Many TV news organizations are now on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, trying to connect and win over the participants in these social media sites as reported in TV stations turn to social media to attract viewers. There is concern as more people turn to social media for their news, moving away from TV news. So now TV stations are going to these social media sites to lure back departed. They have gone beyond what some late night TV shows are doing with social media. Perhaps they are more desperate. I also think there is more opportunity here.
In one example, Seattle TV station, KCPQ/13, recently sponsored a Tweetup at the Waterfront Seafood Grill in Seattle Friday night. It brought together hundreds of people who follow "Q13Fox News" and its personalities on Twitter, and who may be followed by "Q13Fox News" in return. A number of the Q13 Fox News personalities attended, and the gathering was a marketer's mix dream.
KCPQ/13’s social media strategy is working as KCPQ/13 as its 10 p.m. newscast regularly draws more viewers in the 25-54 demographic than the 10 p.m. newscast on other Seattle stations: KONG at 10 and the 11 p.m. newscasts on KING, KIRO and KOMO.
They are also taking a sense of community into their broadcasts. Christine Chen, a marketing consulting firm in Redmond, was quoted in the article: "Q13 has embraced the concept of 'sharing' information with their viewers, acknowledging their power and making Gen Y/Millennials seem more like 'peers' who are participants in the information flow rather than 'viewers' who receive the information."
The TV staff are also tweeting and blogging. For example, weekend anchor Bill Wixey's has been tweeting on his battle against cancer. On his own blog, Wixey last April shared this vision of TV in the future: "Using the social media websites and our own, we can easily gauge what stories people are talking about and engage them. (We can) create content initiatives in which we solicit content from the viewers, so they not only provide the stage but also provide the script for the production. It's their show. We are just providing the theater."
I hope channels other than Fox pick up on this idea. I think it will benefit all news coverage to get great user engagement in the selection, creation, production of news. Social media can provide this participation if used creatively.
Goals determine what you are going to be.—Julius Erving
All human wisdom is summed up in two words ?C wait and hope.—Alexandre Dumas Pére
Posted by: air jordans | July 08, 2010 at 04:59 AM