Earlier this month, Shareablee, a social media benchmarking and predictive analytics firm, released a list of the top TV shows in Q1 2015 by social engagement. Shareablee’s social stats include total actions, total content, actions per post, and followers across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
All of the usual shows that we see daily and weekly on Nielsen Social’s Twitter TV ratings chart were there: ‘Pretty Little Liars,’ ‘The Walking Dead, and ‘Empire’ comprised the Top 3. In sixth place, though, was Fox News’s ‘The Kelly File.’
‘The Kelly File’ is the number one cable news program in its hour on linear, and it was the only news program and the only non-competition or scripted show to be featured on the list.
‘The Kelly File’ boasts 1.3 million Facebook likes and 951,000 Twitter followers since launching in late 2013.
As described in a recent New York Times Magazine profile of Kelly, a large part of her appeal is that she is not your typical Fox News anchor:
For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, a Megyn moment, as I have taken to calling it, is when you, a Fox guest — maybe a regular guest or even an official contributor — are pursuing a line of argument that seems perfectly congruent with the Fox worldview, only to have Kelly seize on some part of it and call it out as nonsense, maybe even turn it back on you. You don’t always know when, how or even if the Megyn moment will happen; Kelly’s political sensibility and choice of subjects are generally in keeping with that of the network at large. But you always have to be ready for it, no matter who you are. Neither Karl Rove nor Dick Cheney have been spared their Megyn moments, nor will the growing field of 2016 presidential aspirants, who can look forward to two years of interrogation on “The Kelly File.”
On Facebook, Kelly poses questions to her fans and rather than outlinking, she makes use of the social network’s native video player. On Twitter, Kelly tweets during her show and also shares personal and behind-the-scenes photos.
News networks may want to look to Kelly as they work to develop a comprehensive cross-platform approach ahead of the 2016 elections.