Some do it while watching “Game of Thrones.” Others do it while watching “Real Housewives.” More than 80% of smartphone and tablet users surveyed admitted to using their mobile device while watching TV at least “several times a month.” Television watching has become a multiscreen experience. Nielsen research has shown that increasingly television viewers tweet while watching television. In fact, nearly 10% of all tweets are directly related to television in some way. Ten percent isn’t a huge number, but it makes an impact. A MediaDailyNews article found that an 8.5% increase in Twitter activity around a show was associated with a one percent ratings lift in viewership among 18-34 year-olds, a key advertising demographic.
So what does it mean for advertisers? Media buyers care about these Nielsen numbers because ratings are one of the major deciding factors in which shows we choose to buy and place advertising. It means that ratings, GRPs, TRPs, and all the things we use to determine which shows are most valuable for our advertising dollars may soon need additional consideration. Social media has added a new metric and definitely a new consideration. Perhaps a show does not get the best ratings, but has a really hardcore and loyal fan base on social media. This show still has a lot of buzz. It has ambassadors. It has people who love it so much that they talk about and share their thoughts. Those people are influential and they make people act. If they will speak about their shows, why wouldn’t they speak about our products? Capitalize this with Promoted Tweets, shareable content, creating ads for multiple screens and integrating your traditional TV ads with digital.