Two things have made the Twitter TV discussion interesting to me in 2015: The rise of Periscope and new numbers about the rise of digital video. This is a deck from a recent workshop at WGBH. It reviews the role of social media in the current TV landscape, some basic thoughts on how Twitter fits into the engagement ecosystem, and introduces the platform to the beginner Tweeter.

1. Upping our Social Media IQ:
Twitter Workshop
May 2015

2. As television producers, why do we care
about social media?
• Because our viewers are expecting more
from us.
• Because our competitors are offering a
different experience
• Because it gives us an opportunity to
reach new audiences, up our ratings,
and make deeper connections with
current fans.

3. Social Media Today

4. Social media has become the dominant
way that audiences are discovering and
engaging with our content and brands.
74% of adults online use a
social networking site.
90% of 18-29 year olds use
social media

5. TV viewers are getting older.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1991 2000 2010 2015
Fox
ABC
NBC
CBS
Wait, are
young
people not
watching
TV?
Age of network TV viewer, 1991 - 2015

6. … no, they’re watching more TV -- just in
different places.
1 hour,
16 minutes
Average time US adults are
watching digital video each day.
(39 minutes on mobile, 22 on
tablets, 24 on desktops) -
eMarketer
In 2015, the average
amount of time spent
watching TV will drop
20 minutes

7. Where are these viewers going?
• YouTube (and
now Facebook)
• Mobile and
social media
“Our stars are influential, our viewers are young, they favor consuming
media on mobile devices, and they are never going to watch TV the way
that previous generations did.” –WSJ on the YouTube UpFronts
• Streaming sites (Netflix, Hulu, apps)

8. Traditional TV model: “If you build it,
they will come.”
Audience
Broadcast

9. “If you build it, they will come.”
“The people formerly
known as the
audience.”
Today, content
discovery is
personalized &
contextual. Our
audience will
not find our
content, as so
much is being
delivered
directly to them.

10. Disruption: Periscope at the Mayweather-
Pacquiao match

11. Disruption: Periscope at the Mayweather-
Pacquiao match
Periscope users pirated the HBO
feed, allowing their followers to
circumvent the $100 pay-per-view
charge.
HBO itself sent mixed messages
about exclusive content.

12. The Engagement Ecosystem
Twitter
-Second screen
platform
-Live tweeting
-Trending
conversations
Facebook
-Deeper engagement
-Huge traffic driver
-Algorithm makes live
engagement difficult
-Video is king
Snapchat
-Younger
demographic
-Ephemeral
content
1-1 messaging
-Kik
-WhatsApp
-Fan creator
community (art,
mashups, creativity)
What engagement
experiences do
different social media
platforms provide?

13. Different social platforms can serve different
goals
Sample goal Target social platform
Thought leadership LinkedIn, blogs
Engagement Facebook, Twitter, 1-1 apps
Traffic to my website Facebook, Reddit
Product promotion Facebook ads, Pinterest
Vibrant fan community Tumblr, Instagram

14. How can WGBH productions use social media?
• Engage with our audiences
• Hear what people are saying about our programs or
departments
• Enable discovery of our shows and content
• Learn about our audiences
• Get feedback from the public
• Create a home for discussion and reaction to our
content
• Build a community around our programming
• Feature our fans’ submissions and ideas

15. The role of Twitter
Twitter has positioned itself to be the go-to
social network for two things: TV and news.
TV: Twitter acts as a second screen during a live
broadcasts
News: Twitter can share and verify breaking news
and information

16. Twitter TV
Nielsen has found
correlations between
Twitter activity and
ratings. This chart
demonstrates how How
Twitter activity around a
live broadcast can act
accurately as a bellwether
for measuring how
engaged TV audiences are
with programming
(overall)

17. Today: Social engagement is no longer
tied to a live broadcast
Live TV is changing, and Twitter
is adapting. It’s not all tied to live
broadcast anymore.
Twitter activity during broadcast and after.
61% of the social conversation happens after
broadcast (1 hour after, days and weeks after)

18. We should be using Twitter…
• … Wisely. Understand that the conversation here is only a small
% of the total audience that you can capture on social
• For community building. Develop interest in your broadcast
even from pre-production. Find influential advocates and organic
fans that will expand your reach. Find key conversations and
become a valuable contributor.
• To become a must-follow for fans. Create exclusive content for
social media that rewards the fans and gives access they wouldn’t
get elsewhere. You need to give them a reason to follow you.
• For live tweeting. Twitter is the best platform to have a live
conversation about what’s happening now on your screen.

19. Using Twitter:
The Essentials

20. What is Twitter?
• Microblogging platform, launched in 2006.
• Text messages limited to 140 characters
• Registered users can read and post tweets
• Unregistered users can only read tweets
• There are 270 million active registered Twitter
users
• By the end of the year, one fifth of internet users
in the US are expected to have Twitter accounts.
• Between January and April 2014, 17 million
Americans shared tweets about a TV show.
140
270m
17m

21. Twitter Lingo
To Tweet
Tweeting
…Not twittering.
Tweeter
… Not Twitterer.

22. Attracting the non-Tweeters
Twitter has
changed the
experience for
non-logged in
users.
Twitter.com
homepage now
has topics to
explore, and
shows a timeline
of tweets from
some of the most
popular accounts
on that topic.

23. Anatomy of a Tweet
Username
Profile photo
Link
= 112 characters
Handle
Actions
Date sent

24. Actions
Mentions and
replies
Retweet
Favorite
Direct message
@
RT
★
DM

25. Navigating Twitter
Timeline
Mentions &
Interactions
Search
Direct messages
Compose

26. The Hashtag
#
• A brief search term, beginning with #
• You can search Twitter for all tweets with #
• #s serve as keywords to highlight discussions
• Hashtags unify a group of threads or tweets
• A # that catches on and becomes widely used
can amplify issues very quickly

27. Get Started.

28. 5 Essential Best Practices
1) The 80/20 rule: Out of every 100 tweets, 20 should be promotional and
the rest should share, curate content and add to existing conversations.
3) Keep it short: 120
characters or less is best.
2) Be visual
4) Interact
5) Be simple: Convey one idea only.

29. Twitter Faux Pas
Auto tweets
If you don’t have
time to craft a
tweet, don’t tweet.
Starting with an
“@” sign
Start your public
tweets with a
“.@“ so everyone
can see it

30. Start Listening. People are out
there talking about your content!

31. Set up your Twitter client.
Follow lists Check mentions Track broadcasts

32. First steps for your production
• Identify the skills you need to get going. I can help you with
this!
• Start listening and engaging. Get a sense of your competition,
your peers and your own reputation on social.
• Establish goals and a way to measure it. Do you want social to
drive tune in? To become a vibrant community for fans? To act as
a curator for all past and present content?
• Think social from the very first step. Have a strategy for social
from Day 1 of production to well after broadcast.
• Create a culture of social. Set expectations and clear guidelines
for production staff and talent.