Brief:
- TV-related content spurs broad social-media engagement with 73% of social network users saying they interact with posts related to their favorite shows, per a study that research firm The Diffusion Group (TDG) shared with Mobile Marketer. Humor-related activities are most popular, with 43% of social network users saying they share jokes, memes and mashups related to TV shows.
- After humor, the most popular TV-related content includes recap videos/articles (39%), animated GIFs (38%), behind-the-scenes footage (31%) and actor-related content (27%).
- "There is a separate universe of online multimedia content that orbits TV shows," Michael Greeson, president of TDG and senior vice president of Screen Engine-ASI, said in a statement. TDG's findings are in its report titled "The Ascent of the Social TV Engager," which is part of its ninth annual Benchmarking the Connected Consumer study.
Insight:
The popularity of TV-related content on social media, including memes, GIFs and recaps, is an opportunity for producers and networks to deepen engagement with fans of shows and stars, and to help steer online conversations about their creative works. For many TV viewers, watching a favorite show is only one part of the broader experience of delving deeper into the content. Researcher Nielsen found that 71% of TV viewers use a mobile device to look up something related to the TV content, while 41% said they text, email or message someone about the content, per TechCrunch. Almost half (45%) of viewers said they always or very often use a digital device, such as a phone or tablet, while watching TV. Another 28% said they "sometimes" use a second screen.
Social media buzz can help brands that are associated with hit shows. Mondelez's Oreo brand, which released limited-edition cookies inspired by HBO's hit show "Game of Thrones," was mentioned nearly 155,900 times in connection with the series in the two months before the premiere of its final season, per Fizziology data cited by Business Insider. That exceeded the 55,800 mentions for Coca-Cola tied to Netflix's hit show "Stranger Things" during a comparable period. "Game of Thrones" generated 17 million mentions in the 96 hours following its season premiere on April 14, dwarfing the 4 million mentions for "Stranger Things" during a comparable four-day period, per Fizziology.
Viewers of "social shows" like "Dancing with the Stars" or "The Bachelor" that watch on TV while sharing comments on Twitter also are highly engaged. Viewers of those shows are more likely to be committed to the program and to shop online, with ads during these shows leading to more activity on advertisers' websites, per a separate study of viewing habits.
TV viewing is associated with better consumer attitudes about mobile advertising. More than half (59%) of U.S. adults said they were receptive to mobile ads while watching TV, ahead of activities like lying in bed before sleep (51%), eating a meal (36%), shopping (25%) or running errands, per a survey by mobile ad platform Aki Technologies. Second screening also improves the viewer's chances of following up on an ad by 75%, significantly improving its effectiveness, according to a study by media agency MediaCom and technology company ViewersLogic.
