SOCIAL MEDIA FOR FESTIVALSUsing social media tools to engage with your audience

WHAT’S NEW?

We are living in a period of rapid change Ways to reach an audience are evolving There’s an appetite for new things There’s too much noise People have more opportunities They also have more distractions Recommendations from friends are more

important, but they’re no longer one-to-one

HOW DO PEOPLE ‘TALK’

When was the last time you wrote a letter?

Picked up the phone?

Sent a text message?

Logged on to Facebook?

Watched TV? Left a review?

WH

AT IS

‘SO

CIA

L M

ED

IA’ ?

Many different ways of communicating

All competing for your time, energy and involvement

SO

CIA

L M

ED

IA L

AN

DS

CA

PE 2

012

Note changes from 2011

Type of device becomes more important

More people move to mobile

Twitter has moved to the core and Google+ makes an appearance

SCARY?

Stop, draw breath and think about this before you start

Don’t be scared We’ll start with some small steps We’ll look at what you’re trying to achieve Then we’ll focus on that This is a long-term activity, not just for this

one event

GOOD THINGS CAN HAPPEN…

If you start now, you’ll be laying the groundwork for the long term continuation of your event

New opportunities will arise which you didn’t expect

You’ll get useful feedback from people which will help you improve

You have the opportunity to reach a new audience

Your friends will help you

BAD THINGS CAN HAPPEN

People will ignore you You may be criticised You won’t be able to control everything You will make mistakes and more people will

know about it

WHERE DO WE START?

The first priority is to learn what the difference is between different ways of communicating your news

List every way you currently communicate with your audience

How do we integrate a more open and social approach to these efforts?

How can we expand these efforts in a planned way?

NEXT STEPS – PREPARE TO PLAN

Look at your current printed communications Look at your website Where else are you on the internet? Where is your audience? Do you know who your audience is? What do you hope to achieve by providing

different ways of communicating with your event?

PREPARING THE PLAN

Look at the resources you have available Do you have the right people in place? Do they have the right skills? If not, where can you get them?

Narrow down the possibilities by considering where your audience is likely to be active

Don’t throw away all your current methods, but think of ways to adapt and improve

Build in ways of evaluating your efforts and be prepared to make changes

LIKELY KEY ELEMENTS FOR YOUR FESTIVAL

Printed material directs people to Website, Facebook, Twitter

Website content at core

Content on Website linked to fromFacebook, encouraging visits to site

Content on Website linked to fromTwitter, encouraging visits to site

YouTube hostsVideo content which can be Linked to from site or other media

Photographs: Flickr, Pinterest, Instagram

GET BUSY, GET SOCIAL

•Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/SusanMcNaughton•Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Susan.McNaughton.Social.Media•Web: http://www.susanmcnaughton.com•LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/SusanMcNaughton