Trending signs: TV and social media make a potent mix
In the U.S., social media is successfully making inroads on TV channels, as a study by Accenture shows. One-third of those surveyed said they had interacted with social media at least once after seeing a related icon appear on TV.
Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of the thousand respondents could recall having seen such a symbol while watching TV. The most familiar is the "like" symbol from Facebook (42 percent), followed by QR codes (28 percent) and Twitter hashtags (18 percent). Those who have connected with social media when watching TV primarily wanted to use it to pick up more information about the show, product or service being shown (43 percent). Other reasons given were: Retrieving coupons (32 percent), entering contests (31 percent), watching another video or interacting with the show or product via social media (26 percent each), connecting with others who have similar interests (21 percent), sharing recommendations about TV programming (20 percent) and 16 percent wanted to make purchases this way. The age distribution is hardly surprising: 18- to 24-year-olds were the most active, at 63 percent, and among those over 65, 11 percent still said they had used social media before watching TV.
Note: TV broadcasters can use it to retain viewers and tap into new online advertising opportunities. For advertisers, TV's distribution accelerator makes it even easier to communicate directly with interested consumers, bypassing traditional advertising channels.
Christoph J. Walther
> To the study of the consulting firm Accenture
