By Stan Washington / The Atlanta Voice
Fans of entertainers and performers are more demanding than ever. Their loyalty can dissipate quicker than it takes President Trump to send out his second tweet of the day.
The “Queen of All Media” TV talk show host Wendy Williams is fully aware that if you don’t keep fans engaged these days through social media, they may not be around very long.
“The digital space has become so everything, it seems like you if you don’t have an app or if you aren’t that Internet savvy or interact on social media, you are not going to be that successful at what you do,” Williams said during an interview at the chic Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Buckhead.
Williams later that same afternoon did a meet-and-greet at Atlanta Tech Village answering questions and taking photos with fans.
The app which was launched during her daily TV show’s summer hiatus, allows fans to have additional access to the popular host whose show has been renewed until 2020, she said.
The app also allows fans to get more behind the scene videos and videos of Williams when she is away from the show. It will also offer up-to-the-minute celebrity news, more hot topics, and daily reports from a team of correspondents.
The app is free to download from either the Apple iTunes or the Google Play stores. The cost comes in if you desire to use the new customize Wendy emojis. The Wenmojis include: Wendy sipping tea, Wendy lounging and do you even need to ask? Yes, an emoji that gives her signature greeting: “How you doin’?”
New Wenmojis will be added on a regular basis and there will be special holiday ones.
“A part of what I love about my show is the connection I have with my audience and fans, where it be in the studio, or while they’re watching at home,” Williams said. “Now through my app, I have a brand new platform where I can continue to engage with my fans, and be able to share more behind-the-scenes intel into my life outside the show.”
Williams has smartly spread her empire beyond the talk show which is entering its ninth season in syndication. The app is just another tool in her entrepreneurial basket which includes a popular women’s clothing line on HSN, seven best-selling books, product endorsements and her live shows.
“Thank God, I have a solid footprint in daytime TV,” she said. “The order of things is extremely important, as it was with the clothing line. You want to become that household name, or at least a name in every other household on the block and you want to be successful at that.”
Williams was very excited about the possibilities of her new app which was suggested to her by her teenage son. “The app is very entertaining, very engaging and it’s interactive,” she said. “I’ll add ‘Wendy Live’ in the future. Maybe that’s where fans can add Ask Wendy or if there is someone who wants to vent. You never know how it’s going to turn out.
“My people are very, very feisty, very passionate and very opinionated,” she continued. “Most of the time they support me but they know how to hurt my feelings.”
Williams is a strong believer in the business philosophy of striking while the fire is hot. It is also imperative she stressed that you select the right persons to be on your team in order for that dream to succeed.
“You know you have to hustle during your hustling years. I mean who wants to work forever?’” she asked. “I have the talk show which is the mothership, this app which I’m birthing to be part of the mothership because I will be doing things on the app that I normally wouldn’t be doing on the talk show. You have to constantly put new things on the app to keep people engaged or they will be saying, ‘Where is the new stuff?’
The app is the latest of her business ventures but she is already planning for that time when her reign as “Queen of All Media” is over.
Williams has quietly launched along with her husband-manager, The Hunter Family Foundation. The foundation has sent girls from the inner city to summer camp. They will pass out food during the holidays and will have other charitable activities.
“In the next phase of my career I really want to focus on charity,” she said, before dashing off back to her hotel room for a late lunch. “I have some Mary Mac’s Tearoom waiting on me,” she said with a huge smile.
