The Power of Social Television: Can Social Media Build Viewer Engagement?

ABSTRACT

Marketers everywhere are paying close attention to radical changes in consumer behavior and engagement provoked by the rise of digital technology. In today's household, it is a common occurrence to share viewing experience across at least two screens: the television and secondary Internet-enabled devices. The current study used Steady State Topography (SST), a brain-activity recording methodology to explore this relationship. Participants' neural responses were recorded while they watched a live television broadcast and were allowed to freely interact on social-media platforms Twitter and Fango. The results indicate that engaging in social media while viewing television can significantly enhance neural indicators of viewer engagement in the television program.