America’s Got Social Media

With my favorite TV shows on summer vacation, there isn’t a whole lot to watch on network TV. I’ve spent the first part of my summer watching reality talent shows. I know, must-see TV, right? That’s what the producers of reality shows like America’s Got Talent and The Voice realized too. These shows have a tendency to get drawn out and dragged on, so they need a way to keep their viewers engaged and coming back week after week.

In a witty attempt to increase engagement with its viewers, these shows have begun to interact with the audience beyond the end-of-show voting lines. These shows have realized that a live TV show is a great way to connect with an audience.

NBC’s The Voice hooked up with its audience through Twitter. Judges and contestants were tweeting real-time with the show. They also had a social media lounge backstage where Twitter users could ask contestants questions on air. Twitter worked well for the show. After many of the contestants performed their songs on live TV, those contestants were trending worldwide on Twitter (in other words, a lot of people were tweeting about those contestants’ performances). The Voice was a new show this summer, and it seems that Twitter was an effective way to prove the show’s value and bring it back for Season 2.

Another NBC show, America’s Got Talent, also embraced social media this season. The producers have setup a dedicated Twitter hashtag for the show and displays it at the bottom of the screen throughout the show. Nick Cannon, the host, also directs viewers to NBC.com where fans can read contestants’ blogs and Facebook and Twitter feeds.

I’m not sure if other reality talent competitions like American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance? are following suit, because honestly, I can only put myself through so much torture. But I’m sure that if these other shows haven’t got the hint this season, they’ll be beefing up their viewer engagement by next season with some of the same strategies, and hopefully, some new ones.

Now I just have to hope that some of the real TV shows like Fringe, Parenthood and The Office can figure out a way to incorporate social media into their programming this Fall. Then, watching TV can be considered work. Fingers crossed.

What TV shows have you seen add some social media flair to their programming?