TV is becoming oh so social!!

When looking at the future of where social media marketing is going you can never ignore the aspect of social TV. Social television is all of the technologies surrounding television that promote communication and the social interaction relating to program content. For many shows this is their presence on Twitter with hashtags and accounts made for the show. The hashtags make it so the show’s producers can interact with the viewers of the show. These hashtags also help create a community for the viewers to in an essence watch the show together and have conversations about what they think others. This influx of people using Twitter to talk about shows has also helped the networks know what shows people want to watch. There is also opportunity for show’s marketing team to have the actors interact with those watching by tweeting out live during the shows reacting with the viewers. This would make those watching feel more connected to the show and also give them more of a following. I know that there are shows over the summer that I would watch with my roommates and we would all be looking at the tweets and laughing over what was being said.

               Another way that shows can maximize the effect of social television is by selling either clothing items that were worn on set or based about the show, or they can make promotional items that the fans can buy and have in their possession. One way that I can imagine this happening with the growing popularity of Smart TVs is that as an outfit is shown in a show people would be able to see where to buy that very outfit using the remote to choose it while watching. This would increase the interaction in between the viewers and the show that they are watching. I feel like the fashion industry could partner with both the network as well as a brand of TVs. This partnership would be beneficial to not only the producers but also to the brand of TV and the store selling the outfit. This would open so many more doors for social marketing because if it would take off so many other products would most likely start partnering as well. This almost would fix the issue of commercials not being as effective in today’s market.

               Social TV has become such a big game changer in the eyes of people making TV ratings. They have started to factor in the social media interaction into what shows are being watched instead of just paying attention to how many TVs are turned to a certain channel. This helps capture the amount of people that may be watching on one television set or that are watching online later. This gives a better grasp on what the market really wants to see instead of the older method. Twitter is currently getting more prepared for the projected increase of social television by using hashtags. The biggest part they are getting ready in is in Europe. This is from their acquisition of Blu Fin Technologies, and also the partnership with Nielson.