Where social
media matters little: TV
Sites play almost no role in what shows people choose to watch
By Diego Vasquez
Dec 15, 2011
Social media is a great place to spend time connecting with friends, but it's not a great place to get the word out about a new TV show. Though people are more and more likely to be spending time on social networks while they watch TV, very few say that a social network has prompted them to watch a show or want to learn more about a show. And a very small percentage say they interact with the shows they already watch on social media. That's according to a study by Knowledge Networks, a research firm with a focus on media. It found that only 9 percent of social media users regularly turn to social networks to get information or recommendations about TV shows. And only 12 percent say they regularly interact with TV programs on social media. While social media is not a big influence on people's TV watching habits, plenty of other media are, most notably TV ads for shows, and stories about and reviews of TV shows. David Tice, vice president and group account director on the media team at Knowledge Networks, talks to Media Life about why social networks play such a small role in viewers' choices of what shows to watch, the demographic profile of those who follow TV shows on social media, and what media buyers and planners can learn from these findings.
What was the most interesting or most surprising thing about this study?
In a general sense, I think the most surprising thing was that the influence of social media on viewing decisions has not really kept pace with the increase in people using, and frequency of use of, social media. Compared with similar questions asked in 2009, a very small minority of social media users–about one in 10–say they regularly turn to social media to help decide what to watch.
The most interesting may have been the questions we asked about the influence of social media on viewing of new TV programs this fall. Out of 20 new primetime broadcast series we asked about, on average people reported that they only interacted with 0.5 of those programs through social media – so the opportunity to influence viewing was very low.
What can media buyers and planners learn from it?
There is a definite trade-off between cost and benefit.
Social media activity may be relatively inexpensive compared to traditional marketing through bought or on-network TV ads, but based on this study, TV ads’ reach and influence appear to be much greater. Getting people to talk to their friends about a program is the most persuasive, but prompting that can be accomplished through many media channels.
Why do you think the percentage of people who use social media regularly to get information or recommendations for TV shows is relatively low (9 percent)?
People perceived social media as just that–a way to be social with their friends. Many users do not perceive it as a go-to resource for making viewing, or for that matter, purchasing decisions. Another study KN does, Faces of Social Media, corroborates this for three dozen CPG and retail categories; the proportion of people who are active in social media and rely on it to make decisions is pretty small.
However, this small proportion can translate into many millions of people, so it is not ineffective.
What's the profile for people who like or follow shows on social media? Why do these people tend to do so?
They tend to be younger (under 35), female, and have slightly above-average incomes. Most like/follow/friend a show to stay up to date on it or to show support for the program.
More than a third of people go online while they're watching TV, but only a fraction of them are going online related to the show they're watching. Why is that? What are they doing online instead?
This is something we’ve seen for many years in many studies. Very few viewers actually interact with a program or its content at the time of viewing.
Very often, people are doing email, shopping, or increasingly, social media. I think there are few instances where going to a web site live is of value to the viewer–one is put in the position of having to choose whether to use the web content and miss the actual show, or vice versa.
Why are movies so popular to read about in social media, especially compared to drama or action TV shows?
Movies tend to be the genre people report they watch most often, so that is one reason. Another is that theatrical movies on TV will have big stars, or big reputations, that tend towards comment.
Only 5 percent of people say social media is very important in their decision to watch a program. Are broadcasters missing out on a potential resource here?
I don’t know if they are missing out, as this may be a cultural issue more than one they can solve themselves, the whole point about social media being about friends rather than about brands or products.
I think what broadcasters can do is to play to its strengths--building relationships with current viewers, rather than driving new viewers, and make the social media content they put up as entertaining as possible. Since friends and family is the biggest driver, it certainly behooves broadcasters to build in simple-to-use sharing tools on all of their digital content and not just rely on social media sharing.
Since clearly social media wasn't a big driver, what did drive people to watch new fall TV shows and why?
The most important drivers were conversations or recommendations with friends and family, TV ads, and stories, or reviews seen on TV. Social media’s importance was in the middle of the pack, with people considering it as important as sources such as ads on radio, ads online, or stories/reviews in media other than TV.
Social media was notably more important in new program discovery than such sources as TV Guide, newspaper listings and emails from TV networks with program updates.
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