The Reality of it All

Guest Blogger: Claudia Amato, Project Analyst, iPerceptions

These days it seems that every time I turn on the TV, there is another useless reality TV show that is cluttering the airwaves. Whether people watch to see which woman will get a rose from the handsome bachelor du jour, which has-been celebrity will take a wrong step in their Paso Doble this week, or what crazy thing Paris and Nicole will do next (okay so maybe I am the only one who still watches the reruns of this one), regardless, people have a true fascination with the pseudo-voyeurism that reality TV makes acceptable.

A few years ago, when reality TV had just started to rear its head into our TV sets; I thought that the craze would not last long. But here we are, years after the first shows hit the small screen, and a whole new breed of reality TV has emerged. I have no real issues with networks airing reality TV shows, people watching these shows, or even participating in them (as if this ever happens to “real people”).

My issues begin with the branding of these television shows. First and foremost they are not “reality” TV. Most of every show is contrived. The people, places and situations are often times so far fetched from true reality, that it’s difficult to say how they can label them this way in the first place. I mean, how often have you been asked to stay stranded on a deserted island for weeks at a time while facing off against rival tribes to win food, shelter, or immunity. The idea of this is simply ridiculous.

However, these shows have undisputed popularity. In fact, American Idol is the number one rated show in the United States, and around $705,000 for a 30-second commercial (Wikipedia). Therefore, there are some valuable lessons to learn from this. First we can see that TV viewers are hungry for content that reflects their lives even in some minute way. Think about it, nearly every reality TV show has very large culturally diverse cast. It would be nearly impossible for a viewer not to identify with even just one of the cast members. Casting directors are cautious to pick “representative samples” of the population to entice viewers to watch and identify with.

Now, how does all this relate with the business of web analytics? In much the same way as television viewers crave content that reflects them in some way, web site visitors demand content that is relevant to them. Think of the popularity of user-generated content sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Youtube, etc. Web analytics can help companies determine what is truly valuable about a users online experience, and then maximize on these elements.

This is why it is integral that companies today incorporate the voice of their customers into their websites. It will give them authenticity and allow website visitors to truly engage in the content and relate to the brand.