--
Four sure-fire social drivers to boost TV audience engagement
November 25, 2020
Never.no's Innovation Consultant Tom Bowers shares his thoughts on four social drivers that producers should consider when looking to create relevant content to increase audience engagement or a range of show formats.
Traditional and digital media has grown exponentially over the past couple of years, with a growing number of platforms and TV shows pumping out more content than ever before. Commissioners and producers are competing for viewers and are now challenged with creating more engaging, relevant content that keeps their audiences hooked for longer. With audience's attention-spans quickly fading, what social drivers can production teams exploit to create incredible audience engagement and TV viewers happy?
Create An Emotional Response
We all love talking about things we love!
Drive conversations from content that evokes a feeling and makes viewers want to react and get onto social media to react. Drama shows and other similar types of entertainment, such as sport, has a massive emotional driver attached to it.
Producers of these types of shows and events need to understand what evokes their audience's emotions and when to capitalise on a call to action to get people to send their opinions into the show. The best approach to do this is running social media in parallel with what's happening in the show. As the narrative develops on screen, their community management team will post cues related to the content and motivate viewers to respond with images, videos and messages, sharing their anger, sympathy, happiness, or even distaste via social.
Make Opinions Count
This revolves around talk shows, news and lifestyle programming predominantly. Talk about a hot topic, celeb trend, or a political argument during your show and create a call to action for viewers to get involved. Run live polls to gauge opinion and include the results within your live programming and post questions on your social. Viewers will engage and share opinion, which in-turn will motivate audiences to get involved in the conversation. Successful show producers know exactly what people will want to talk about, so do some research online to see what the hot topics are and jump onto the conversation.
Martin Lewis included social opinion during his ITV Show
Do you remember that time at Wimbleon?
Bringing Back Memories
Ideal for lifestyle and documentaries that look at past events, whether that's historical, sporting or political. Activating your viewer's memories is a great driver for engagement as they'll relate to past experiences or have a link to a historical event from a family member. Again, create a call to action on the live / pre-recorded content and on official social platforms to share memories, you may not want to include in the live programming, but creating a conversation on social will extend reach.
Imagine, you're building up to Wimbledon and want to create as much exposure as possible and entice potential tennis fans to watch the upcoming tournament. Run a classic replay show, showcasing the highlights of legendary encounter between Federer and Djokovic. Reach a wider audience by posting clips on social using the hashtag #JoinTheStory to encourage fans to share their memories of the previous event. Producers can then use this type of content within their shows to engage audiences and potentially create more tennis fans!
Making Shared Experiences
Finally, boost engagement through shared experiences. Live events are the ideal situation where everyone wants to get involved the more the merrier. Eurovision is a great example. We've seen Eurovision parties broadcast across the globe, featuring the most captivating content including videos and images of fans sharing their love for Eurovision. Individuals and groups are highly likely to get involved and show off their parties on social media, so it's a great opportunity for producers to capitalise on the shared experience and bring that content into the live coverage, creating a much more communal experience for everyone watching, bringing this into the show editorial will be showcasing how far reaching your event is and how well it is being received - giving on screen engagement payoff to the viewer.
Welcome to the party - create a shared experience
No One-size-fits-all
There isn't a one-size-fits-all for social engagement with every type of genre and show on TV, but by applying the four drivers to the DNA of your show this should help decide whether you should include social interaction as part of your strategy. If so, then you're on the path to a sure-fire way to producing captivating content that will keep the audience engrossed and engaged,
The key is that social engagement should enhance a viewers experience, not diminish or detract away from it. Social content woven into the on screen presentation for instance, doesn't always add value to the experience, but could be fuelling an active and engaging conversation in tandem to the main broadcast.
If you'd like to enhance your broadcast, streamed or branded content, then contact us now to arrange a demo.
Broadcast Multi-platform
FacebookTwitterLinkedIn
Sales Director Harry Macey joins the teamPrevious
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
10/09/2026
Editing, restoration & mastering suite upgraded Acon Digital Acoustica 8 audio editing restoration mastering software.
Acon Digital have just launched the la...
10/09/2026
Classic synths & drum machines available to play
Based in Reading, UK, Readipop are a music and arts charity with a long track record of innovative, partici...
10/09/2026
Popular model updated & new addition introduced
With many of the models in Neumann's KH family now boasting onboard DSP and support for the company'...
10/09/2026
Improved desktop interface announced
The latest iteration of Arturia's flagship desktop audio interface has just arrived, introducing improved preamps, ...
10/09/2026
Progress needs proof: Rohde & Schwarz showcases its trailblazing test solutions ...
10/09/2026
Thursday 10 September 2026
Sky News Defence Insider app launches as new researc...
10/09/2026
Thursday 10 September 2026
Award-winning network Sky Mobile to offer Apple iPho...
10/09/2026
Thursday 10 September 2026
Sky unveils gripping teaser for The Good Daughter, coming this NovemberTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy options a...
10/09/2026
Harmonic Leads the New Era of Broadband Connectivity at SCTE TechExpo 2026 Showcase Spotlights Include:
New cOS SensAI intelligence fabric unleashing data-pow...
10/09/2026
RT to Broadcast Amgen Irish Open free-to-air
New multi-year agreement will see RT continue to bring the Amgen Irish Open to Irish audiences
Ryder Cup hig...
