Weekend Edition Social Media Usage

Survey Results

Audience Insight &

Research

Ben RobinsResearch Manager, Programming

Sandra LozanoResearch Analyst,

With contributions from:Davar Ardalan

Supervising Sr. Producer, Weekend Edition,

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Background

• Compared to many other public radio programs, Weekend Edition is ahead of the curve in terms of how many social media followers it has and how it uses social media to engage its listeners.

• For example, over recent months, Weekend Edition listeners have been engaging with the program in the following ways:

– Radio: 5.3 million listeners– Web: 1.3 million visitors/month– Simon Says: ~11,000 downloads/month– Sunday Puzzle: ~95,000 downloads/month– Facebook: 3,336 fans– Liane Hansen on Twitter (@nprliane): 2,570 followers– Scott Simon on Twitter (@nprscottsimon): 1,304,589 followers– Weekend Edition on Twitter (@nprweekend): 7,763 followers

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Note: Numbers for radio usage are based on Spring 2009 data. Numbers for digital usage are based on data from November – December 2009.

Who participated in the present research project?

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*Source: ACT 1 based on Arbitron Nationwide, Spring 2009, Persons 12+ Listening Composition based on AQH estimates for Persons aged 12+; Education based on Persons 25+

• From December 18th-27th, NPR Audience Insight & Research surveyed 7,274 Weekend Edition listeners to find out: – How they use social media to follow WE and what doing so has added to their listening experience– How following WE through social media has changed listeners’ perceptions of WE and of NPR more broadly

• 2,000 of the respondents came from an invited sample of 2,500 known Weekend Edition listeners on the NPR Listens panel. The remaining 5,274 respondents were non-panelist listeners invited through:

– On-air call-outs over the weekend of December 19 th – 20th – Weekend Edition Facebook postings – Tweets from Liane Hansen, Scott Simon, and Davar Ardalan on Twitter

• The respondents were demographically similar to the Weekend Edition audience and represented a wide range of listening behaviors (e.g., from frequent to occasional listeners and different types of platform usage)

How to interpret (and not interpret) results in this report

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• Although survey participants are demographically similar to the general WE audience, we don’t know how similar or dissimilar they are in their social media usage, their opinions about WE, or their opinions about NPR.

• It’s important to keep in mind that most of the survey participants are probably core listeners. They probably listen to NPR more than the average listener, so this means, for example, that:• They’re probably more likely to follow WE through social media and might devote more time

to this activity than the average listener• Their opinions of WE and the WE hosts are likely to be more positive than those of the

average listener• WE and the WE hosts may have a more profound impact on them than the average listener –

given their probably higher listening levels

• Therefore, it’s important to not treat these results as projectable or absolute. In reading this report, it’s important to focus on trends or directions of preferences, rather than focusing on exact amounts or percentage margins.

What’s in this report?

Summary of the key findings from this study (see Slide 6)

Part 1: How are listeners using social media to follow WE and the WE hosts? (see Slides 7-12)

Part 2: What impact is social media usage having on how listeners think about and experience WE? (see Slides 13-19)

Part 3: How does following WE through social media change listening behavior and perceptions of NPR? (see Slides 20-24)

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Overall summary: How social media affects listening behaviors and perceptions

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• For most listeners, following WE through social media is a new experience, yet the benefits that come from doing so are immediate:• As listeners follow WE through social media for longer, they start coming back more and more often to

keep following WE• As the length of time listeners have been ‘WE social media followers’ increases, the number of other

platforms they use to access WE and NPR more generally also increase

• Following WE through social media leads to more positive opinions of not just WE, but of NPR more generally:• Social media followers look forward to WE more and feel a closer connection to the hosts than non-

followers• Followers also spend more time listening to NPR and hold more positive opinions of NPR than non-

followers.

• As listeners follow WE through social media for longer and longer amounts of time, their motivations for continuing to be followers change:• At first listeners’ main reason for following is simply so that they can passively collect of information

presented to them, • But over time an interactive relationship between listeners and hosts develops. They become interesting

in getting to know the hosts as “real people” and look forward to the possibility that the hosts might respond directly to them. They keep coming back and increasing their level of following because it enables them to feel closer to Weekend Edition and gives them a sense of belonging to the larger NPR community.

