Ah, the second screen phenomenon, one of television’s best companions. Because hardly anybody watches TV without either having a tablet, mobile phone or laptop soaking up their attention as well. Television is now inundated with social media symbols, whether it be in advertisements or featured in TV programmes, in the hopes to steal your attention, even if it is just for a second.
For example the TV programmes using #Hashtag Marketing to get people to join in the conversation. One Saturday night I was on my laptop not paying any attention to what was on Television. I checked my Twitter feed and instantly noticed that nearly all of my friends were talking about an incident that had happened on an ITV programme called Take Me Out, those tweets included a certain hashtag which I clicked on and saw that thousands of people in the UK were also talking about this incident. I immediately felt left out and was gutted that that episode had just finished. Luckily for me I watched the programme on ITV1+1 and was also able to join the conversation.
It is clear that using the social media call to action does work. Most television viewers follow social media call to actions:
● to seek out more information about a programme or an ad
● with coupons and promotional codes
● to participate in contests
● to have conversations with other people that are watching the same programme
Very rarely do people use social media to make a purchase. Could this be the new traditional advertising?
(Images Courtesy of WordRidden, flash.pro, ginnerobot)