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Are Twitter Polls Good For My TV Broadcast? Research Says Probably Not

by | | Best Practices, Megaphone Updates | 0 comments

Social media provides a valuable service for broadcasters looking to connect with their audience. Connecting on social, however, is not the same as bringing your audience to your website or your app. Moreover, social engagement tools (including Twitter polls) have serious limitations for media outlets looking to create meaningful interaction. 

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PERCEPTION VS. REALITY

The perception is that everyone is on Twitter. In reality, the vast majority of TV viewers are not Twitter users. The reason for that disconnect is simple: Twitter usage by the news media is disproportionately higher than that of the general public:

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Even among social media platforms, Twitter usage ranks below Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

TWITTER IS PASSIVE

For most users, Twitter is a passive experience. Endless scrolling with little interaction. Among the small percentage of Americans who have Twitter, only a handful actually tweet. In fact, the vast majority of tweets come from a small minority of users. According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, 10% of Twitter users produce 92% of the tweets in the US.  So if you want to create participation experiences that will engage your viewers, Twitter is not the place.

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TRUST ISSUES

One of the reasons that users choose not to interact is because Twitter scores poorly when it comes to digital trust. Among social media platforms, only TikTok and Facebook fare worse.

In fact, 40% of social media users…don’t trust social media. So why would you rely on Twitter for your opinion polls?

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It’s also worth noting that Twitter overwhelmingly attracts young, male millennials. For the vast majority of conventional broadcasters, this is not representative of their viewing audience. 

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Most importantly, 

it’s difficult to monetize Twitter polls and generate new revenue.

This is where Megaphone TV’s audience engagement platform comes in.

Megaphone’s Social Voting tactics allow you to take your Twitter audience and drive them to your owned digital media. 

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Once your social audience has linked to your website or app, you can create more meaningful interactions that can be monetized and aggregated.

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