10/09/2026
More than 30 women report allegations of sexual harassment, misogyny and bullying within National Ambulance Service
Tonight on RT Prime Time, 9:35pm, RT One ...
10/09/2026
Series 3 of Nero's Class begins Friday 11 September on RT Listen
The third...
09/09/2026
New parts aimed at hip-hop and pop productions
The latest update to Celemony's innovative virtual session musician expands the collection of built-in in...
09/09/2026
Save up to 40% until 21 September 2026
Sonarworks are currently running their Autumn Sale, with discounts of up to 40% currently available across their rang...
09/09/2026
Upcoming title officially launches in September 2026
Bjooks' celebrations for this year's 909 Day will be welcome news amongst drum machine lovers, ...
09/09/2026
September 9 2026, 22:35 (PDT) Cinema Sunshine Becomes Japan's First Exhibit...
09/09/2026
Wednesday 9 September 2026
Tom Daley adds final stitch to giant Baa-Ewe' t...
09/09/2026
Red Seat Ventures Integrates Barometer into Speakeasy to Maximize Podcast Revenu...
09/09/2026
Baselight-powered color comes natively to Media Composer, connecting creative de...
09/09/2026
RT brings three packed days of live radio, entertainment, news, weather and fun
Join RT Radio 1: Morning Ireland, Oliver Callan, Today with David McCullagh,...
08/09/2026
Built for rap producers, by rap producers
Sauceware Audio, the independent plug-in company founded by Grammy-nominated producer Jacob (Travis Scott, 21 Sava...
08/09/2026
Classic Sound Techniques design revived
Warm Audio's latest release delivers a meticulous recreation of the preamp circuitry employed by the Sound Techn...
08/09/2026
Latest soft synth inspired by the Memorymoog
XILS Lab have just launched a software instrument that draws its inspiration from Moog's iconic Memorymoog,...
08/09/2026
September 08, 2026 NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Soundcraft today announced the launch of its Signature Plus Series Analog Connected Mixing Consoles. As the next genera...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Sky Go gets a major upgrade for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers
Today, Sky launches a new version of the Sky Go app for Sky Glass ...
08/09/2026
Documentary thriller simulating a Russian attack on UK soil will culminate in a live final episode reuniting the playersTuesday 8 September 2026
Trailer releas...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Jamie Demetriou and Amelia Dimoldenberg to host next t...
08/09/2026
Wuppertal September 8, 2026
Riedel Introduces New OnAir Headset PlatformRiedel Communications today announced the launch of its new OnAir headset platform, a...
08/09/2026
BERLIN, September 8, 2026 - J nger Audio will introduce a major expansion of its flexAI audio processing platform at IBC 2026. The flexAI system adds autonomous...
08/09/2026
New Vendor-Agnostic Broadband Intelligence Fabric Reduces Operational Complexity and Improves Service Quality for Broadband Service Providers SAN JOSE, Calif. -...
08/09/2026
Arvato Systems Brings TI Expertise to the Stage
Panels, workshops, and real-world examples at the TI-SUMMIT 2026
Arvato Systems, a partner of the TI-SUMMIT 2...
08/09/2026
On October 1, Apple Arcade is rolling out a lineup of fun new games for players ...
07/09/2026
Two new full-range, flat-response cabinets introduced
HeadRush have recently introduced a pair of new full-range, flat-response cabinets designed for player...
07/09/2026
Answering questions about AI in game audio
GameSoundCon, the largest professional conference for video game music and sound design, have announced that they...
07/09/2026
New directional headset mic on show at IBC
Just ahead of this week's IBC show, DPA have announced the launch of a new directional headset that's bee...
07/09/2026
We are not building systems to replace human decision-making; we are building systems that execute our decisions at machine speed. The media companies that win ...
07/09/2026
Every day, we rely on products to work safely, from the power bank in your bag to the solar panels on rooftops. Behind that trust is a process called conformity...
07/09/2026
Monday 7 September 2026
Freddie Meredith joins cast of SNL UK ahead of start of Season 2
Freddie Meredith Images
ZIP (3MB)
Saturday Night Live UK announces ...
07/09/2026
Monday 7 September 2026
Sky and NFTS team up to launch new routes into screen careers
Sky has today announced a new apprenticeship programme, with application...
07/09/2026
Monday 7 September 2026
Sky Sports announces most comprehensive NFL coverage to...
07/09/2026
Dolby, MainConcept, Techex and J nger Audio will showcase the industry's first demonstration of Serial Audio Definition Model (S-ADM) in a cloud-based produ...
07/09/2026
dB Broadcast will showcase APIS Hive, its software platform for designing, deploying and managing modern broadcast infrastructures, at IBC 2026.
Developed from...
07/09/2026
552,000 streams on RT Player
The historic fight, which saw Katie Taylor become...
06/09/2026
Recreates Rolands TB-303 & MC-202
BS-203 MacroAcidizer is the first virtual instrument from Born Second, and it offers a recreation of two Roland classics -...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
05/09/2026
MK2 & Bass system control app improved
HEDD Audio have just launched a new and improved version of the control software that pairs with their MK2 and Bass m...
-- 
