Social media TV entertainment activity keeps growing -- but 2012 was dominated by stories with a news and political bent.The biggest single-day social media activity came from the presidential election this November -- with some 17.4 million social media interactions. Researcher General Sentiment looked at all social activity from social platforms, as well as news channels.This was followed by Hurricane Sandy (9.4 million), the battle over anti-piracy legislation (8.7 million), and the second presidential debate (7.6 million) and the vice presidential debate (6.87 million).The biggest entertainment event of the year -- in terms of single-day social media activity -- was CBS' "Grammy Awards," which posted 6.8 million in social media. After this came NBC's Summer London Olympics. The opening ceremonies pulled in 7.2 million; the closing ceremonies, 6 million. ABC's "Academy Awards" grabbed 4.4 million. Farther down the entertainment list came the theatrical premiere of big movie "The Hunger Games," which took in 2.9 million.Five of the top 15 events were entertainment-oriented, with the other 10 either being political or news-oriented.Looking at other notable TV shows: ABC's "Emmys Awards" took in 1.18 million; AMC's "The Walking Dead" season premiere had 1.16 million; and Fox's "American Idol" season premiere had 740,000.Apple's release of its iPhone in September ranked 11th place with 4.2 million.
While social media TV activity continues to grow during the time people watch TV, the biggest TV-related activity is still talking with someone in a room while viewing a TV program.When asked "how often do you talk about TV in the following ways," a new study from CTAM, the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing group, says 67% of respondents said "with people in same room while I'm watching."Another 62% say it comes with "face to face" conversations, and 37% say it comes via phone conversations. That is followed by newer digital communication: 31% from texting (with a much higher number -- 47% -- for those younger 18-34), and 29% from Facebook postings (with a higher 40% for those 18-34).Despite growing real-time conversations using newer technologies like social media, the study says much of these TV interactions -- 83% -- occur the next day and onward. This includes talking with people while watching a TV show, phone conversations, texting, posting messages on Facebook, tweeting in Twitter, emails, blogging, using TV check-in apps or live chat on Xbox.That said, a healthy portion -- 75% of this activity -- also occurs right after a TV show has ended, with 70% happening during a show, either during the content itself or during commercials. Some 49% of TV interactions occur before a show airs.During a show, the CTAM study says 35% of activity is for live sports; 29% for news content; 28%, comedy; 25%, reality TV shows; and 24%, drama. After a show has ended people tend to talk and/or discuss 39% of the time about comedies; 39% about movies; 37% for dramas; 35%, news; and 32% about crime dramas. "Watching TV photo from Shutterstock"
Social media TV entertainment activity keeps growing -- but 2012 was dominated by stories with a news and political bent.The biggest single-day social media activity came from the presidential election this November -- with some 17.4 million social media interactions. Researcher General Sentiment looked at all social activity from social platforms, as well as news channels.This was followed by Hurricane Sandy (9.4 million), the battle over anti-piracy legislation (8.7 million), and the second presidential debate (7.6 million) and the vice presidential debate (6.87 million).The biggest entertainment event of the year -- in terms of single-day social media activity -- was CBS' "Grammy Awards," which posted 6.8 million in social media. After this came NBC's Summer London Olympics. The opening ceremonies pulled in 7.2 million; the closing ceremonies, 6 million. ABC's "Academy Awards" grabbed 4.4 million. Farther down the entertainment list came the theatrical premiere of big movie "The Hunger Games," which took in 2.9 million.Five of the top 15 events were entertainment-oriented, with the other 10 either being political or news-oriented.Looking at other notable TV shows: ABC's "Emmys Awards" took in 1.18 million; AMC's "The Walking Dead" season premiere had 1.16 million; and Fox's "American Idol" season premiere had 740,000.Apple's release of its iPhone in September ranked 11th place with 4.2 million.