Part 1 Summary of Key Findings: How are listeners using social media to follow WE and the WE hosts? • For most of the listeners we surveyed, following WE through social media is a

relatively new experience, with about 70% of them having done so for under 6 months. Most social media followers use Facebook or Twitter to access WE frequently.

• Following WE through social media is a self-perpetuating cycle: As the length of time a person has been a follower increases, the amount of time the person spends accessing WE through social media increases.

• For all listeners – regardless of whether they’re social media followers – the main way they access WE is over the radio.

• However, social media followers are more likely to engage in cross-platform accessing of WE than non-followers.

• Importantly, this isn’t simply because followers are more tech-savvy than non-followers: Both groups use social media the same amount. But only those who use social media to follow WE show elevated levels of cross-platform WE usage.

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Do the listeners we surveyed interact with WE via social media, and if so, how?

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About half (49%) of the listeners we surveyed do not interact with WE through social media. Notably, most social media followers only use social media to interact with WE in one way (e.g., they only interact through Facebook and not Twitter, or only

follow Scott Simon on Twitter but not Liane Hansen on Twitter. Note, though, that these percentages reflect only our survey sample, not the general WE

audience.

N = 7274

49%

22%

9%

10%

32%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

I don't follow WE or theWE hosts through

social media

I follow Scott Simon onTwitter

(@nprscottsimon)

I follow Liane Hansenon Twitter (@nprLiane)

I follow WeekendEdition on Twitter(@nprweekend)

I'm a Facebook fan

For how long and how often have listeners been following WE or the WE hosts through social media?

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For most listeners, following WE through social media is a relatively new experience but one they engage in often. About 70% say they’ve been following WE through social media for under 6 months. Over 60% say they use Twitter or

Facebook frequently to follow WE.

N = 3710

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Following Weekend Editionon Twitter

Fol lowing Liane Hansen onTwitter

Following Scott Simon onTwitter

Following Weekend Editionon Facebook

Less than a month 1-3 months 3-6 months 6-9 months 9-12 months More than a year

How long have respondents been social media followers?

How often do respondents use social media to follow WE or the WE hosts?

Does the length of time listeners have been following WE through social media affect how much they listen to WE?

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Following WE through social media increases listeners’ devotion to WE: The longer they’ve been following WE on Facebook or Twitter, the more time they

spend using those sources to access WE.

N = 3710

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Less than amonth

1-3 months 3-6 months 6-9 months 9-12 months More than ayear

Frequently Occasionally Rarely

What is the primary way that listeners access Weekend Edition?

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The primary way listeners access WE is by radio – even if they do follow WE through social media. However, social media listeners are twice as likely as those who don’t

to primarily access WE using a digital platform.

Social media followers, N = 3710 Not social media followers, N = 3564

What are all the ways that listeners access Weekend Edition?

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Listeners who follow WE through social media access the show via more platforms than other listeners. Notably, followers show comparable levels of radio listening as non-followers. Followers are using other

platforms not as a replacement to the radio, but rather, in addition to the radio to listen more.

N = 7274

Part 2 Summary of Key Findings: How does using social media change listeners’ experience of WE?

• Compared to non-followers, social media followers look forward more to WE, feel a closer connection to the WE hosts, hold more positive opinions of NPR, and feel more like a part of the NPR community.

• While one might worry that this is because social media followers were more devoted listeners to start with, this doesn’t appear to be the case:

• We’ve been tracking listeners’ opinions of WE and NPR over the past 6 months, allowing us to compare listeners who started out with the same opinions and then did vs. didn’t become social media followers over that time period.

• Over the past six months, listeners who never became followers didn’t show a change in opinions, but those who did become followers have developed progressively more favorable opinions, not just of WE but of NPR, more generally.

• Listeners verbatim comments provide insight into why following WE through social media changes the way they experience the program:– When they first start following WE through social media, their main purpose is to get

updates or links to story content– Over time, they develop an appreciation of gaining a behind-the-scenes perspective and

getting to know the hosts as “real people”– And as even more time passes, a relationship or sense of connectedness develops between

the hosts and listeners13

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How does the WE listening experience change as a result of using social media?

