At Lost Remote, we enjoy exploring all the new apps that hit the market and pledge to make TV more social. Many of them are beginning to see early stages of maturity. The relationship between TV and social media continues to become clear. TV definitely needs social but how much does social need TV?
We spoke with TVB President Steve Lanzano about the organization’s thoughts on social TV and how their CMO’s belief is that TV is “social media’s killer app.” TVB is a not-for-profit trade association for America’s commercial broadcast TV industry, starting as the Television Bureau of Advertising in 1953 (cue up the South Park Colorado Department of Internet episode) when the nascent TV industry was still unsure of its future (similar to social now). TVB now actively promotes local media marketing solutions to advertisers.
Lost Remote: How is social affecting TVB local broadcasters?
Steve Lanzano: Now I always get questions regarding social media and its affect on TV. But I believe social media is the best thing to happen to TV. In fact, to quote our CMO Abby Auerbach, “Have you heard about social media’s killer app? It’s called television.” In fact, the number one conversation in social media is entertainment and specifically TV programs.
A TVGuide.com study found that more viewers chatted and tweeted while watching live TV during the past season and the top 10 most popular “social shows” all aired on broadcast networks.
LR: Is TV driving social or is social driving TV?
SL: That’s an excellent question. I would say a little bit of both. TV is providing the “water cooler talk” on social networks and in so doing, creating buzz around the shows which in turn, is driving viewership and ratings for TV programs. It’s a simpatico relationship.
LR: How social should a newscast be?
SL: Stations are discovering the value of tying local programming with Facebook and Twitter.
Jen Lee Reeves, news media director at KOMU Columbia-Jefferson, Mo. did just that when the devastating tornado hit nearby Joplin. As she reported on PBS.org’s Mediashift: “When the tornado hit, our Facebook fans knew they could trust us to coordinate and share important information…. Some of the conversations I had with our Facebook audience led to our morning show coverage…. It’s an example of how a commitment to social media can help encourage ongoing conversations between a newsroom and its community.”
LR: Are people turning to TV station’s social media pages to get disaster info?
SL: Clearly they are. Up and down the East Coast after Hurricane Irene and the Earthquake people were going directly to TV station’s social pages to get up to the minute information, especially when they had no access to TV station’s broadcasts. And it was a two-way conversation. Not only were they getting critical information, they also were providing it. Traffic to Washington, DC TV stations’ websites soared to nearly 550,000 in the hours following the East Coast earthquake – almost three times the number of visits from the day before the earthquake.
LR: Are stations using Facebook and/or Twitter to drive audiences to newscasts?
SL: Yes. Many stations have either twitter feeds running as a scroll on the broadcast or are doing polling. But prior to the broadcast they are making viewers aware of the stories they are covering that may be pertinent to them, especially any exclusives they may be reporting that evening.
Also in a reciprocal way many reporters scour Twitter and Facebook for story ideas.
Do you personally use social platforms?
Rarely and certainly not as much as I’d like to. Keeping up with daily e-mail is a job onto itself.
As an organization we are experimenting with live Twitter feeds from the many conferences we attend. We also had a very lively twitter thread at our own TVB Conference. We have launched a social media initiative using Twitter to share little tidbits/facts regarding local TV with our customers and members at @TVBTweets. We are now working with our new PR partner DiGennaro Communications to determine how best to utilize Facebook and our overall social strategy.