Commentary

Tweeting For Fun For TV? In Future It'll Be All-Business

 

Little surprise here: In the future, entertainment promotion -- from all participants -- won't be an option.

Today, we find tweeting somewhat of a fascination. But with entertainment options multiplying almost every day, the need to get ahead of the noise becomes more important. Twitter as an entertainment marketing tool becomes more necessary.

Increasingly, tweeting isn't just now and then. More and more TV performers can be found tweeting and lately more are doing so during the broadcasts of their shows -- including Jeff Probst during CBS' "Survivor" and Oprah Winfrey during a Sunday night OWN program.

All this makes sense. But some believe it's only the start. Probst believes specific tweeting chores might be written into performers' contracts. Especially given lower ratings for broadcast shows, talent may be pushed -- or told -- to do more promotion/marketing. Cable shows -- especially on mature networks with greater investment in original shows -- may go the same way.

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It wasn't long ago that some movie actors wouldn't participate in studios' requested marketing efforts -- certainly not in brand entertainment marketing efforts for consumer product companies that supported movies. But all this has changed. And now social media -- the current marketing darling of the entertainment business -- has made consumer access way easier, delivering at times almost a one-to-one marketing message.

Probst's thinking is that live tweets, by adding a dimension that viewers can't get from time-shifting, are an important connection or "engagement" -- something of big value to TV marketers.

Immediacy of entertainment assets has been given greater importance of late. This isn't to say that TV networks and media companies don't also want to monetize future consumption of entertainment without social media elements. Maybe there's more to come. Anything to slow down eroding viewership of certain shows -- or fractionalization of other entertainment properties -- will be looked at seriously in the future. Right now those messages of 140 characters or less will help out.

2 comments about "Tweeting For Fun For TV? In Future It'll Be All-Business ".
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  1. Dean Collins from Cognation Inc, April 27, 2011 at 4:48 p.m.

    Hi Wayne,

    Two screen tv is well and truly here.

    eg. There will be a live chat simulcast with ESPN during the draft for Facebook users at http://www.livefootballchat.com/go/10598

    Just log in with your facebook account to join in the live chat.

  2. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, April 27, 2011 at 6:07 p.m.

    The brain can only do one thing at a time. Some can switch from one thing to another faster than others. When concentration is on one thing, the other does not register. Parts of the other will be missed. Hope you are not in surgery or a car on top of you before it dawns on the other person who is responsible for your life. Outside of that drama, the constant switching may burn out very important cells. Not fun. It's not fun to be required to twit and chit for the privilege of watching an entertainment program.

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