Text Polling for Television News Engages Viewers
By Lee Simonson
Text polling, especially for live television news programming, is the latest technology stations are using to attract and engage viewers. Called SMS or text polling or voting, program and news directors are discovering that posting instantaneous polling results are not only informative but even exciting.
There are several reasons television stations are turning to text polling to solidify ratings and grab a lagging younger audience back:
1) Texting is cool: Texting is the preferred way people communicate today. In fact, mobile cell phones are now used more for texting than talking. Ask people how they want to receive messages and texting comes out on top, far ahead of phone calls and email.
2) The viewers become part of the program: Viewers not only watch with text polling, they actually become a part of the newscast. With text polling incorporated in the programming, viewers are given the opportunity to become a part of the show -- they become part of the news, and can see the how their votes count. There is a strong psychological attraction knowing they have "bought into" the show and that they are part of a larger community of participants. Text polling instantly binds an audience and
3) Glues viewers to their televisions: Live real-time results makes a "normal" newscast "suspenseful." When viewers know the anchors are seeing the results at the same time they are, the program incites a whole new level of interest and suspense. With results updating automatically every few seconds, viewers can see the polling results being tabulated in real-time. This system is actually much better than the typical voting you see on network reality shows which force viewers to wait until the next show to see the results from the previous show. This is an instant culture that wants to see instant results.
4) Sponsors love it: Text polling attracts sponsors. It's all about number and money. Business advertisers and sponsors love text polling because they get their name on the text polling results sidebar or scroll during a large part of the newscast, and they can get their name included on a response text that is automatically sent to viewers to acknowledge receipt of their text and vote.
5) Cost savings: Setting up a polling component in your newscast is very inexpensive. There is no hardware or software to buy and everything can be managed online and "in the cloud." The technology and programming has already been set up and the only thing stations need to do it tap into it. It doesn't cost thousands of dollars to implement. For less than a few hundred dollars, stations can get started immediately.
6) Limitless topics: Text polling can involve any topic at any time, so it is an ideal way for to enable people to participate in the hottest and most popular topics of the day. A new political scandal? A socialite in trouble (again)? Big downtown development causing controversy? How about a pending weather storm and asking people if they feel they are prepared to cope? There are thousands of possibilities and limitless topics for your viewers to weigh in on.
Bottom line: Television stations, particular news departments, who are interested in boosting ratings and recapturing younger audiences, are well advised to incorporate SMS text voting within their programming. Texting has become part of the culture, and those stations that can adapt quickly to changing social trends, while leveraging technology will see higher numbers, both in viewership and advertising revenue.
For more valuable insights and specific information about text polling for television stations and other media, click here: http://www.orangepoint.net/text_polling_voting_service_for_television
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