Are you one of the many people who Tweeted during the Academy Awards? Did you check-in to Jersey Shore on Thursday? Do you talk about your favorite television shows on Facebook? All of these questions relate to an interesting phenomenon happening to television – it’s becoming social.
The term social TV is the idea that technology supports and/or encourages watching TV in a social way.
Who Is Being Social?
NM Incite, a Nielsen Company, looked at who was talking about television on social media (MediaDailyNews). Whether it was on Twitter, Facebook, or another social network, numbers were up for social buzz.
The largest group of social media users is comprised of people under 18. But does that mean they are the largest group to participate in social TV?
The answer, surprisingly, is no. People 35-49 make up the largest group talking about TV through social media. This means that TV buzz is highest among adults rather than young people.
Social Check-Ins
Sites such as TVGuide and GetGlue are the most popular way for users to check-in to shows. GetGlue awards virtual stickers to users who complete check-in tasks. Once users have collected enough, physical stickers are sent to the user’s address. This leads to future check-ins and excitement.
According to TVGuide, most users said they preferred to talk about shows before and after the show aired rather than during the show.
When asked why they talked about the shows they were watching, users answered: to inform friends about their favorite shows, to remember/keep up with shows on the air, and tell their friends about new shows.
TV Embraces Twitter
As stated above, many users enjoy checking-in to shows and chatting about them on Twitter. However, one does wonder… does Twitter drive influence TV viewership?
This video from Twitter’s Youtube page does a great job of showing the different ways Twitter has been integrated into TV viewing:
Social Buzz And TV Ratings
The 2010 Grammy Awards saw a 35% increase in viewership compared to the 2009 event and The Super Bowl saw a record number of Tweets per minute (Mashable). Could social buzz be influencing TV audiences?
An exciting bit of news was released recently; NM Incite worked with Nielsen and was able to find a significant relationship between social buzz and TV ratings (Mashable).
As seen in the graph, social buzz does correlate with higher TV ratings.
NM Incite found that the correlation between TV ratings and social buzz was highest in younger demographics. However, with older viewers, social buzz was more important later in the season.
It is important to note that this research is very new. Are some shows cancelled despite strong social buzz? Is there a difference between broadcast and cable shows with respect to social buzz and TV ratings? More research is needed but it is clear that social buzz is making an impact!