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We asked listeners to rate how much they agree or disagree with each statement below. Those who follow WE through social media are much more likely to hold

favorable opinions not just of WE, but also of NPR more generally.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

When I l is ten to Weekend Edition, I feel a clos econnection to Liane Hansen

When I l is ten to Weekend Edition, I feel a closeconnec tion to Scott Simon

I feel that Weekend Edition cares about my needs as al i stener

I feel l ike I 'm a part of the NPR community

I look forward to Weekend Edition

Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Sl ightly Agree Strongly Agree

Social media followers, N = 3710 Not social media followers, N = 3564

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

When I l isten to Weekend Edition, I feel a closeconnection to Liane Hansen

When I l isten to Weekend Edition, I feel a closeconnection to Scott Simon

I feel that Weekend Edition cares about my needs as alistener

I feel l ike I'm a part of the NPR community

I look forward to l istening to NPR

I look forward to Weekend Edition

Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Slightly Agree Strongly Agree

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

When I l isten to Weekend Edition, I feel a closeconnection to Liane Hansen

When I l isten to Weekend Edition, I feel a closeconnection to Scott Simon

I feel that Weekend Edition cares about my needs as alistener

I feel like I'm a part of the NPR community

I look forward to l istening to NPR

I look forward to Weekend Edition

Strongly Disagree Slightly Disagree Slightly Agree Strongly Agree

How do listeners think following WE through social media has affected their opinions of WE and the WE hosts?

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We asked listeners whether they think using social media to follow WE and the WE hosts has affected their opinions of them. At least half of listeners say their opinions have improved as a

result of their social media following, and less than 1% say their opinions have worsened.

N = 3710

Worsened Improved

Does being a social media follower change how much time people spend listening to WE on other platforms?

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Six months ago, before panelists were following WE through social media, we asked them about how much time they’re spending listening to WE now on different platforms (other than Facebook and Twitter)

like the radio, podcasts, or NPR.org. Six months later, in December 2009, we followed up with these same listeners to find out whether they had become social media followers and whether their listening

levels had changed. Simply becoming a follower through social media increases how much people listen on other platforms, and the longer they’ve been a follower, the more their listening has increased.

N = 2000

Does being a social media follower of WE change listeners’ opinions of WE?

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Six months ago, before panelists were following WE through social media, we asked them whether their opinions of WE had improved or worsened over the past half year. In December 2009, we followed up

with these same listeners to find out whether they had become social media followers and whether their opinions had changed. Listeners who started following WE through social media now hold more favorable opinions of WE than those who have never become followers. Also, the longer people have been social

media followers of WE, the more likely they are to hold favorable opinions.

N = 2000

Examples of how listeners say that following WE through social media has affected the way they experience the show

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Follower for under 3 months Follower for 3-6 months Follower for 6-9 months Follower for 9-12 months

“I follow on Twitter all the time. If I have to step away from the computer or radio, I just scroll back to see what either Scott or Lianne have Tweeted and then I can go to the NPR website

and listen as soon as that segment has been posted. It's very helpful besides I enjoy their Tweets.” – Female, Age 42

“I follow on Twitter. I enjoy reading about Scott's impressions of the show. It makes me feel like I am

behind the scenes at the show.” – Female, Age 38

“Tweets reinforce that the hosts are real ordinary people, albeit intelligent

and genuinely likable. I feel like I know Scott more personally since

following him on Twitter. I don't yet follow Lianne, I don't know why I

haven't - but I really love her anyway!” – Female, Age 31

“Following Scott on Twitter makes me feel more involved in real time. Scott

actually responded to one of my tweets.” – Female, Age 40

“I can't always catch Weekend Edition on the radio at the right time, but

when it's sitting on my Facebook page that gives me a way to not only catch up with that story, but scroll around

and check into other things I may have missed. It's more at my

convenience.” – Female, Age 47

“I always enjoy getting somewhat-behind-the-scenes glimpses of hosts or other personalities I admire, and both Scott & Liane come across as very enjoyable "real people" on

