• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, January 17, 2012

More and more, marketers are using social media fluctuations to understand the buzz around big events. Take the 69^th Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, which generated significant social activity, and, with the help of special analysis, revealed exactly what draws viewers to such shows.   

What caused the biggest commotion? More than any other subject, 62% of the social conversation centered around award winners, according to social analytics software firm Networked Insights. 

By contrast, 48% of the conversation was about the red carpet; 12% dealt with upsets, i.e. unexpected award winners; and 9% focused on the show’s acerbic host Ricky Gervais.

Gervais’ monologue got good reviews, but nearly 32% of the conversation about the British comedian criticized his low joke count and scarcity on stage. In other words, viewers wanted more Gervais, according to Networked Insights. 

Among those brands best represented on the red carpet on Sunday, Prada commanded 42% of the conservation, followed by Dior with a 22% share and Gucci’s 15% piece of the pie.

As for celebrity guests, Madonna stole the show with a 10.5% share of the social conversation; trailed by Meryl Streep and George Clooney, each with about 5% share of the buzz.

According to Twitter, the broader conversation around this year’s Golden Globes peaked at 6,162 tweets per second -- a respectable showing, but hardly the most popular event in the history of social media measurement.

Earlier this month, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow generated 9,420 tweets per-second with his game-winning touchdown pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Late last year, meanwhile, a TV airing of the anime sensation Castle in the Sky generated a record 11,349 tweets per second.

“Overall, it can be challenging to compare similar format entertainment events,” according to a Networked Insights spokesperson. “Although they might share many things in common (actors and awards, for example), these shows have very different audiences with dissimilar social media tendencies and, of course, different advertisers.”

To achieve its relative success, Golden Globes producers made sure the show promoted its primary hashtag (#GoldenGlobes), and made up ones for all their categories (i.e., #GoldenGlobesBestActorDrama).

To better understand consumer conversations, social measurement specialists are all the rage with agencies and brands. Interpublic's IPG Mediabrands, for example, recently tapped Networked Insights to make better use of clients' TV advertising dollars.

The firm’s analysis is compiled from a variety of social media sources, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and forums, as well as search and Web clickstream data.

“As ‘Social TV’ evolves, the winners will be the shows and brands who are most creatively engaging viewers,” a Networked Insights spokesperson noted. “Today, we place a premium on ‘live’ or ‘uninterrupted’ viewing/formats, but as technology enables more integrated, real-time social and ecommerce experiences we’ll see viewer behavior continue to advance.”