A greater number of popular reality TV shows in which viewers can vote should create voting platforms on official social networks according to online PR agency Punch Communications.
Television programmes are using social media in a more efficient manner year on year, with certain shows using social media to display new and original content as an extension to the main television show. However many are yet to catch on to a key element that could potentially lead to increased fan acquisition and improved viewing figures, giving social media users the opportunity to vote for contestants from their favourite television shows.
Reality television programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing, the X Factor and I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, to name but a few, are all based on a voting system in which viewers can phone, text or vote on the shows official websites to decide who should continue to be on the show. These programmes all have social media properties through which they publish news and updates on the show and its contestants.
Creating voting platforms within these spaces will encourage a different generation to vote – the generation that are possibly more likely to want to have their say but are reluctant to call in or vote by text due to the cost incurred. These are the viewers that are most likely to be discussing the shows on Facebook or Twitter. Voting on the official website of a television show is free however it requires the viewer having to leave the discussion as opposed to the voting option being within the same network.
Once fans vote for a contestant a notification would then appear on the person’s profile which will subsequently appear in their friend’s newsfeed which will in turn encourage friends to also vote. This is a process that has the potential to go viral leading to a show reaching a wider, more digitally-capable audience. It is understandable that shows might be reluctant to involve third parties but they must appreciate that social networks are where their communities lie.
Pete Goold, Managing Director of SEO agency Punch Communications commented; “Bringing a voting system onto social media platforms will impact these shows in a big way because it will effectively bring the main component of the show to the viewers. Having the ability to vote for their favourite contestant without having to leave the social network in which they are discussing their favourite contestant is likely to encourage voting, increase the likeliness of people talking about the show and lead to increased viewer ratings.”
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