Real-time social media integration into TV is changing the conversation in the newsroom – and MSNBC is setting the innovative bar. In 2011, they utilized social content in a variety of ways to encourage discussion, audience participation, and uncover the real conversations happening about hot topics and current events. MSNBC partnered with Mass Relevance, a real-time social curation and engagement platform, to power immersive social experiences for the live broadcasted events, The Education Nation Town Hall and A Stronger America, and for the primetime news shows, The Ed Show and NOW with Alex Wagner. Integration of real-time Facebook and Twitter data into the in-venue, TV, and website experiences allowed MSNBC to enable a more honest conversation to occur and be shared with the public.The Education Nation Town Hall was a live broadcast event, providing a space for conversations regarding the state of education in America. The event infused social media into multiple components of the programming and venue. They utilized a Twitterfall (similar to a waterfall) of video screens containing Tweets and Facebook posts discussing Education Nation topics. These Tweets were shown on-air and broadcasted simultaneously to the panelists to foster conversation. In addition, the Twitterfall featured tweets in 2 different depths, moving at various speeds, utilizing graphics optimized for TV broadcast. Education Nation featured dignitaries such as, President Clinton, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former First Lady Laura Bush, Arne Duncan, and Melinda Gates. In sum, 342 teachers attended the event, over 2,000 people participated in the event through Educationnation.com reaching over 52 million viewers. Over 350,000 posts on Facebook, and 19,000 Tweets were received during the Education Nation event. A Stronger America live event series creates a forum for Americans to foster ways to build a stronger America. At these broadcasted events, screens featured Tweets and posts related to the topics being discussed by the expert panelists. Hosts were able to reference the social content to engage the panelists, lead discussion, and understand the concerns of the American people. These Tweets and posts were featured in-venue and on-air during the live broadcast of the event. In addition to The Education Nation and A Stronger America events, Mass Relevance collaborated with MSNBC to power social content for The Ed Show and Now with Alex Wagner. Tweets and Facebook posts are streamed on the lower 3rd quadrant (called the “Twicker"), and are referenced during the shows encouraging active engagement from the public through social media. Specific show-related hashtags are used to curate the conversation and support a dialogue between the online audience and the broadcasted show. Results: - The Ed Show “Twicker" contributed to a 61% increase in Twitter followers after 8 weeks of implementation - NOW with Alex Wagner “Twicker" integration drove an approximate 390% increase in Twitter followers after 10 weeks of implementation - Over 350,000 posts on Facebook, and 19,000 Tweets were received during the Education Nation event. - 40% of the live audience participated in the “social conversation" during the Stronger America live event taping
Stronger America: http://vimeo.com/28117867 Education Nation: http://educationnation.com Education Nation Town Hall: http://www.educationnation.com/index.cfm?objectid=F0E4CA30-D338-11E0-810D000C296BA163 Skip to 4:05 for Rehema’s intro to social integration Skip to 21.16 to see use of topical lower thirds Skip to 22:45 for Rehema reading tweets in front of twitter fountain The Ed Show - http://ed.msnbc.msn.com/ NOW with Alex Wagner - http://nowwithalex.msnbc.msn.com/
