Social media has become a moving target. It’s an ever-changing world in which a user’s reach can now be dictated by many things, including how many people like a post, how much cash is behind it or the implementation of creative hashtags. To further refine Venues Today’s Social Media Power 100, we asked industry experts to weigh in as part of our SMP100 Advisory Board.
The board includes Activate Sports & Entertainment’s Jim Delaney, Cara Vanderhook of Staples Center in Los Angeles, and Paciolan’s Craig Ricks.
They have been living and breathing social media as their business for years. Both Delaney and Vanderhook are inductees into the Event & Arena Marketing Conference Hall of Fame, receiving the honor in 2011 and 2014, respectively. For Ricks, social media is his business. Paciolan began offering social media services about five years ago, with PAC Social Media assisting organizations that want to engage customers through social media by efficiently managing all platforms as well as collecting data metrics.
When it comes to social media platforms, the board agreed that Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are still the ‘big three.’
“At minimum, every venue needs to have a presence on those channels,” said Delaney.
DIFFERENT STROKES
These channels should be used in very different ways in order to maximize impact.
Ricks said that many venues Paciolan works with have seen success with Facebook creating engagement leading up to the event day. On the actual show or game date itself, the audience comes to Twitter or Instagram as “the platforms of choice for immediate fan engagement.”
It’s not only what you’re posting, it’s when and to whom.
Vanderhook said that one of the most popular post types from Staples Center is set times for a show, which she posts most successfully around lunch time. She also localizes those posts to reach mainly the Southern California fans who like the venue’s page.
“For us, 10 percent of our fans aren’t even within the United States, so they don’t really care about the set times,” Vanderhook said. Still, there are posts from the night that could appeal to all fans, especially when sharing backstage peeks or images. “Even our fans in Asia might want to see photos,” Vanderhook added, so those posts are less targeted by region.
FINDING YOUR VOICE
For a venue, finding its voice and being authentic is critical to long-term success. When social media started gaining traction and people were still figuring it out, it was more about getting the information out to the audience. Now, it’s about how you say it.
“Ditch the robot voice and the corporate PR-speak,” said Delaney. “It’s called social media for a reason.”
He said that some venues are great about pushing their messages, but miss the social, human aspect of social media.
“I think the venues that do really well have a voice and a personality behind those brands on social media even beyond the ‘we’re here to sell tickets’ mentality of typical event marketing and PR,” he added, citing Vanderhook’s Staples Center Team “Call Me Maybe” parody video as a great example of voice. “It’s evergreen content, was relevant and timely and involved the staff personalities, showing the real people behind putting on the event,” said Delaney.
The video, shared on the venue’s social media channels in May 2012, has since been seen more than 725,000 times on YouTube.
Ricks agreed that being aware of what’s happening in the social stratosphere, such as a song becoming a viral hit, can only benefit other social media channels.
“It’s great to leverage and capitalize on other trending topics,” he said, adding that several companies and venues that aren’t involved in soccer realized fan engagement by posting about the sport while the U.S. was wrapped up in World Cup fever.
PAYING TO PLAY
One big aspect changing the social media game is the idea of sponsored posts. Social media, once seen as a free, fun way to get information to fans, is no longer free. Facebook’s latest algorithm has made fan engagement more difficult over the last few months, requiring organic fan engagement to spread posts or paid ‘boosts’ to promote content.
“As our numbers have grown you’d think the interaction would have grown, and it hasn’t really,” said Vanderhook. “To the layman, 175,000 followers looks pretty good, but when you’re only reaching a few thousand people it can be frustrating.”
While it’s a challenge to now divert marketing dollars to an outlet that previously was free, it’s becoming vital for success.
Venues are seeing cash in other ways, too. Because social media is so trackable with conversions and click-through rates, it’s easier to show a direct return on investment.
“We’re seeing a huge growth in corporate partnership revenue through social channels,” said Delaney, who added that, if done conscientiously, fans don’t seem to mind sponsored posts.
Ricks added that not only can venues bring in sponsorship money as a revenue driver, but the data acquisition opportunities created by social media can help fuel other marketing platforms through gathering email addresses or mobile contact details. Paciolan has also seen success with retargeted ads through Facebook’s news feed.
STILL VITAL
Even with the latest changes, social media continues to be vital when it comes to reaching fans. Tracking social media growth is a trend that isn’t going anywhere.
“What I loved when you first came out with these rankings is that it legitimized social in the eyes of the ‘C-suite,’” said Delaney.
Social media continues to grow and change, and so venues must adapt and stay up to date with strategies to remain active and retain followers.
“It’s almost a hindrance that we’ve called it social media any more because it’s moved into just being good marketing,” added Delaney.
Interviewed for this story: Jim Delaney, (617) 851-6011; Craig Ricks, (949) 823-1636; Cara Vanderhook, (213) 742-7273