Twitter - which matches my feeling about their on-air personalities” –

Male, Age 25

“I always felt that Ms. Hansen and Mr. Simon were warm human beings and

top-notch journalist. But now following them on twitter gives a

new, additional dimension of understanding them and the shows

that they host.” – Male, Age 44

“I enjoy the possibility that something I say can be responded to immediately. It really enhances the

feeling of connectedness I have with the hosts. “ – Female, Age 34

“It is nice to have Facebook newsfeeds in case I miss a story that would interest me. I don't use twitter

so I don't follow Liane or Scott and don't know if I would friend them on Facebook since I don't know them in

real life.” – Female, Age 37

“I'm consistently impressed by what it takes to produce WE, but with the addition of the FB feed, it makes the

work of staff in addition to Ms. Hansen and Mr. Simon all the more visible. I like that.” – Female, Age 58

“The hosts use of Twitter have really rounded them out as people, which

has heightened my enjoyment of the content provided by Weekend

Edition. For example, having followed Scott for a number of months on

Twitter has put a more human and personal touch to listening to him on Weekend Edition, as I feel that I know

him on a more personal level.” – Female, Age 29

“Because WE integrates facebook, email, the web and other social media into the program, it makes me a) have more respect for it and b) makes me feel like the ppl running the show are smart and on top of things. like, WE is

more forward thinking than conventional network media and c)

feel more connected to the hosts and people behind the scenes.” – Male,

Age 54

Why does being a social media follower change how listeners experience WE?

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We asked listeners to describe in their own words how following WE or the WE hosts through social media has affected the way they experience WE or think about it and its hosts. We coded

their descriptions for how often different themes were present and found that over time, their motivation for continuing to follow changes: At first they’re just passive collectors of information

presented to them, but over time an interactive relationship between listeners and hosts develops.

N = 3710

Part 3 Summary of Key Findings: How does being a WE social media follower change listening behavior and

perceptions of NPR?

• Following WE through social media has benefits that extend beyond WE and to NPR more globally.

• For example, following WE through social media has benefits including:

– Increased NPR listening behavior: WE social media followers are more likely than non-followers to engage in cross-platform accessing of other NPR programming and spend more time listening to NPR.

– More positive perceptions of NPR: Followers are more likely to hold positive opinions of NPR than non-followers. The longer a person has been a WE follower, the more positively they tend to perceive NPR.

– A sense of belonging to the NPR community: WE social media followers are more likely to consider themselves as part of the NPR community than non-followers. As the length of time following WE increases, the sense of belonging to the NPR community grows stronger.

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Over time, how does cross-platform accessing of NPR change for social media followers vs. non-followers?

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If there are increases over time in cross-platform usage, they could be due to social media following or alternatively, to something else . For example, technological changes in recent months could have

increased cross-platform usage for all listeners. Or it might be that more tech savvy listeners are just increasingly likely to use multiple platforms. Since we collect information from panelists on a regular basis

about how many platforms they’re currently using to access NPR, we could test these different hypotheses. As the graph shows, cross-platform usage has increased selectively for social media followers, suggesting that changes are due to the impact that following WE through social media had on listeners, rather than

other factors.

N = 2000

Does following WE through social media change how much time people spend listening to NPR more generally?

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We asked panelists about how much time they’re spending listening to NPR now and compared that to information we had collected from them six months ago. Simply becoming a social media follower of WE increases how much time people spend listening to NPR more generally. Over time, as people

follow WE for longer, their listening to NPR progressively increases.

N = 2000

Does being a social media follower of WE change listeners’ opinions of NPR more generally?

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We asked panelists whether they hold a positive or negative opinion of NPR and compared that to information we had collected from those same panelists six months ago

– before any of them were following WE through social media. Listeners who start following WE through social media hold more favorable opinions of NPR than those who have never been followers. The longer people have been social media followers of WE,

the more likely they are to hold favorable opinions of NPR more generally.

N = 2000

Does being a social media follower of WE make listeners feel more like they’re part of the NPR community?

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We asked panelists to what extent they feel like they’re part of the NPR community and compared that to information we had collected from those same panelists six months ago – before any of them were following WE through social media. Listeners who have started following WE through social media now feel more like a part of the NPR community than

those who have never been followers. The longer people have been social media followers of WE, the more likely they are to feel that they’re part of the NPR community.

N = 2000