It’s that time of year where people are expressing their views and predictions about what lies in store for social media in 2012.
Reality TV to Social TV
The area that I am really excited about is social TV. And it’s this trend that I expect to grow and be the one to watch in the coming months.
Whether you’re a fan of the reality shows Strictly, X-Factor and I am a Celebrity or watch the news or day-time telly, you cannot fail to have noticed that there are more live TV programmes enabling audience participation via social media particularly for Twitter and Facebook.
The audience is involved
Viewers have the opportunity to share their thoughts with other fans, agree or disagree with discussions, talk about their favourites and dislikes and may even have an opportunity to chat to presenters during the show via a social network in real-time. And if you miss a show you just follow a Twitter stream and soon get the low down where ever you may be.
The producers of the shows gain immediate insights into what their viewers really think as the show is being broadcast, which feeds conversations, discussions and provides valuable input all gained from their target audience. The show lets you know where you can connect and participate via social media and you join in.
Immediate Points of View
This social activity means watching TV is no longer a passive one way communication and the days of writing to the BBC Points of View to express views are long gone.
Social TV is really social
A few weeks back I watched a show called Alone in the Wild on Discovery Channel. I decided to follow the hashtag on Twitter and just prior to the programme starting, they said you can follow the celebrity during the show to chat. So I did. It was Donal Macintyre’s turn alone in the jungle, as I followed him on Twitter, he soon followed me back (much euphoria, very sad I know!) and then after I tweeted that I would be watching the show he responded. What a nice man, and yes I am definitely sure it was him and he was sending his own tweets!
Social TV is a reminder of social media activity at its best
If you consider all of the elements that go into social TV the same concept should be applied to make your own social media activity a success. If you want to really understand social media for your business just observe and lurk during a popular TV show, ideally on Twitter and watch what happens.
By following the relevant hashtag you can keep up with the chatter but also need to remember to keep one eye on the TV show. The ability to multi-task and watch and tweet at the same time does get better with practice, and if you do miss something crucial no doubt someone will be tweeting about it in seconds anyway.
I believe Social TV excels at these four key elements:
- Community Engagement Social content allowing viewers to engage and converse with the show and other fans
- Listening and Monitoring By actively listening and responding to the audience it encourages the feeling of inclusion
- Audience Participation Asking for feedback encourages the target audience to participate and adds value by making voices heard and opinion’s matter
- Human Interaction Real conversation with the human touch, and if presenters get involved and mention individuals even better they will be fans forever!
Social TV Platforms to watch
Are you in to social TV too?
Has it changed how you watch your favourite TV shows and do you regularly up-date your social networks with your views I’d love to know what you think?
Related posts:
- Social Media is it Art Versus Science?
- The Anti-Social Excuses
- The Social Revolution, Can Your Business Afford Not to Join In?
- Need Social Media Mentoring?
- Growth of Social Media Infographic
