TV viewers increasingly interact with social media

A recent Accenture study amongst 1,000 American TV viewers over the age of 18 showed that 64% of US consumers recall seeing social media symbols which watching TV. They recall seeing Facebook "Like" symbols (42%), QR codes (28%), Twitter Hashtags (18%) and Shazam symbols (9%). A smaller portion of 33% of audience took a step further and interacted with the symbols while watching TV by "liking" the TV show on Facebook (20%), scanning a QR code (11%), searching the Twitter hashtag (7%) or scanning the Shazam symbol (5%).

Young people have a lot more interaction (18-24 years - 63%) compared to the older generation (55-64 years - 24%), which is somewhat expected. For 74% of those who interacted with social media their expectations were met.

So what does this mean? I think to a large extend these results are caused by a higher percentage of the population using social networks. As they are familiar with them they connect social media to other areas of their lives. According to Robin Murdoch from Accenture "This has huge revenue growth potential as social media applications build program viewer loyalty and drive online advertising opportunities." I think as the boundaries between TV and Internet streaming video continue to blur there are opportunities for developing richer media to simplify interactivity while watching TV. Visions of tapping on the shirt of your favorite actor and immediately ordering it have existed for a while and are still a bit far fetched. However, the direction is clear that people enjoy the interactivity when it is easy, as they find it adds value to their lives.

[1] 2012 - U.S. Consumers Receptive to Social Media Appearing on Their TV Screens, According to Accenture Study, Retrieved from http://newsroom.accenture.com/news/us-consumers-receptive-to-social-media-appearing-on-their-tv-screens-according-to-accenture-study.htm