I was asked this question, in various forms and usually with a few expletives added in, by countless TV executives and producers.

The pat answer, of course, is that even fewer people would be watching the show if it didn’t have an online presence – one that used to live on forums and chat rooms and is now mostly demonstrated by Twitter trending topics.

The reality is more complex, and linked to a different measure than just viewers – a measure which unfortunately is very hard to sell to sponsors and advertisers and as such still has limited currency – although it has some. It’s the notion of the engaged, vs the non-engaged, viewer. The engaged viewer is watching, tweeting, chatting. The non-engaged viewer is watching and doing email.

Do we care?

It’s a big question. If we don’t care, then shows should stop adding hashtags to corners of the screen, bragging about Twitter stats and creating social media campaigns.

And on the face of it, a viewer is a viewer. If the non-engaged viewer is as likely to switch on the show as the engaged one, and if they both watch the ads (or don’t watch them, but in equal measure), these two people have the same value to advertisers, and therefore to network executives.

I believe the big difference is that your engaged viewer is an evangelist. The engaged viewers not only watch the show, they want everyone they know to watch it. They blog about it, tweet about it, post fan videos on YouTube about it. The engaged viewers are an acquisition tool, and should be treated as such.

A really good example of using engagement to drive audience acquisition is the Gleek of the Week campaign that Fox runs around Glee – finding the “biggest Glee fan” and putting their picture on the show’s credit was inspired, mostly free, and ensured that the influential ”Gleek” would promote the show to their large social media circle. It has now been running for a couple of years and is still as successful.

Another good example of using engagement as an acquisition tool was the campaign C4 ran for The Plane Crash where you could choose your seat in the plane. It was heavily shared online and helped spread the word about the one off event.

A great, pre-Twitter example was the Chuck team engaging with their fans to get the show’s Subway sponsorship renewed.

The common element to these campaigns? You get rewarded for being a fan. Fans give a lot to their shows. If you give back, even a little, it means much to them.

Shows can be big online and still have small ratings. But these engaged viewers do have more value in the long run than your average, run-of-the-mill, TV-just-happens-to-be-switched-on viewers. It helps if you acknowledge and reward them though.

Be nice to your fans, today more than ever.

Clare Tavernier, MD, StoryTechLife

@CTav

This blog post was first published on StoryTechLife

Claire is the founder and MD of StoryTechLife, a digital content consultancy focused on the intersection between content and technology. She works with digital content start-ups, established media companies and lifestyle brands on digital and branded content development, production and distribution strategy, as well as speaking at various digital events, trying to regularly update her blog and spending way too much time on Twitter.

Before founding StoryTechLife, Claire was the head of FremantleMedia’s global digital division FMX from its creation in 2006 until the end of 2012. From 2001 to 2006, she ran FremantleMedia’s licensing and interactive activities for UK and Germany.

During her FremantleMedia days, Claire was involved in a number of high profile new media projects, most notably the online, voting and mobile activations of the Idols, Got Talent and X Factor franchises around the world, as well as the deployment of FremantleMedia’s famous gameshow brands such as The Price Is Right and Family Feud on a number of interactive platforms. Some of her successes have included turning FremantleMedia into a top 20 YouTube partner globally with over 90 channels; the launch of four YouTube-funded channels in the US and Germany; the roll-out of award-winning apps for The X Factor, Got Talent and Idols around the world; producing three seasons of the branded entertainment project Re:Discover for Buick and MSN; and winning interactive awards at the Banff festival three years in a row, a unique achievement.

She’s also pretty proud of having reached Level 200 in Candy Crush.