If we combined the worlds of digital marketing and Quidditch, social media would definitely be the Snitch. Since its inception social media has been on a rapid journey of growth and change, while venues, events and businesses fly about trying to keep up with the ever-elusive Snitch that never seems to stand still long enough for you to catch your breath. For those unfamiliar with Harry Potter and the sport of Quidditch, Craig Ricks, vice president of Marketing, Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement, said it best.
“There’s this ongoing, fast-moving, high-speed pace of social, and it’s exciting,” said Ricks. “We’re at an interesting spot right now where technology is moving at this rapid pace, and that unlocks new opportunities to explore new ways to communicate with our customers and patrons.”
As technology continues to advance, social media follows right behind. Every week there seems to be some new platform or app. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram still remain the “big three,” though Snapchat is growing in popularity as more and more venues and sports teams join the platform.
“More and more you see Snapchat creeping into that conversation, especially because of its following among the younger demo,” said Jim Delaney, president and CEO of Activate Sports and Entertainment. “When you look at my kids, they’re not on Facebook, they’re not on Twitter. Their platforms of choice are Instagram and Snapchat, mostly because their parents aren’t on those platforms. That’s how Facebook started with that college crowd. You’re going to see more venues try to get their heads around Snpachat and try to use it, but it is tough to gauge because there aren’t analytics.”
FINDING YOUR FANS
With the introduction of new platforms, a venue’s audience can become increasingly
segmented by age. This creates an extra challenge to marketers but can also make it simpler to reach specific groups.
“You need to be where your fans are,” said Delaney. “The challenge is they’re increasingly everywhere and scattered across multiple platforms. In some ways it makes it more difficult as a marketer, and yet in some ways it makes it easier. It used to be when you were promoting a show, you could put your 30-second ad on a specific number of TV and radio channels to communicate your message. But now we can find them less expensively on social media in different pockets. The way to reach and engage a 16-year-old is slightly different from how we’ll reach that 36-year-old.”
The broad understanding is the Twitter audience is younger than Facebook, Snapchat is younger than Twitter, Instagram is more for an alternative, artistic crowd and other apps, like Periscope, reach a more tech-savvy group.
“If you’ve got Andrea Bocelli, Snapchat is not the one you’re going to spend your time on,” said Ricks. “If you’ve got Ariana Grande, maybe do spend some more time on Instagram and Snapchat. Social in general is a ubiquitous tool, and you can engage your audience where they’re consuming information. There are different things you can leverage based on those audiences.”
Heath Riddles, director of Marketing and Communications, Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin, Texas, said they’ve been very successful with paid social strategies on Facebook after really learning the back end of Facebook ads to target certain demographics. In this way, choosing which platforms to use for which campaigns also involves their marketing budget.
“Knowing the potential target definitely informs how we strategize socially, which platforms we choose to focus on and how we distribute our budget,” said Riddles.
Another large part of the social media strategy at the Long Center is not being afraid to jump onto a new platform to see if it connects with their fans.
“We focus most of our attention and resources on the big, proven platforms,” said Riddles, “but when we hear about something new we’ll usually give it a try and see what kinds of results we get. I think that’s the underlying principle of our social media strategy is give it a try and measure the results. We are constantly on the back end of all of these platforms looking at what kinds of analytics they have to offer and measuring the success of them.”
Ricks agrees that there’s a certain value to being first on a new platform, but predicting the amount of risk becomes necessary.
“With social, be measured and be mindful, but don’t be afraid to fail,” said Ricks. “Make sure you’re mitigating risk. Juggle with Nerf balls, not with knives. If it’s something that you think is going to be highly visible, maybe don’t take that risk. But there’s definitely reward in pushing the envelope and trying new things. Inherently, social is all about that.”
Riddles listed Tumblr as one of their less successful attempts at connecting with the Austin audience, saying it hasn’t really taken off for them. Delaney recalls a time four years ago when he had to convince the Boston Bruins to join Instagram when it was a newer platform, and now its one of their biggest accounts with over 500,000 followers.
“You can’t entirely predict what’s going to come next and what will truly catch on and spread and what might die out somewhat,” said Delaney. “Those who are able to ride the wave can capitalize best.”
LIVE STREAMING
Twitter’s Periscope and Life On Air Inc.’s Meerkat are on the rise, bringing live streaming video to followers everywhere. That behind-the-scenes access is something fans can easily engage with and are beginning to look for. Facebook also recently launched Live, a new streaming feature available to VIP users who have access to Facebook’s public figures app, Mentions.
“That real-time access is the number one goal to make people feel like they are part of what’s going on,” said Brandon Mellor, senior social media marketing manager, Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement. “Ideally that then translates into, I need to get to the game this week. I’ve been in the huddle at practices with the quarterback on my phone all week, I need to buy tickets.”
At the Long Center, they use Periscope to share glimpses of rehearsals, capture audience reactions to a show during intermission and highlight people using the space as a community gathering spot.
“We’re doing a lot with Periscope, and that’s one that is really catching on and is really getting us results,” said Riddles. “A lot of folks in the local media seem to be plugged into Periscope, and I think it’s a great way for us to get in front of them.”
When it comes to catching the social media Snitch, it becomes a matter of staying connected, on the ground and in the news feed in order to stay in the know.
“We’re on it every single day,” said Riddles. “We’re using it every day, we’re putting out content, we’re trying new things, we’re experimenting and then we’re measuring the results. There’s no match to just getting in there and trying it, making sure you’re staying relevant, putting out lots of quality, meaningful content every day and measuring the results, That’s how we try to stay ahead.”
Interviewed for this story: Heath Riddles, (512) 457-5115; Craig Ricks, (949) 823-1636; Brandon Mellor, (949) 823-1772; Jim Delaney, (617) 851-6011
