Twitter: the pulse of the heartbeat of the audience

Comments and analysis

Twitter recently won an Emmy award for “fundamentally changing the way we watch TV”. This is because the Millennials, these days, are not only watching more content but they are also twitting as they do it. They are turning the act of watching TV communal again by having conversations but not with someone on the same couch next to you, but with millions of people, up thousands of kilometers away. And because twitter is live, public, conversational and distributed, twitter has become the heartbeat, the nervous system, the pulse of the audience.

Twitter will get twice the emotional connection to the audience. US viewer tends to tune out less when they are twitting compared to when they are not twitting. Tweets from actors or cast members are the favorites, followed by friends and family. So much so it is recognized that celebrities and cast members who tweet are the most influential ambassadors of content creators and are TVs greatest assets.

Live event especially benefit from Twitter. In total, 672 million tweets were sent in relation to the world cup, the highest figure Twitter has ever been able to associate with an even as it happens.

Twitter and TV gives you a unique way for you to find your audience and to increase engagement around shows. The bond last during the episode, between the episodes or for the whole season. And if you are a talent, it can last your entire career. The first screen – the TV - is only the first screen for one hour a week. Twitter is the channel you are always on.

In Conclusion, incorporating twitter strategy in all development process and platform delivery is now a must. Initiatives to educate the existing content producers to add this element of social interaction is crucial. This also includes the platform owners (broadcasters) and the talent. Once traction is obtain with the general consumers, twitter can be another source of monetization of content.


Salient Point

1. Wikipedia: Twitter is an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-characters messages called “tweets”. Registered users can read and post tweets, but unregistered users can only read them.

2. Recently won an Emmy for “fundamentally changing the way we watch TV”

3. Twitter is the heartbeat, the nervous system, the pulse of the audience.

4. Twitter will get twice the emotional connection to your audience.

5. The success of Twitter can be attributed to the following:

     a. Twitter is live, there is no delay.

     b. Twitter is public, there is no filter. What you tweet will be seen by the public.

     c. Twitter is conversational, people talk to other people on twitter and the conversation carries-on            on twitter

     d. Twitter is distributed, tweets are seen on advertisements, newspapers, on TV and on mobile


6. 95% of the public conversation about TV happens on Twitter and 70% of tweets happens during the broadcast window.

7. US Viewers watching only TV will tune out 17% of the time. Add mobile activity to that TV watching and they will tune out 13% of the time. But people using Twitter while watching TV only tune out 85 of the time.

8. 61% of people prefer show-related tweets coming form an actor or cast member, versus 46% who prefer their friends and family, 35% who prefer the official show handle eg @HouseofCards and 24% who like reading tweets from the judges or hosts.

9. Overall, celebrities and cast members are the most influential ambassadors of your content and conversation. “Variety (Magazine) published an article saying actors tweeting are TV’s greatest assets.

10. Live moment especially benefit from Twitter. During the World Cup, Brazil witnessed a 37% decrease in traditional digital ads impressions. At the same time, there was 33% uplift in tweets, and an 85% increase in impressions. In total, 672 million Tweets were sent in relation to the world cup, the highest figure Twitter has ever been able to associate with an event as it happens.

11. Twitter allow you to make money from the conversation about the content you put up. Twitter Amplify allows you to do this. Amplify represents “a true partnership between Twitter content owners and advertisers. You create content; Twitter enables you to extends its distribution and make money. Amplify is in now in 10 different countries with over 100 different content partners and over 95 different brand sponsors http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv-8_HNP758

12. Twitter and TV gives you a unique way for you to find your audience and to increase engagement around shows. The bond last during the episode, between episodes or for the whole season. And if you are talent, it can last your entire career. The first screen – the TV – is only the first screen for one hour a week. Twitter is the channel you are always on.

Johan Fariz Marzuki Lam