Nielsen and Twitter Start Screen Romance

The Nielsen company that is the 800 pound gorilla in television ratings will soon include Twitter activity in its scores for television broadcasts. As if we needed any more evidence that the multi-screen experience was transforming the viewing audience.

I got the news from Andy Beal’s Marketing Pilgrim, but the horse’s mouth is the Nielsen website that was posted on the Twitter blog yesterday. That very day, Marketing Pilgrim also commented on a study called “2013 Marketing Trends Survey” released this month by Strongmail, that shows some marketers are starting to lose the irrational exuberance that might have accompanied all things in social media over the last couple of years.

I think it’s time we all “get real” on social media. The benefits for reputation, customer engagement and public relations are proven. But it’s far from the “panacea” that it was proclaimed to be. In fact, the bloom went off the rose for me six months ago, when research showed that over 90% of businesses were in social media for a marketing purpose. This doesn’t mean that social media should not be part of an integrated marketing plan. In fact, it has to be, according to some of the biggest marketers in the country.

Now, we’re seeing in Nielsen’s ratings the acknowledgement that online social activity is a valid gauge of viewer engagement. It is no less a valid gauge of engagement for non-broadcast producers and advertisers, as long as you have your stake well defined and connected to revenue goals.

What are you doing to claim your grub stake in social media?