In September 2015, Eurovision Media Online set up a group of experts from different social media teams within EBU Members to start working together to explore strategies and the opportunities that social media offers public service broadcasters to help serve their audience better.

The Network includes around 300 colleagues from Public Service Broadcasters from Europe and beyond. The key to the network’s activities is to understand and analyse audience behaviour and trends, and how we can improve our social media presence to be where the audience is. To be relevant and trusted in the future, we also have to work closely with our audience and to interact with them while we are producing our content.

A group of representatives from the Eurovision Social Media Trends Network constitute the Social Media Trends Group. They advise on strategies and collaborative opportunities for increasing interactivity in traditional media projects for the benefit of the wider Network. The group met in Brussels (September 18) to review the existing social media services and to propose new collaborative projects in the field. They also discussed trends and current challenges and opportunities for social media in their corresponding organisations.

Members of the Social Media Trends Advisory Board are Agustin Alonso (RTVE), Vojtech Soudny (Czech Radio), Nicklas Malmberg (Swedish Radio), Ingeborg Volan (NRK), Lorenzo Ottolenghi (Rai), Suzy Griffin (RTE), Aline de Volder (RTBF), Rowan Collinson (BBC), Sabrina Palm (ZDF/Phoenix) and Gregor Mayer (ZDF/Phoenix).

The group also elected its new Chair and Vice Chair for 2016-2017: Ingeborg Volan (NRK, Chair) and Lorenzo Ottolenghi (Rai, Vice-Chair).

During the meeting, the group also discussed the format, programme and speakers for the next Eurovision Social Media Trends Summit, to be hosted by NRK in March 2016.