Social media and festivals. My interview with Britz from Shambhala Music Festival.
Snapchat for events and festivals
Are you using Snapchat for your event? Why not? Launched in 2011, Snapchat wasn't taken seriously. Just another social media platform. However, the company has been growing steadily and more and more people have started using Snapchat. Including event planners.
Snap Inc. is planning to bring Snapchat to the stockmarket which could value the company at $30 billion. I guess they're doing quite okay then... The New York Times wrote a great piece about Snapchat a few weeks ago: How Snapchat Revolutionised Social Networks.
Event planners! If you are not using Snapchat yet you might want to look into it. Snapchat is a fantastic tool that allows you to engage with your event attendees. You can read how you can use it for your event in this article: It's a Snap! from Associations Now.
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Can you 'digital detox' at music festivals?
Earlier this year Adele asked her fans to put phones away and enjoy the gig in real life. Not sure how many of them actually did exactly do that but I can see where see is coming from. Somewhere during the summer months I read an article about digital detoxing. People who make a conscious decision to go off grid for a while.
Turns out that a third of British internet users have tried this digital detox, according to a report from Ofcom. Now, I'm not ready for a complete detox yet but since the start of 2016 I no longer have the Facebook app on my phone.... too addictive. Am I a better person for it? Not really but I do look less at my phone, which was my main reason.
How will this work for festivals? Fans want to be connected. They get annoyed when there's no wifi and want to post on Facebook and Instagram instantly. A good festival provides escapism. So isn't a festival a perfect opportunity for someone's digital detox?
Some festivals are tapping into this market. Unplugged Festival and Off Grid Festival are two examples of UK festivals that allow people to switch off from the online world. And they are successful festivals. I guess festival organisers have to make choices...
Social media or social experience? Let's see if the trend continues.
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4.6 million people are live streaming music festivals: an untapped market
Over 800 music festivals take place in the USA each year. About 32 million people visit these festivals. That's a lot. But it gets even better (and bigger).
23% of the social media buzz surrounding these events comes from people that aren't even attending these festivals. It comes from people sitting at home watching it on their computer or mobile devices. Now how can you tap into that market? Here a great article from Hypebot.
Top 5 social media sites for event planners
Increase Attendee Experience with Social Media
You probably already have a digital presence, but you need to make sure it’s the right one. You know the saying “too many cooks spoil the broth”? That stands true with having too many social media accounts. By stretching yourself thin the content gets diluted and engagement opportunities fall through the gap. Only use the channels where your target audience are listening and conversing.
Be more creative with the content of your event
Week 1 of #EventTutorTips
You need to create smart content. But what is smart content? To answer that question you need to know who the visitors of your event(s) are. Once you know who your visitors are you can figure out what they like, what motivates them, what they engage with and how they engage.
You need to look at your event and think about the different aspects your visitors can engage with. You can think of your artists, your acts, the artwork at your event, the vibe at your event, the creativity at your event, your event partners, etc.
Make sure you are out and about at your own event. Interview your acts, ask your artists to create content, take pictures, or shoot short videos. From build up to break down, make sure you document it. At Shambhala Music Festival they have 10 photographers taking pictures all weekend long. They use those pictures on their social media platforms during the festival and throughout the year.
Plan smart and creative content for your event!
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