Chances are that those of you reading this are not Nielsen viewers. Shows live and die by those in Nielsen households. This can cause many television fans to feel powerless. However, there are small ways that fans can support their favorite shows like 'Parks and Recreation'. The following list includes ways to build awareness and promote shows, as well as ways to show networks that audiences might be bigger than ratings indicate.
1. Tweet about the show while it is on and directly afterward.
There are three reasons for this. One, Nielsen now measures Twitter to see how many people are tweeting about shows, and they give this information to the networks. Two, it reminds your followers that the show is on and promotes conversation about it. Three, trending topics can grab people's attention and make them curious about why the topic is trending. If it is possible, use the #parksandrec hashtag as well as the characters' names and the names of guest stars in your tweets.
2. Watch the show on the NBC website or on Hulu after it airs - even if you already watched it live.
NBC gets a measurement of these numbers, and it lets them know how popular various shows are. You can watch a torrented version of the show on repeat over and over again, but it does the show no good. The network needs to know that you watched it; and this also puts ad money in their pocket, and money is what keeps your favorite shows on the air.
3. Buy a Season Pass or individual episodes on iTunes or Amazon.
Not every fan can afford to do this, but there are many who can afford it.
4. Buy 'Parks and Recreation' merchandise at the NBC Universal Store and other retailers that sell it, such as Amazon.
Again, this helps make the show more profitable, and it shows that 'Parks' has a passionate fanbase that is willing to spend money on it.
5. Ask for spoilers from TV Line, TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, and E!.
Seriously. They always ask for questions, and this shows journalists that there is an interest in the show. This means that they will continue to write stories about it. Also, spoilers give fans something to talk about and speculate about. This helps keep interest in the show alive.
6. Drive web traffic to the websites that write good articles about the show.
The more ad revenue that websites make off of certain TV shows, the more they will write about them. This means that more and more people will be exposed to the show and could help create more fans. Websites and the media have always done a better job at promoting 'Parks and Rec' than NBC has. Link to the articles on Hitfix, BuzzFeed, The A.V. Club, Vulture, etc and share them with your friends.
7. Use social media to talk about 'Parks and Recreation.'
Sharing content on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, and Livejournal drives interest. Each person who creates gifs and graphics on Tumblr is helping the show's fans stay engaged. If you like fanfiction, write fanfiction and share it. Use social media to remind others when the show will be on. Check in on GetGlue when the show is airing. If you want to talk about the show join the discussions at Reddit, Television Without Pity, and IMDb. Comment on articles and vote in polls. All of these things can help create online buzz by spurring conversation.
8. Follow the official 'Parks and Recreation' accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, etc.
NBC has easy access to these numbers, and the bigger they are in comparison to their other shows, the more they realize that the fanbase is passionate. It also helps to reblog and retweet directly from these accounts so that the nework can see how many people are sharing their content.
9. Tell your friends in real life how awesome the show is and why you like it.
Word-of-mouth is the primary way that shows grow. Despite being on for six seasons, you would be surprised how many people haven't even heard of 'Parks and Rec.' If you know that someone loves comedy, recommend it. If you know a hopeless romantic that likes love stories, tell them about Leslie and Ben and Andy and April. If you know someone likes Marvel, tell them that Chris Pratt will be the lead in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and they should check him out on 'Parks.' You get the idea.
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