An auditorium full of students rapidly typing on their laptops and iPads does not faze Doug Craig, who encourages the use of Twitter during his speeches.

Craig, senior vice president of digital media and e-commerce at Discovery Communications, gave a speech titled ‘Digital and Social TV: The Power of Real-Time Engagement’ as part of the Newhouse Global Leaders in Digital and Social Media Speaker Series.

Throughout the talk, audience members were encouraged to tweet their reactions and send in questions using the hashtag #NewhouseGLDSM, which was displayed on bright orange signs throughout the auditorium.

Shira Berg, a senior public relations major, was live-tweeting the speech as part of her social media class and said she enjoyed the experience.

‘I really liked it,’ she said. ‘It definitely is interesting to get other people’s point of view.’

Craig spoke to an enthusiastic audience in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium at the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Discovery Communications’ media holdings, its use of social media and ways to make social media more effective were discussed.

Discovery’s various holdings include more than just the well-known Discovery Channel, he said. Animal Planet, the Science Channel, TLC, as well as many international channels, are also owned by Discovery.

‘The beauty of a lot of our content being nonfiction in nature is that it translates incredibly well around the world,’ Craig said.

Discovery’s digital media holdings include both content based on its cable networks and other websites that are not based on actual channels but still fit into the company’s overall vision.

Discovery is active on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and it uses these sites to create a two-way engagement with viewers. Discovery is also experimenting with using newer social media sites such as GetGlue and Pinterest.

These social media tools are becoming extremely important given the changing television landscape, Craig said. Viewers are no longer watching shows live and have more television options than ever before, he said.

Increasing viewer engagement, getting more people to tune in to its programs, receiving feedback on its products and driving traffic to other digital platforms are more of the company’s goals, he said.

Driving traffic to other digital platforms is particularly important, Craig said, because these places generate money for the company.

‘There’s an incredible amount of interest from advertisers in social (media), but I think there’s an overwhelming consensus that people don’t know what to do with it yet,’ he said.

Discovery’s use of social media includes live chats with the shows’ stars during their programs and gives viewers access to exclusive content. Discovery also created co-viewing apps, which give viewers access to extra material on their tablets or phones during the live show.

Craig gave five tips for making social media work. They included humanizing your brand, sharing fandom, engaging influences, embracing pop culture moments and being topical.

Chelsea Damberg, a senior broadcast and digital journalism and policy studies major, enjoyed Craig’s talk and thought it really applied to broadcast journalism.

‘I like how he said that it goes beyond just the teasing of what’s to come, and it’s a two-way conversation,’ she said. ‘I think that’s something very important in journalism.’

jliannet@syr.edu

 

Published on February 15, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Jessica: jliannet@syr.edu | @JessicaIannetta