It is not enough to just have amazing concerts and events at your venue; you must build awareness and excitement around the events themselves to get those seats filled. If you hype it, they will come! So, here are some things to consider when developing an effective content and social media marketing plan to help fill the seats at your venue.
What are Your Goals?
Do you know exactly what you want to accomplish with your content and social media marketing efforts? Maybe you want to build up your brand or boost tickets sales to the events at your venue. Whatever the reason, define your goals since the specifics surrounding your goals will help you fine tune your efforts.
The Importance of an Editorial Calendar
Before you start any type of content or social media marketing campaign, create an editorial calendar that lists all the events your venue will be hosting. Every event will require a different approach, and creating an editorial calendar will ensure you stay on top of promoting your events. For example, if you have a music festival in the summer, the time to start promoting it will be in the spring; an editorial calendar will tell you when to start changing focus at the right times.
Get to Know Your Audience
It is important to make a note of the demographic of each event on your editorial calendar so when it is time to create campaigns around the events, you already know who you are speaking to. Be sure to know exactly who your audience is, which will change with each event. If your venue is hosting the hottest new star in the pop world, that audience will be completely different than the ones who attend a bull riding event. Tailor every message so that your audience will be receptive to it.
Know Which Platforms to Use
Now that you know your audience, it is important to know which social media platform to use so that your message is received by the audience you have identified. For example, going back to the concert featuring the hottest pop star, social media platforms Instagram, Twitter, and SnapChat are all great choices to reach that demographic. With the bull riding event, Facebook would do a better job at reaching that demographic.
Hype it Up on Twitter & Use a Social Media Display
According to a study done by the PewResearchCenter, Twitter’s biggest demographic is 18-29 years olds. If the artist or event at your venue has fans who are in that bracket, then take advantage of Twitter. Follow the artist or the organization who will be coming to your venue and retweet their posts to your audience. Be sure to have a unique hashtag to accompany your tweets so that those posting about the event can use those hashtags, too.
During the event, have a social media display. This is a huge screen that shows chatter surrounding the event in real time, such as highlighting pictures posted on Instagram, tweets about the event, and Facebook posts. The audience loves seeing their posts on such a big screen, and that only helps to build excitement around the event. You also now know who is already a fan so that you can target them the next time the same artist or event comes back to your venue.
User-Generated Content
One of the best types of content to have is the user-generated kind. Consider the ones who are tweeting and posting about the event at your venue as brand ambassadors, spreading the word about your venue to the masses. Use a social media listening tool, like Hootsuite, to stay on top of all mentions of your venue or an event to be held here. You can retweet and share these mentions and photos. It helps your audience feel as though they were truly a part of the event, which helps to build brand awareness and loyalty.
Have a Photo Contest
If you are looking to raise awareness around your venue and a specific event, a photo contest on Facebook is a great way to achieve both of those objectives. According to KISSmetrics, photos on Facebook get 53% more Likes, 104% more comments, and 84% more click-throughs. One idea is to ask your audience to submit pictures of themselves wearing something with the artist on it for a chance to win two free tickets to that concert. This helps for others to see events at your venue on their timelines as their friends try to win the prize.
Entertainment venues around the world are harnessing the power of content and social media marketing to better understand and reach out to potential attendees of events. The challenge, for some, is how to do it the right way. On Target Web Solutions has helped venues in the past raise awareness and increase tickets sales through a strategic digital marketing plan. Contact us today for more information on how we can help your venue.
