Tweeting for TV

The social water cooler

Before the web, the water cooler was the place people would meet to talk about what happened on television. Now this practice occurs in real-time, and people don't want to wait until the show is over; they want to talk about their favorite comedies, dramas or reality shows as they air and throughout the week.

If you're part of a TV show, you should know that this conversation is occurring with or without you. These best practices aim to help you participate in and shape the discussion, so you can take advantage of the exposure before, during and after your show airs. All the examples we've chosen are among the more popular accounts and many have been highly retweeted. We want to keep these examples fresh, so if you spot great work, tweet us a link at @twittermedia.

Tweet in your own voice

If you've got talented writers on your staff, chances are they've created a unique tone for your show. Use that same approach to give your followers the unique voice that intrigued them in the first place. If you're a personality, show insight into your artistic process. If you're a show, have the official accounts mirror the writing style.

Insider perspective

Sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes are cornerstones in a great tweeting repertoire because they help establish your voice and authority.

Giving your followers access to events they normally can't see will make your content more appealing and worthy of a retweet.

Use hashtags

Hashtags are Twitter's way of grouping Tweets around a topic or conversation. Twitter users click on hashtags to see more Tweets tagged with that topic.

@Discovery made a huge push around #SharkWeek, which excited their followers and prompted them to share their favorite moments:

@Discovery also put our Promoted Trends ad product to work to amplify the natural water-cooler conversation. When a user clicked on the Trend, she would see a Tweet like this:

The result? The most successful #SharkWeek debut ever, with over 300,000 related Tweets and the number one spot for 18-to-49-year-olds in primetime on Sunday, July 31.

Here's how the photo grid for #SharkWeek looked as it was happening:

To maximize hashtag participation, you'll want to have a canonical hashtag for each series and then be creative when the time is right. You can also search for organic hashtags; don't be afraid to adopt the ones that your followers are using on their own.

Live-tweet events

Whether it's a mid-season finale or an awards show, live-tweeting can be a powerful tool for drawing people in to your Twitter presence. It's the easiest way to integrate Twitter into your show and can encourage tune-in:

And it can also provide commentary that gives your viewers a stronger connection to the show's personality, as Jeff Probst did when he live-tweeted a Survivor episode, which helped quadruple the conversation around the show:

Live-tweeting can help augment a rerun of an old show or movie, as @HowardStern did when he added commentary to a showing of "Private Parts" on HBO:

When you're in the midst of a big moment, photos are a great way to give your followers unparalleled access:

Remember: when you live-tweet a specific event—whether it’s a show, an awards ceremony or something else—make sure you include a hashtag in those Tweets so they can be easier to find.

Break news

Twitter is service people turn to when they want to know what's happening now. In that sense, it's the perfect palce to break news. On Twitter, you control the timing and tenor of the news you make.

Share special content and give unique access

Earn your follower's respect by sharing content that can't be found anywhere else. The more exclusive the content, the more that real-time water cooler will buzz in response. (It's also more likely to get retweeted.)

Add photos

Photos are a core part of the Twitter experience. They are easy to share and they can be viewed with ease on the web and on mobile phones. If you're ever having trouble coming up with a Tweet, try pairing a short line with a photo instead

Reply to your followers and ask questions

If your followers ask you a question that you can answer, you should respond:

Twitter also lets you get instant feedback and content from your followers: on a guest actor, a new storyline, an overall episode, or a fashion prediction:

Mention other high-profile accounts

If your co-stars, colleagues, or other industry peers are on Twitter, @​mention them to start a public dialogue. When celebrating teamwork, @​mention those who helped or participated:

If someone new joins Twitter and you know or admire them, give them a welcome @​mention:

Remember

Before your show finishes airing, people are already talking about it on Twitter. They're much more likely to tweet about your show while it's actually on TV, so put this attention to work: participate in that conversation and keep it going.

Your Tweets are your chance to connect with your audience at the precise moment that they are most interested in you and your show. Dive in and take chances. You'll be surprised at the amount of fun you can have in 140 characters.

Related reading

This is all about bringing your voice and your show to Twitter. To learn more about bringing Twitter to the TV screen, be sure to read our Producers' Guide.