TV Industry Special Report Part II: Late Night Talk Shows
What content and formats resonated most with Late Night Talk Show audiences on social?
For Late Night Talk Shows, the pandemic has presented a unique set of challenges but also opportunities. While essentially all sitcoms and dramas had no choice to shut down production, Talk Shows figured out how to adjust to the new normal almost immediately.
While the technical requirements around Late Night hosts self taping was ironed out quickly, that doesn’t answer to what extent the social media audience was embracing the scaled down production value and to what extent the type of content being shared needed to change.
In Part II of the TV Industry Special Report series, ListenFirst will outline all the best practices for Late Night Talk Shows succeeding on social media during the age of the coronavirus.
Amazon Special Report: Social Media in the Time of the Coronavirus
What is Amazon doing right on social media?
How Social Distancing Impacted The Democratic and Republican Conventions On Social Media
One of the biggest criticisms leveled against political conventions is how predictable they’ve become but that couldn’t be the case this year. Not willing to risk an in-person convention becoming a super-spreader event, both the Democrats and Republicans turned their quadrennial gatherings into a virtual convention.
So how did the social media audience respond to the unprecedented decision to hold the Democrat National Convention and Republican National Convention without audiences? Did the format shift benefit one party more than the other? What messages or speakers stood out the most? How much of a lift did the candidates get on social media? Here are all the facts you need to know from the ListenFirst social listening platform about the two conventions.
Insight #1: Trump Generated More Fan Growth During the DNC than Joe Biden
During the Democratic National Convention on Aug 17-20, Democratic nominee Joe Biden gained 262,132 new fans on social media. This is down -75%from the volume of new social media fans Joe Biden gained the week he announced Kamala Harris as his running mate when he added 459,409 new fans.
Meanwhile, Trump gained 67% more new fans than Joe Biden during the Democratic National Convention drawing a new audience of 438,620 followers. He also drew an additional 276,687 new fans during the Republican National Convention topping Joe Biden’s 114,180 gain during that time.
Insight #2: Michelle Obama And Kamala Harris Where The Biggest Stars Of The Democractic Convention
"Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head…it is what it is."#DemConventionpic.twitter.com/OArXv15lVV
During Aug 17 – 20 Michelle Obama generated 367,137 New Fans social media, which was 40% more New Fans than Joe Biden generated during the Democratic Convention. Additionally, the video that Joe Biden shared during the Democratic Convention that generated 4,126,643 video views, the most of any piece of content during the event, was a clip from Michelle Obama’s keynote address where she talked about why Trump was the wrong President for this country. Meanwhile Kamala Harris received 396,901 New Fans on social media during the Democratic Convention, which was 51% more New Fans than Joe Biden received.
While Black Women weren’t on the top of the Democratic ticket, they were the Democrats gaining the most new fans on social media during the event.
Insight #3: There was More Positive Sentiment Around the Republican Convention Than The Democratic One
Both Conventions generated more Negative than Positive sentiment overall, but there was more positivity by the people Tweeting about the RNC. Between August 24-27, there were 1,607,186 Tweets mentioning either the Republican Convention, with sentiment around those Tweets being 26% Negative and 17% Positive. In comparison, between August 17-20 there were 298,967 Tweets mentioning the Democratic Convention with Twitter sentiment around those Tweets being 26% Negative and 11% Positive. The Twitter audience was more likely to voice support for Donald Trump and his family than for Joe Biden.
Insight #4: Including And Apart From The Conventions Biden Is Facing A Huge Disadvantage On Social Media
The fact that there were 51% more Tweets around Donald Trump during the Republican Convention than around Joe Biden around the Democratic Convention was not an isolated occurrence. Throughout the campaign, social media has always been a disadvantage for Joe Biden. For instance on Aug 16, the day before the Democratic Convention started, Joe Biden had 11 million Fans on his social media accounts. On the same day, Donald Trump had 136 million fans on social media accounts. While that Fan deficit is too large for Biden to make up by November, his campaign probably needs to be more aggressive in using social media in their campaigning.
Insight #5: Cross Party Endorsements Got Attention But Less Than Unexpected Moments From Party Stars
It was a big emphasis of the Joe Biden campaign to feature Republicans who were supporting him in the presidential race, and to some extent those speakers did generate attention on social media. For example, Former Ohio Governor John Kasich was mentioned in 128,741 Tweets during the Democratic Convention with him also generating 7,039 New Fans on social media, an increase of 1,144% from the preceding 4 days. Meanwhile also during August 17-20, 2020; there were 6,777 Tweets mentioning Colin Powell, 60,501 Tweets mentioning Cindy McCain, and 9,478 Tweets mentioning Meg Whitman.
On the other side of the aisle, previously nationally unknown Georgia Democrat Vernon Jones was mentioned in 65,956 Tweets during August 24-27, 2020 around his speech at the Republican convention endorsing Donald Trump.
That said, unexpected moments from politicians speaking at their own party’s convention generated more real-time social media interest. For instance Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was mentioned in 326,001 Tweets during the Democratic convention, largely around a procedural misunderstanding where it appeared she was endorsing Bernie Sanders and not Joe Biden; while during the Republican Convention, Kimberly Guilfoyle was mentioned in 207,441 Tweets around a speech that included a lot of shouting.
Conclusion
While polls show a tight race between the two candidates, social media shows a huge advantage for Trump who is incredibly adept at using social media to engage audiences. The Biden campaign will want to significantly amplify their social media campaigning to generate the same kind of excitement coming out of the Trump social media machine.
Want more social listening insights from ListenFirst about current events and the cultural conversation? Request a demo today!
All the Twitter data used above is from the United States only.
State of Social: H1 2020 Trends for Social TV
What’s trending for Social TV in the first half of 2020?
The Social Media Conversation Around Going Back To School
The term back to school implies something that’s happened before and as we all know there’s nothing about this upcoming school year that’s going to resemble the classroom experience of the past. Whether students will be resuming with remote learning or suiting up in PPE to take classes in person, there are some unprecedented challenges for students this Fall. That means it’s a great moment to take the temperature of social media, to better understand how the audience is processing these changes. Using ListenFirst’s social media listening platform capabilities, here are 5 key insights about how the social audience is responding to the new school year during a pandemic.
Insight #1: Back To School Posts Pivoting To Back To Living Room Posts
There were 2,533,191 Tweets that mentioned School between July 16 – August 16, 2020 which is a 32% increase from the volume of Tweets that mentioned School between July 16 – August 16, 2019. Obviously, it’s not the same Back To School related chatter and in fact, even with online discussion about how to return to school safely, there’s less Back To School conversation on social media in 2020. There were 176,648 unique Tweets that mentioned Back To School during July 16 – August 16, 2020 which was a -17% decrease from the volume of Tweets that mentioned Back To School during July 16 – August 16, 2019.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDAWY5bHrnK/
As the audience is talking about Back To School less, smart brands are largely pivoting to other school related topics. For example, PacSun received 7,800 responses to an Instagram post showing a model in an outfit optimized for his living room and virtual classes while American Eagle shared a video post on Instagram that received 6,405 responses showing a model getting her look ready for a virtual class. This Fall students are dressing as much for Zoom as they are for in person interactions and brand messaging needs to reflect that reality.
Insight #2: The Coronavirus Related School Discussion Is Dominated By Politics
Just look where Donald Trump and Mike Pence got us: more than 16 million out of work. Millions of kids who cannot go back to school. More than 165,000 lives have been cut short by coronavirus, many with loved ones who never got the chance to say goodbye.
Between July 16 – August 16, 2020 there were 164,196 Tweets that mentioned both School and the Coronavirus and the five of those Tweets that generated the most responses were directly related to politics. For instance, Kamala Harris generated 198,687 responses that blamed Donald Trump and Mike Pence for millions of kids being unable to go back to school. Meanwhile a Tweet asking how COVID-19 is too dangerous for the Republican Convention to happen in Jacksonville but safe enough to send kids to school generated 40,287 responses and an ER doctor received 19,972 responses saying it’s the administration not the coronavirus that’s keeping our kids from going to school next month.
Overall 11% of the Tweets that mentioned both School and the Coronavirus between July 16 – August 16, 2020 directly mentioned Government or Politics. Sentiment around Tweets that mentioned School, the Coronavirus, and Politics was 51% Negative and 7% Positive, meaning it’s an especially negative subject that brands want to steer clear of.
Insight #3: Back To School Brands Post That Succeed Are Pandemic Specific
With most students not going back to physical classrooms, there’s significantly less interest in brand posts back to school related content on social media compared to the past, though there have been some exceptions.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CC41ANphIT7/
Forever 21 has succeeded in their social media Back To School campaign because they’ve either addressed the situation head on or by asking questions that are just as relevant during remote learning. For instance, they generated 26,287 responses to an Instagram post asking for your number one surviving quarantine tip. Contests also still work, as Forever 21 received 19,742 responses to an Instagram post asking the audience to share their back to school goals for a chance to be featured on their Instagram page.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CC8yrTCl-Nj/
Another successful strategy has been hedging and using language that addresses both remote learning and in personal classes in back to school posts by brands. Like Walmart generating 5,413 responses to an Instagram post talking about how they have back to school products, “however school looks this fall” while a Kohl’s Instagram post about having comfy styles for the school year, whether you’re “heading back or logging in” received 1,357 responses.
Brands need to share content that’s relevant to the audience, and right now that means Back To School content that acknowledges the pandemic and it’s unique challenges.
Insight #4: The Social Audience Is Very Nervous About The Level Of Protection Inside Schools
Between July 16 – August 16, 2020 there were 34,701 Tweets that mentioned both School and a PPE related phrase (PPE, Mask, Plexiglass, Face Shield, Disinfectant, Gloves, Hand Sanitizer, or Purell). Sentiment around those Tweets was 55% Negative compared to 11% Positive, with 33% of the Tweets expressing the emotion of Fear, and 15% of those Tweets expressing Anger.
You gon send your kid to school with the Paw Patrol mask and he gon come home with a Spider Man mask because he made a trade at lunch. Whole school gon be shut down the next day.
There was a lot of frustration expressed in PPE related School Tweets by parents, for instance a Tweet that got 580,544 responses talked about how kids are just going to end up trading their masks when they get to school, while another Tweet that generated 352,359 responses complained that a school superintendent in Georgia said there’s no way to enforce a mandate to wear masks, despite girls getting sent home for dress code violations all the time. Another mom got 8,433 responses to a Tweet pointing out that her daughter’s public school has a no ripped jeans policy, in response to the claim that mask wearing should be a personal choice.
With such an emphasis on PPE in the real-time conversation around returning to the classroom, on a brand level it’s a great reminder that addressing safety is going to connect with the social media audience in back to school messaging. For instance Vera Bradley shared a post about Youth Pleated Masks for kids heading back to school which received 4,781 responses on Instagram while Target emphasized contactless pickup in their YouTube video about back to school shopping.
Insight #5: Brands Should Post Content That Assists With Learn From Home Technology
There were 55,343 Tweets that mentioned Remote Learning or related terms (Virtual Classroom, Home Schooling, Virtual Learning) between July 16 – August 16, 2020 and given the extent to which technology is enabling remote learning; certain platforms and tools are becoming way more discussed on social media.
For example, there were 357,943 Tweets mentioning Zoom between July 16 – August 16, 2020, an increase of 700% from the volume of Tweets discussing the video communications brand between July 16 – August 16, 2019. In the same time period, Google for Education which posts about Google Classroom content was mentioned in 6,648 Tweets, an increase of 58% from the number of Tweets mentioning the brand between July 16 – August 16, 2019.
The social media audience is talking about technology relating to virtual learning more than ever before and by offering virtual backgrounds or sharing tips for parents to set a virtual work environment for their kids, brands can create social media content that will align with what’s on parents minds right now.
Conclusion
As we all struggle to adjust to the new normal during the pandemic, knowledge about how the audience is reacting in real-time is more important than ever. ListenFirst can provide you with the social media insights you need to know about how to best connect with the audience during this time when their lives are so radically different.
Want more information about how ListenFirst can help your brand understand the rapidly changing conversation occuring on social media?Request a demo today!
All the Twitter data used above is from the United States only and excludes Retweets.
What Type Of Social Media Posts Are Working For Presidential Candidates
While the pandemic might have overshadowed what would have otherwise been wall-to-wall coverage of the presidential race, there’s still going to be an election in a few months, which means it’s time for ListenFirst to break out its analytics and share insights about what type of social media posts are most effective for each presidential candidates. With Kanye West now having entered the fray, here’s what social media strategy is working best for each of the presidential candidates since Kanye’s July 4th announcement.
Abortion Appears To Be The Campaign Issue Most Associated With Kanye West
Kanye,
I know you’ll probably never read this, but I’m grateful for your words.
Your reaction to abortion isn’t insanity. It’s sanity.
Between July 4 – August 11, 2020 there were 143,896 Tweets mentioning both Kanye and Abortion; though sentiment around those Tweets was 44% Negative, compared to 4% Positive. Kanye had talked at a campaign rally about how they had considered aborting his now 7-year-old daughter, and how upsetting that is to him. For every Tweet praising his Pro-Life stance, there were a lot more saying things like “kanye saying abortion isn’t natural whilst having two surrogate babies is hilarious to me.”
While Kanye’s Pro-Life message is generating more negative than positive feedback, there’s still an audience that his feelings about abortion are connecting with, and as a third-party candidate; focusing on Pro-Life messaging might be his best chance on becoming a greater part of the national conversation.
President Trump Posts Short, All Caps Tweets Because They Generate The Most Responses
President Trump’s Tweets tend to perform the best in slogan form. For instance between July 4 – August 11, 2020; 4 of the top 10 best performing Tweets by Donald Trump said “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” and only that; with those Tweets averaging 645,662 responses. Overall, 9 of the 10 President Trump Tweets that generated the most responses in that time period were just one sentence long with “OPEN THE SCHOOLS!!!” generating 688,231 responses and only containing three words.
During the same time period and in keeping with that less is more strategy, his top performing post on Instagram which generated 1,658,587 responses was a captionless picture of him posing with Goya products at the White House.
‘Not Trump’ Tweets Are Performing The Best For Biden
You won't have to worry about my tweets when I'm president.
Generating 848,461 responses, the top performing Tweet for Joe Biden between July 4 – August 11 said “You won’t have to worry about my tweets when I’m president”. Other top performing posts included a Tweet that generated 404,892 responses saying we can’t let Donald Trump open up the Grand Canyon for uranium mining and a Tweet saying President Trump is ignoring the President Obama playbook for fighting pandemic which generated 404,702 responses. In comparison, the Tweet announcing Kamala Harris as his VP choice that didn’t mention Trump received 391,399 responses. It appears framing his Tweets as a critique of President Trump is his most effective strategy.
Conclusion:
Just like in any other type of social media marketing; connecting with the audience around political campaigns requires having social media analytics to understand what messaging is most resonant. ListenFirst provides the insights necessary for that winning social media strategy.
Want more social listening insights from ListenFirst about current events and the cultural conversations Request a demo today!
