be more effective if he read users’ comments and answered their political questions.
On the other hand Rubio’s Instagram account is more about making the people his voice. By posting content with supporters, he is showing the actual people his policies will help.
Rowling v. Rubio
One would think there would be major differences in a celebrity and a politician’s social media practices, but looking at J.K. Rowling and Marco Rubio specifically, there are no major differences. Both use the platforms to voice their political views, and while they may be marketing different products, Rowling and Rubio are interacting with users and drawing attention to items and services they have to offer.
Rebecca Rhodes 
This has some great information. I like that it says the amount of followers each one has. I also like that is goes into details about both J.K. and Marco. It is interesting to see how they use the different media sites to do different things.
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It is really empowering to see two public figures using their social media accounts in a positive way. Rowling is using her celebrity status and social media accounts to voice to the world of what is going on in the world. Rubio is utilizing his to promote his campaign in a positive way. I believe they are posting the rights things for the right people to see.
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I really enjoy the Harry Potter books and I never realized how much of an activist that she wa . I also enjoyed the how Marc Rubio uses his social.media accounts to promote his platform as well as engages with his fans and followers.
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I love the Harry Potter books. They were a big part of my childhood. I would’ve never thought to look up JK Rowling on social media but I will be doing so. I like how positive both the people you chose are on their social media accounts. I admire JK Rowling a lot.
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