Last week’s The Archers gave its audience plenty to talk about. As Tom Archer left Kirsty wailing at the altar, listeners took to Twitter and Facebook to have their say.
I created a Storify (below) that shows all the anticipation and reactions during Friday evening’s episode on Twitter. It’s a great example of how audiences engage with a real broadcasting moment as it happens.
Online, conversation, debate and comment about The Archers reaches a peak on Sunday mornings when many join the regular tweetalong as the show’s omnibus is aired.
Listeners share their thoughts and feelings – good, bad and indifferent – about the characters and storylines on Twitter and offer an amusing, often irreverent, take on events in the fictional village of Ambridge where the show is set.
I spotted this tweet yesterday from a new listener to BBC Radio 4’s The Archers. If you’ve noticed #TheArchers trending on Twitter most Sunday mornings, you might not be too surprised.
“@nick_hubert: I didn’t think anyone listened to The Archers until I joined Twitter.” I’ve started listening again BECAUSE of Twitter. — Jane Duke (@stoneflowerjane) July 21, 2013
The tweetalong, as it’s affectionately called, started in 2009-10 when two listeners, @JaneSoup and @LucyLyons, would tweet their amusing and sometimes sweary commentary to the omnibus. They picked up a following and it certainly got people talking. Today it centres around the hashtag #thearchers, and tweetalongers follow tweets about the programme and join the conversation with fellow listeners. They demonstrate a pretty sophisticated use of Twitter, with many using tools like Tweetdeck to exclude the hashtag to avoid spoilers until they’re ready to listen and chat.
Of course, the official account for the show, @BBCTheArchers, joins the regular tweetalong around broadcasts, answering queries and adding an extra layer to the listening experience. But it’s the listeners who really make the difference, not only giving valuable and timely feedback about the programme, but enticing others to join in the fun and become regular Archers listeners.
Read more listener discussions on The Archers blog
Find out about the world’s longest running soap opera, The Archers
A short story about the power of Twitter, how it enables a speedy response and a happy ending.
I spotted Dr Black’s tweet not long after it was posted, tweeted her from @BBCTheArchers to say that we were looking into her problem, and alerted The Archers team. Meanwhile, Dr Black had managed to find someone who put her in touch with The Archers office. Twitter at its best.
Storify from @JemStone at the Beeb.
By Tayler, 16 January 2013
Last night I joined folk at Tempero to speak alongside Sony, BMA, ACCA and Mint Digital about online community management and share our tips and experiences.
It was a packed house and the event was kicked off by Tempero’s founder, Dom Sparks.
First up was Nico Henderijckx from Sony Europe gave us a fascinating introduction to their “Super Users” and how they are an integral part of Sony’s customer service strategy.
The Association of Certified Chartered Accountants’ Charlotte Garfield spoke about creating a lively community from what could seem like a fairly dry suject – namely accountacy! Working closely with Tempero‘s Thane Ryland, the ACCA has managed to create a thriving community on Facebook and how they’re looking to extend their strategy to Twitter in future.
Andy Bell from Mint Digital gave a highly entertaining talk about developing an online presence for Channel 4’s Sexperience. (Cue sniggering in the audience!) He talked about the challenges of creating a site set up to pre-moderate comments and managing users’ expectations.
Gordon Fletcher from The BMA talked about how they’re making the most of all communication channels to encourage engagement. Doctors, it seems, prefer email, so the BMA have made sure it’s part of their strategy to keep a dialogue open with them to help with their campaign on NHS reform.
And last up was me! I talked about taking over the mantle of The Archers community host from Keri Davies and how The Archers’ 60th anniversary affected the message board and listeners.
My tips?
You can download all the presentations from Tempero’s website.
And if you’re interested, that list of Archers fan characters on Twitter is here.
Thanks to Kelda Wallis for arranging it all.
I’m talking – alongside Keri Davies from the BBC – at an event on Thursday 17 November 2011 organised by Tempero.
Here’s the blurb about it:
For one night only the people behind C4′s Sexperience, Radio 4′s The Archers, The British Medical Association, The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and Sony’s online communities are getting together to share their tips & tricks on managing online communities.
You’ll be able to ask them everything from how they got started to what happened once things got going.
This isn’t the usual presentations of fuzzy case studies. You’ll hear from the inhouse people championing their communities internally, to the agencies that build them and keep them running from day-to-day.
Also speaking are Mint Digital and Channel 4’s Sexperience, Sony and Tempero, The BMA, The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
It looks to be an interesting night – if you want to come, you can register here. Hope to see you there!
It’s no surprise to us that social media buzz influences people’s viewing habits. We see evidence of it every day – trending topics that have people switching over to see what everyone’s talking about, and recommendations from friends and social media acquaintances encouraging viewers to switch on and join the conversation.
But it seems that, for the first time, research from Nielsen has found a correlation between the volume of social media chatter and a show’s ratings.
As TV ratings measurement gets more sophisticated – as surely it has to – and as online interaction continues to rise, there is a growing opportunity for production houses and broadcasters to encourage high levels of conversation and, of course, higher ratings.
It’s worth mentioning that radio is also benefiting from listeners spreading the word via social channels. One example is #thearchers tweet-along on a Sunday morning, with listeners regularly joining the conversation from their bed, kitchen, car or garden. Nielsen’s findings saw the highest levels of social media activity among “the 18-34 generation”, but they are by no means the only audiences with a voice online.
If you want to find out more about what we do, and how to engage with audiences through social media, get in touch.
Read our case study: Channel 4’s Alan Carr: Chatty Man
