Money Rail: Hip Hop Stars and Sharks Heat Up the Summer Social Media Charts

Even though the way we watch TV has changed drastically in the past 50 years, the top 5 networks are still running a fall to spring season. But summer is no longer packed with nothing but reruns, it’s now the time when the cable networks lure in an audience with their own original shows.

For me, summer means the return of the crime dramas on TNT and USA. White Collar, Rizzoli and Isles, Leverage. . . but when it comes to social engagement, it’s the reality shows that really shine.

Trendrr.TV has created a business out of tracking the social response to everything on TV. They’ve just released an infograph showing the most talked about shows and events of the summer and look what came out on top: Love & Hip Hop Atlanta. This VH1 series follows a trio of rappers as they continue on the path to fame and fortune, stopping often for romantic entanglements, cat fights, overly-dramatic posing and plenty of nasty finger-pointing. It may not be the smartest show on TV, but it’s the kind of show people love to talk about on Twitter and Facebook.

ABCFamily’s Pretty Little Liars also scored high with social media posters. This teen-oriented mystery series is full of twists and cliffhangers. Fans not only chat about the series, but they also follow many of the show’s stars on Twitter and they jump to get those first run GetGlue stickers.

On the male side, G4 (the network for gamers and geeks) was by far the biggest beneficiary of social chatter. Social media is built into that network with shows that routinely air fan generated content from YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Their Comic Con coverage alone had to have put them over the top for Tweets.

And it wouldn’t be summer without a shark sighting. Discovery’s Sharkweek racked up 4.3M social interactions in one week. Now that’s how you take a bite out of the competition.

What can we learn from all of this? One, that people love to gossip about celebrity train wrecks. Two, crazy, unbelievable twists can lead to social success. Three, gamers love social media (big surprise) and four, sharks rule. Now all you have to do is figure out how to use this information to promote your business. Good luck with that.