The X Factor adopts Periscope in new social media drive

The X Factor will be using Twitter’s live streaming app Periscope as part of its new social media drive in 2015.

Shotglass Media, part of Fremantle Media, ITV and Syco have reappointed Social Life to bring The X Factor audience a fresh social media campaign for 2015, using new platforms. The X Factor currently has over 14 million social followers.

Social media agency Social Life is creating and managing all content for the twelfth series of the show across channels including Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Vine. Periscope is being used to broadcast backstage videos to people using the app around the world.

Social media activity, traditionally only run during the show’s airtime, has this series been live throughout the audition and boot camp process.

“Judging by social interactions during the audition stages, there is a real appetite for insights ahead of the main show,” said Roy Henry, Senior Digital Producer at Shotglass Media. “Teasing out exclusive backstage content has given us the opportunity to get fans excited and create a buzz. With such a massive online following, it’s incredibly important we engage with them in the right way.”

The X Factor’s 2014 social activity, created and run by Social Life, saw Twitter followers increase by a third and retweets by 82%. Facebook post likes jumped 35%, while Instagram followers grew 200% to over 263,000.

Athena Witter, Executive Producer of Entertainment at ITV Online said: “Following the success of last year, Social Life has proven it knows how to provide content that is targeted, fun and creative around the programme. We believe building a strong social presence is not just about how many followers you have, it’s about engaging audiences and making them feel part of the show. We’re excited to be working with the team again.”

The X Factor 2015 final is in December.

“Introducing new platforms and expanding our exclusive live content offering throughout the series will heighten the audience’s ability to connect with the show,” said Laura-May Coope, co-founder of Social Life. “2014’s huge increase in social engagement was achieved through our unique understanding of young online audiences and types of content that excite, creating hubs of conversation and sharing. We hope to continue to demonstrate the positive effects of viewer participation around the upcoming live shows via social media.”