Three Ways Broadcasters are Benefiting from Social Media
Social media is no more a platform for building personal relationships. It is influencing decision making, building brands, and changing lives.
Social Media Broadcasting:
Like any other individual, and business, broadcasters are keen to exploit the power social media for increasing their visibility especially as a live streaming and social media broadcasting. This article cites examples to suggest how broadcasters are gaining from broadcast media such as social media.
Broadcast Media Platform for Content Sharing, Discussions, and Finding New Voices
Many broadcasters are reluctant to adopt social media due to ignorance of its potential. For them social media visibility is limited to placing sporadic Facebook or Twitter posts regarding their upcoming programs. However, there are many other broadcasters, who perceive it as a broadcast media for audience engagement. For instance, Al Jazeera English has launched a successful online community- The Stream, which exploits the power of social media to broadcast news in interesting ways. The Stream aggregates opinions, discussions, and social media posts from different platforms, to reconstruct most important stories of the day for a better readership. The platform uses Skype to engage its guests and allows its patrons to read news items, comments, user videos, and posts throughout the day.
Information Gathering and Synthesis
Information Gathering is a term, which refers to aggregating information about an issue from different sources, and putting them together to construct the story from a new angle. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was the first major broadcaster to utilise social media to enrich its broadcasting experience. The BBC admits that social media platform allows broadcasters to gather valuable information, opinions, voices and sometimes find a better material for a story line. For example, journalists can easily foray into the previously untouched aspects of a news. They can identify what concerns a viewer the most. Is it a clause in the new law, which people find difficult to digest? What is the biggest criticism levelled against the candidate running for the post of president? Many news stories of the modern day are inspired from social media posts, comments, and videos!
Next Big Step for Sports Broadcasters
Nowadays, sports broadcasters are keen to exploit potential of social videos. According to GlobalWebIndex, large number of social media networks prefer watching sports coverage online because it allows them enjoy their game at their own pace. Recently, Facebook has introduced Live, which allows sports fans to watch live streaming share videos of their favourite game with other sports fans. In February 2015, GlobalWebIndex reported that 1/4 sports fans surveyed in 32 countries reported watching ESPN and Euro sport online. Also, 18% of sports fans confessed paying for a live sports stream, or important sports highlights in Q4, 2014. No wonder, the news of Twitter signing a massive deal to broadcast NFL games on Thursday nights, or Snapchat signing a deal to air special highlights from Rio Olympics, gained prominence in the recent past.
All the above mentioned examples suggest, how broadcasters are using social media to improve their live streaming broadcast media outreach, bring out unheard voices, and gain a better market position through social media broadcasting.
