Television Networks Target Twitter

Users of Twitter rely on the social networking service to communicate with friends and others in their network. By this fall’s television season, however, Twitter subscribers may receive messages from sit-com characters or promotional messages from the major networks. It’s one of the tactics highlighted in a Wall Street Journal article this week.

Like Facebook, Twitter is a hot technology topic this summer. From the WSJ story:

Popular with young, tech-savvy consumers, Twitter lets registered users send brief updates to groups of fellow Twitter users simultaneously—via either text messages, instant messages, email or Twitter’s home page. The service is free to use.

NBC, CBS, ABC Family and MTV are among the television networks considering the marketing potential of Twitter, widgets and other new media in an attempt to reach younger, tech-savvy consumers – a group that may be more likely to consider new shows and unconventional marketing efforts.

FOX has already used Twitter to connect fans with producers and actors during awards shows, and MTV used it during last month’s music awards.

Targeting the Twitter community is a great idea. But as with any social media effort, the networks must thoroughly understand the community’s nuances and culture. If they do, the attention – and “twittering” – will follow.