Facebook and Twitter are in many ways social opposites: one relies on public, short-form updates while the other provides a network of friends, delayed updates and curated News Feeds.

Which of course doesn't stop Facebook and Twitter from imitating each other – often with limited results. However one place where Facebook and Twitter seem to be genuinely neck and neck is in the race to rule the second screen.

Screen dream team?

The so-called second screen is the stuff of wild marketing dreams – a constantly evolving presence where users can interact, and ideally purchase products, while watching television.

Twitter has traditionally dominated this space and has recently announced a host of high profile deals with major broadcasters aimed at bringing viewers and networks closer together.

However a recent White Paper from SecondSync shows that Facebook is rapidly gaining second screen kudos, with Facebook users now accounting for some 60 per cent of social chatter during prime time broadcasts.

Facebook smack down

Using the example of last year’s Breaking Bad finale, SecondSync found that in the five hour window surrounding the screening Facebook users generated 9.9 million posts about the show, compared to 5.1 million tweets.

Twitter blow back

But like any saga worth its salt, not is all as it seems. While the data shows Facebook is ahead, it’s worth remembering that Facebook’s user base is roughly five times that of Twitter’s.

Looking at tweets versus posts, Twitter takes the cake when it comes to engagement.

For example during the five hour window around the Breaking Bad finally there were 1.12 million tweets about the program, almost double the amount of Facebook posts.

Can there be only one?

There can be cases for victory made on both sides, and ultimately it comes down to whether marketers consider a retweet more valuable than a Like.

The answer will almost certainly change depending on the specific needs of each job.

While we’re still on the fence about this one, we think Twitter’s got the edge on Facebook when it comes to the second screen. It has a more engaged community and the advantage of tweets being public.

Yes, Facebook generates more chatter overall, but when it comes to social conversations quality often trumps quantity.

To download the White Paper visit secondsync.com. 

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