So maybe I’m on a bit of a social media kick this week, but I
cannot stress the importance of joining in the conversation. Because
there aren’t going to be any of those awkward silences anytime
soon. I promise.
The beauty of social media is that it is essentially a two-way
conversation between your festival or venue and the fans. There
isn’t a single other form of media in which a business or brand
and a consumer can communicate directly and instantaneously. It speaks
innovation like none other.
Not only are other forms of media one-way, they are also costly. As
you know, in order to place a 30-second radio ad, you’ll have to
dig pretty deep in those pockets. Social media is FREE. But remember
how some of the best things in life are free? That’s what I
thought.
So I was curious. Why ARE businesses and brands so hesitant? The two
main reasons I hear as to why businesses and brands do not have
participate in the social media conversation are because they do not
have the time and are also highly intimidated by the fact that social
media is in fact a two-way conversation. It isn’t that annoying
radio ad that gets little to no attention and no response from the
people that matter. It’s an actual conversation that the
consumer can participate actively in. But so can you. Not only is it a
conversation, it’s advertising.
Remember how I also mentioned that social media is conversational?
Don’t shout. Use your inside voices please. Create a character
or voice to use on each of your social media outlets. Make sure
it’s consistent. Be creative though. The content must be
relevant and interesting. Keep people chatting. With that being said,
do your part to respond the moment a customer asks a question,
compliments your festival or venue, or even voices a complaint.
Deleting is NOT the answer. Imagine you are face-to-face. You
can’t run and you definitely cannot hide. It will only hurt you
in the long run. If a customer voices a complaint, respond to them.
But also use it as an opportunity to re-shape their opinion. They want
to be heard.
What if there is one of those awkward silences where you’re
unsure of what to say? Create a social media campaign. Follow it and
tweak it as need be. The campaign can be a combination of promotions,
giveaways, news, and updates. Remember to be adding a twist of that
personality and voice that I spoke of earlier. Use this campaign to
get fans excited. Get them counting down the days until they walk
through those front gates again, until they’re eating another
fudgie wudgie.
But for now… blog, tweet, post, and poke away. You’ll be
impressed at how effective joining the conversation can actually be.
