Download - Twitter and TV: A Public Media Workshop
Upping our Social Media IQ:
Twitter Workshop
May 2015
As television producers, why do we care
about social media?
• Because our viewers are expecting more from us.
• Because our competitors are offering a different experience
• Because it gives us an opportunity to reach new audiences, up our ratings, and make deeper connections with current fans.
Social Media Today
Social media has become the dominant
way that audiences are discovering and
engaging with our content and brands.
74% of adults online use a social networking site.
90% of 18-29 year olds use social media
TV viewers are getting older.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1991 2000 2010 2015
Fox
ABC
NBC
CBS
Wait, are young people not watching TV?
Age of network TV viewer, 1991 - 2015
… no, they’re watching more TV -- just in
different places.
1 hour, 16 minutes
Average time US adults are watching digital video each day. (39 minutes on mobile, 22 on tablets, 24 on desktops) -eMarketer
In 2015, the average amount of time spent watching TV will drop
20 minutes
Where are these viewers going?
• YouTube (and now Facebook)
• Mobile and social media
“Our stars are influential, our viewers are young, they favor consuming media on mobile devices, and they are never going to watch TV the way that previous generations did.” –WSJ on the YouTube UpFronts
• Streaming sites (Netflix, Hulu, apps)
Traditional TV model: “If you build it,
they will come.”
AudienceBroadcast
“If you build it, they will come.”
“The people formerly known as the audience.”
Today, content discovery is personalized & contextual. Our audience will not find our content, as so much is being delivered directly to them.
Disruption: Periscope at the Mayweather-
Pacquiao match
Disruption: Periscope at the Mayweather-
Pacquiao match
Periscope users pirated the HBO feed, allowing their followers to circumvent the $100 pay-per-view charge.
HBO itself sent mixed messages about exclusive content.
The Engagement Ecosystem
Twitter-Second screen platform-Live tweeting-Trending conversations
Facebook -Deeper engagement-Huge traffic driver-Algorithm makes live engagement difficult-Video is king
Snapchat-Younger demographic-Ephemeral content
1-1 messaging-Kik-WhatsApp
-Fan creator community (art, mashups, creativity)
What engagement
experiences do
different social media
platforms provide?
Different social platforms can serve different
goals
Sample goal Target social platform
Thought leadership LinkedIn, blogs
Engagement Facebook, Twitter, 1-1 apps
Traffic to my website Facebook, Reddit
Product promotion Facebook ads, Pinterest
Vibrant fan community Tumblr, Instagram
How can WGBH productions use social media?
• Engage with our audiences
• Hear what people are saying about our programs or
departments
• Enable discovery of our shows and content
• Learn about our audiences
• Get feedback from the public
• Create a home for discussion and reaction to our
content
• Build a community around our programming
• Feature our fans’ submissions and ideas
The role of Twitter
Twitter has positioned itself to be the go-to
social network for two things: TV and news.
TV: Twitter acts as a second screen during a live
broadcasts
News: Twitter can share and verify breaking news
and information
Twitter TV
Nielsen has found
correlations between
Twitter activity and
ratings. This chart
demonstrates how How
Twitter activity around a
live broadcast can act
accurately as a bellwether
for measuring how
engaged TV audiences are
with programming
(overall)
Today: Social engagement is no longer
tied to a live broadcast
Live TV is changing, and Twitter is adapting. It’s not all tied to live broadcast anymore.
Twitter activity during broadcast and after. 61% of the social conversation happens after broadcast (1 hour after, days and weeks after)
We should be using Twitter…
• … Wisely. Understand that the conversation here is only a small % of the total audience that you can capture on social
• For community building. Develop interest in your broadcast even from pre-production. Find influential advocates and organic fans that will expand your reach. Find key conversations and become a valuable contributor.
• To become a must-follow for fans. Create exclusive content for social media that rewards the fans and gives access they wouldn’t get elsewhere. You need to give them a reason to follow you.
• For live tweeting. Twitter is the best platform to have a live conversation about what’s happening now on your screen.
Using Twitter:
The Essentials
What is Twitter?
• Microblogging platform, launched in 2006.
• Text messages limited to 140 characters
• Registered users can read and post tweets• Unregistered users can only read tweets
• There are 270 million active registered Twitter users
• By the end of the year, one fifth of internet users in the US are expected to have Twitter accounts.
• Between January and April 2014, 17 million Americans shared tweets about a TV show.
140
270m
17m
Twitter Lingo
To Tweet
Tweeting…Not twittering.Tweeter
… Not Twitterer.
Attracting the non-Tweeters
Twitter has changed the experience for non-logged in users.
Twitter.comhomepage now has topics to explore, and shows a timeline of tweets from some of the most popular accounts on that topic.
Anatomy of a Tweet
Username
Profile photoLink
= 112 characters
Handle
Actions
Date sent
Actions
Mentions and replies
Retweet
Favorite
Direct message
@
RT
★
DM
Navigating Twitter
Timeline
Mentions & Interactions
Search
Direct messages
Compose
The Hashtag #
• A brief search term, beginning with #• You can search Twitter for all tweets with #• #s serve as keywords to highlight discussions• Hashtags unify a group of threads or tweets• A # that catches on and becomes widely used
can amplify issues very quickly
Get Started.
5 Essential Best Practices
1) The 80/20 rule: Out of every 100 tweets, 20 should be promotional and the rest should share, curate content and add to existing conversations.
3) Keep it short: 120 characters or less is best.
2) Be visual
4) Interact
5) Be simple: Convey one idea only.
Twitter Faux Pas
Auto tweets If you don’t have time to craft a tweet, don’t tweet.
Starting with an “@” signStart your public tweets with a “.@“ so everyone can see it
Start Listening. People are out
there talking about your content!
Set up your Twitter client.
Follow lists Check mentions Track broadcasts
First steps for your production
• Identify the skills you need to get going. I can help you with this!
• Start listening and engaging. Get a sense of your competition, your peers and your own reputation on social.
• Establish goals and a way to measure it. Do you want social to drive tune in? To become a vibrant community for fans? To act as a curator for all past and present content?
• Think social from the very first step. Have a strategy for social from Day 1 of production to well after broadcast.
• Create a culture of social. Set expectations and clear guidelines for production staff and talent.