By: Kirsten Stubbs

Simon Cowell is a man at the forefront of pop culture. He is arguably one of the best talent scouts of our time, responsible for finding acts from Kelly Clarkson to One Direction (who this week made history by becoming the first British group to debut at #1 on the Billboard Top 200), he’s a television hit machine credited with some of the UK and US’s favorite shows and of course, he’s a fashion icon, making the greyscale V-Neck a simple, timeless style staple.

While Cowell is usually one step ahead of the curve, he admits he was hesitant to start using and participating on social media.

So what about social media changed his mind?

1)   The ease and detail of research

Simon explains, “What I love about social networking…is that it’s the best market research in the world…and it’s quick.” The Digital Royalty team provides real-time analysis of the show’s social conversation to Cowell, as well as post-show, in-depth analysis that allow the cast, crew and talent to make changes as early as the next episode. The information has also heavily influenced the shaping and changes for the upcoming second season.

2)   Instantaneous feedback

Television ratings take time. Advertising, sponsorship, and product placement results and analyses take time. Social media’s instantaneous nature allows all X Factor USA stakeholders to take a constant temperature of viewership, engagement and sentiment. As Cowell explains, “I instantly know if someone likes something, or more importantly, hates something.”

3)   Ability to bypass the news and become the media

With social media, influencers can avoid spin, bias and fallacy by delivering news directly to your audience. With the “verified” checkmark, one ensures that the news coming from that Twitter account is authentic, human and real. “You can remedy something with a tweet,” says Simon, who has recently stopped several cast-change rumors by addressing them and providing statements via tweets and videos.

Now that Simon Cowell has seen the success of the innovative social integration on The X Factor USA and is an advocate of social media, he admits, “I can’t imagine doing shows without it.” Neither can we. It looks like Social TV is here to stay.