Fall TV Goes Social: 6 CW Shows to Watch

The fall 2012 television slate comes with improved digital strategies from all TV networks. This week, we’ve already looked at the online arsenals from NBC and Fox. Today, let’s check in on the CW, which has amped up its offering on social, second screen and streaming to appease its young, digitally savvy audience.

Here are six trailers for new and returning CW shows; below the gallery check out CW’s digital onslaught.

CW Looks to Tap Into Pinterest and GetGlue Audiences

How serious is the CW about social? Very. They even orchestrated a “social media boot camp” this summer to educate show producers about the network’s strategy.

“This year, we see Pinterest and GetGlue as our growth platforms, and we’ll continue to be very active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,” Rick Haskins, EVP of marketing and digital programs, tells Mashable.

CW’s Pinterest page keeps things fun with quirky Pin Boards such as “The Shirtless Guys of the CW,” “CW Eye Candy” and “xoxo, Gossip Girl.” The playful approach has some 67,000 followers for the page and nearly 414,000 for all of the Pin Boards.

In comparison, the CW’s main Twitter handle entertains more than 305,000, but via a main Twitter hub (see below) the network encourages viewers to follow individual show handles, writers and actors.

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CW’s Facebook pages for fall shows have racked up 48 million “Likes.” New shows Arrow and Emily Owens M.D. already have thousands of Facebook fans ahead of their October premieres. The pages post Facebook-tailored images as well as videos, memes, contests and news that generate significant engagement. Gossip Girl‘s page, for example, uploaded this graphic, which details the history of Humphrey’s hair.

The CW also premiered The Vampire Diaries season four trailer exclusively on Facebook, netting 3 million views, 138,545 Likes, 56,243 shares and 7,919 comments. And when Supernatural‘s page hit 10 million Likes the cast thanked its fans in video posted to Facebook.

Never Miss an Episode With CW’s Companion App for Mobile and Tablet

Instead of having separate mobile apps for individual shows, CW offers one all-inclusive app for Android, iPad and iPhone. It has been downloaded 1.5 million times since its spring launch.

“We have passionate fans that rabidly consume our content wherever and however they can,” Haskins says.

Another second-screen experience is CWingo, which is an online bingo game to play during broadcasts.

How to Watch CW Content Online

During the summer, 20% of CW’s total audience came from online viewing â€" “more than double what it was the year before,” Haskins says. Here’s how you can watch new and old episodes and clips on the web this fall: