Actus 19 February, 2024
Today’s broadcasters face fierce competition from social media platforms for the attention of younger (and older) audiences. The likes of YouTube, TikTok and Instagram have revolutionized content consumption, creating a dynamic environment where news and trends emerge and spread at lightning speed.
This shift has left traditional broadcasters struggling to capture and retain the engagement of a demographic increasingly inclined towards these new media channels.
But with the right approach and tools, this becomes a significant opportunity. Read on to find out how.
The Challenge
There are several dimensions to the tug-of-war between traditional broadcasting and social media.
Speed of Dissemination
Social media offers instant access to content. Its viral nature means that news and trends can emerge and escalate rapidly, often before traditional media outlets have had the chance to catch up.
In contrast, traditional broadcasting can seem less immediate, posing a real threat to its relevance among younger audiences.
Perhaps the exception is for breaking news – otherwise, users simply tap the icon for their favorite social app where relevant updates are just waiting for them; no need to switch on their TV (if they even have one).
The Rise of Citizen Journalism
User-generated content is a growing trend, one aspect of which is citizen journalism. Bystanders capture footage of newsworthy events in the moment and share it on social media, reducing the need for reporters to be on the scene.
While this highlights the growing preference for social media over traditional outlets, it’s also a blessing. Broadcasters are borrowing such content from creators, making the process of disseminating information quicker, cheaper, and more efficient.
Personalization
Social media allows users to access content that’s highly personalized, interactive, and engaging, while traditional broadcasting is less tailored to individual preferences.
Also, users can curate their feeds so they’re exposed only to what they’re interested in. Even though YouTube introduced a feature for breaking news, for example, users can hide it in one click.
As such, broadcasters can no longer publish the news on air and reach the public en masse whether they like it or not – users have more control than ever before.
Social Media Usage Statistics
It’s not just Gen Z that are more likely to stay updated through social media compared to traditional news sources. Here are some statistics showing how prevalent social platforms are among various audiences:
- 78% of Gen Z in the US used TikTok in 2022.
- In Europe, 82% of young people were using social networks as of 2022, with 79% using TikTok.
- Among US users ages 18-24, YouTube is the most used channel, followed by TikTok, then Instagram. Users in this demographic spend more than 1,500 minutes per month watching content on YouTube; they spend 756 minutes on average using TikTok and on Instagram, 512 minutes.
- According to the Global Web Index report, millennials spend an average of 2 hours and 38 minutes per day on social media. The most popular platform among this demographic is Facebook.
- Gen X and Boomers are also regular users. Data from McKinsey shows that the majority of both generations use social media for between 10 minutes to one hour per day. In fact, 17% and 14% of them use it for more than two hours per day, respectively.
- It’s forecast that in 2024, the total number of social media users worldwide will reach 5.17 billion and by 2027, almost 6 billion.
Now here are the most important figures – the proportion of users that check social media for news. Data from the US shows that the following percentages of users check for news daily on social media:
- Gen Z: 50%
- Millennials: 45%
- Gen X: 39%
- Boomers: 24%
How Can Broadcasters Compete with Social Media?
Despite these challenges, broadcasters have unique strengths that, when combined with the right tools for social media ingest (and other functions), enable them to harness trends effectively.
Broadcasters have long excelled in crafting high-quality, compelling narratives with high potential for engagement. Applying this expertise to stories and trends originating on social media helps them elevate content into engaging, professional-grade programming.
This involves not just reporting on social media content but weaving it into broader narratives that offer depth, context, and analysis beyond what is typically found on such platforms.
But how can they create a DAM workflow that lets them create quality content fast enough to avoid getting left behind?
Allow us to introduce nunki.co and IN2IT social, our solutions designed to help you capture newsworthy social content and transform it into professional TV storytelling – fast.
How to Transform Social Media Trends into Professional TV Storytelling
The two tools mentioned above work together to scour numerous sources for content you can turn into captivating stories. Let’s explore them in detail.
What is INT2IT Social?
INT2IT social is a robust tool that allows broadcasters to scour posts, videos, and photos across multiple social networks. They can quickly catalog and organize content in a centralized location; from there, they create stories and publish faster than their competition. (Again, time is of the essence when you want to capture the attention of Gen Z.)
Securely hosted on Microsoft Azure, it gives your team access around the clock from any location.
Advanced Search Features
You simply input specific keywords and locations, and our powerful search engine, nunki.co, pinpoints the most relevant, trending content to build your stories upon. Its other features include saved searches, so you can stay ahead on the latest developments, while custom Twitter lists keep you up to date with the feeds of influential figures.
Once relevant content is identified, the challenge shifts to quickly integrating this material into broadcast stories. Here, our solution shines again by simplifying the process of ingesting content and sharing it with a team.
Broadcasters can preview and select content from every social network, easily dragging and dropping their selections into a basket to save their favorite media. For even quicker integration, URLs can be copied and pasted to automatically save content, with all content metadata preserved and seamlessly delivered to their newsroom software or media asset management system.
IN2IT social further enhances this process with its extension for Google Chrome – a crucial time-saver. It gives broadcasters an immediate view of whether a site is supported by IN2IT social; they can then process the content in one click – finding the best stories without leaving the current page.
Fact-Checking
To ensure content relevance and accuracy, IN2IT provides fact-checking thanks to reverse search support. This is particularly important in an era where younger demographics value authenticity so highly – and where misinformation can spread quickly on social media.
Support for File-Sharing Platforms
Our solution supports file-sharing through platforms such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and WeTransfer. Along with end-to-end metadata processing and integrations with MAM and newsroom systems, IN2IT social enables a streamlined media asset management workflow for your team.
The competition from social media platforms for younger audiences presents both a significant challenge and a golden opportunity for broadcasters.
Through their strengths in creative narratives, combined with the right tools, they can tap into the vast volumes of social media content to create engaging, professional TV content. This approach not only allows them to stay relevant among these audiences but also to enrich their programming with the vibrancy and immediacy of social media.
As a result, they can recapture the attention of younger audiences, securing their place in the future of media consumption.
To request a demo or inquire about other solutions by Woody Technologies, contact us today.
