• by Vanessa Naylon , July 5, 2013

Data shows that half of the time we’re using our tablets and smartphones, we’re also in front of the TV. This means that while we’ve got one eye on the tube, the other is often trained on the “second screen” as we interact with other viewers on Twitter and Facebook, share our opinions and get real-time updates as TV shows are happening. 

Brands are taking advantage of this second-screen phenomenon by posting and tweeting from their owned channels during shows, and also making sizable social ad buys to get their messages to the top of the social stream.

But marketers need to think about more than just how they’re going to get into the conversation. They also need to think about how they can get their ads in front of the right people: the ones who will be the most receptive to their messages in the second-screen scenario.

The best way to do this is through persona-based targeting.

With persona-based targeting, marketers infer what people like and what they will respond to based on the information people provide voluntarily via social channels. This data is then used to build relevant audience “personas”, such as “Gleeks” or “News Junkies,” that help brands to target ads to the right people.

A persona is developed by first grabbing all the followers of relevant and influential Twitter handles. For example, to create a “Gadget Geek” persona, you’d want to aggregate followersof tech brands and bloggers like Engadget, Gizmodo, Daring Fireball, and Android and Me. You then narrow the targeting based on the context of the campaign by adding relevant keywords, additional follower relationships or even social check-in activities.

For second-screen campaigns, you’d also make sure these ads are targeted to reach the people who are most likely to be engaged during the show. For example, to reach a “Millennial TV Fan” persona for an Emmys-related campaign, you might choose influencers from relevant media properties, such as the stars of Emmy-nominated shows like “So You Think You Can Dance,” “The Voice,” and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” and then use keywords like “Oscars” or “Olympics” to identify Millennials who historically tweet about televised events.

Persona-based targeting also works great for campaigns where a brand is running social ads at the same time their commercials air on popular TV shows.  For example, a clothing retailer advertising during Glee might supplement their usual “Young Women” persona targeting with additional filters to reach women following Twitter accounts like @GleeOnFox, @Gleeks, and @GossipGirl or Tumblrs like The Real Blair Waldorf.

You can also layer on insights such as when that particular persona is most active on social, which locations have the highest concentration of people in that group, and related (and sometimes unexpected) personas that also index strongly for the campaign.

Here are three great personas to target with second-screen campaigns:

• Millennial TV Fans: Our data shows that this group follows influencers like Jimmy Fallon, keeps up with news about The Voice, and likes and pins items related to the Emmys, Academy Awards, and other big TV events. On location apps, they check into entertainment spots like NBC Studios and Times Square. Their social posts often mention event-related keywords such as “Oscars” and “Olympics” in addition to other general-interest events.

• Sports Fanatics: These are all-around sports fans — people who always tune in for the big televised sports events like US Open and the Super Bowl. They follow influencers like football star Tim Tebow and TV commentator Magic Johnson, and they check into major stadiums and local sports bars and parks. Their likes include sport brands such as Under Armour and Adidas.

• Celebrity News Junkies: This persona loves everything related to stars and celebrities, which makes them a perfect target audience for a second screen campaign. In the past, to target this persona you’d buy space in People magazine, but now you can simply target the followers of @PeopleMag. Celebrity News Junkies are bullish on social influencers like BuzzFeed, HuffPo, and TMZ, too. They pin photos of their favorite celebrities and follow the biggest music and TV stars on Twitter — people like Rihanna, Shakira, and Ellen DeGeneres.