While social media TV activity continues to grow during the time people watch TV, the biggest TV-related activity is still talking with someone in a room while viewing a TV program.When asked "how often do you talk about TV in the following ways," a new study from CTAM, the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing group, says 67% of respondents said "with people in same room while I'm watching."Another 62% say it comes with "face to face" conversations, and 37% say it comes via phone conversations. That is followed by newer digital communication: 31% from texting (with a much higher number -- 47% -- for those younger 18-34), and 29% from Facebook postings (with a higher 40% for those 18-34).Despite growing real-time conversations using newer technologies like social media, the study says much of these TV interactions -- 83% -- occur the next day and onward. This includes talking with people while watching a TV show, phone conversations, texting, posting messages on Facebook, tweeting in Twitter, emails, blogging, using TV check-in apps or live chat on Xbox.That said, a healthy portion -- 75% of this activity -- also occurs right after a TV show has ended, with 70% happening during a show, either during the content itself or during commercials. Some 49% of TV interactions occur before a show airs.During a show, the CTAM study says 35% of activity is for live sports; 29% for news content; 28%, comedy; 25%, reality TV shows; and 24%, drama. After a show has ended people tend to talk and/or discuss 39% of the time about comedies; 39% about movies; 37% for dramas; 35%, news; and 32% about crime dramas. "Watching TV photo from Shutterstock"
There is no marketing technique more powerful than word of mouth (WOM). In order for brands to optimize their social marketing mix, they need to include WOM strategies into their overall campaigns. As social networks have evolved, so have the ways people share, consume and discover information. The consumer has now become a brand’s most influential stakeholder, wielding the ability to influence friends and peers significantly more than advertisers. By adopting these 3 tips marketers will be able to harness the power of WOM to improve their social marketing in 2013: 1. Implement Strategies to Harness Consumer WOM Marketers must rethink their social marketing strategies with consumer WOM in mind. It is no longer effective to simply push branded marketing messages out over social channels. Marketers will need to find compelling ways to engage with their consumers and turn them into advocates, who, in turn, spread WOM recommendations to their friends. And, we all know people trust their friends more than brands themselves, with 80% of purchase cycles involving WOM recommendations. One of the ways to tap into the power of consumer WOM is via referral marketing programs. Forrester Research says each recommendation on the social Web reaches 150 people. Imagine if marketers were able exponentially to increase the number of consumers sharing about their brands. They would be able to reach the friends of their fans, tapping into a significantly larger audience. With referral marketing programs, brands can do just that — driving advocacy, awareness and producing highly qualified new sales and acquisition. 2. Measure REAL Social Marketing ROI, Not “Engagement” Marketers have moved past the initial phases of social experimentation and engagement. Today, it’s all about driving measurable results from social marketing investments and being able to prove the ROI of social marketing strategies. It is no longer enough to simply measure the number of likes or followers, as that does not directly translate into social marketing success. With more sophisticated analytics, marketers can understand and gain quantitative metrics around who is sharing stories (WOM recommendations) about their brands, as well as reach (impressions), social actions (clicks), and conversions. They can also compare performance across social channels to determine where sharing, clicks and conversions are the highest. This enables markers to continually optimize and improve upon their social marketing initiatives to drive the desired results over and over again. 3. Optimize Paid, Owned and Earned Media It is only by leveraging a combination of media types that marketers will be able to meet the needs of today’s evolving and powerful consumer. In Altimeter’s “The Converged Media Imperative: How Brands Must Combine Paid, Owned and Earned Media,” report, they encourage marketers to utilize a converged media approach to marketing — with paid, owned and earned media being most effective when combined. Smart marketers will engage consumers across all owned media touch points (Web site, blogs, social networks, and more) and foster creation of earned media (WOM recommendations). That earned media can be spread across social channels to amplify awareness organically. Brands can further amplify the reach of earned media stories by purchasing highly effective paid media. There is no denying the power of consumers, and as brands evaluate their social marketing mix for 2013, it is imperative that WOM strategies play a critical role in driving measurable results from their social-marketing initiatives.