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Talk to anyone involved with social media in Europe’s theme parks and the word “engagement” will soon pop up. There is a palpable sense of excitement as companies search for effective ways to engage their audiences using this technology.
There was a time when park websites were simply shop windows, showing attractions, directions, prices, and opening hours. Now with the emergence of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, it is all about “two-way communication,” according to park marketers like Robert Aspinall, digital brand manager at Alton Towers Resort in Staffordshire, UK. “Because people can interact with us, it’s a more active and engaging channel than we’ve ever had before,” he says. “It’s a big part of our marketing mix.”
Two years ago, Alton Towers kicked off its social media program by setting up its own Facebook page. “It’s grown from zero to 621,000 fans at the last count. That’s bigger than our traditional e-mail marketing database,” says Aspinall.
When Facebook Deals—which allows Facebook users to access sales offers—went live in the UK, Alton Towers was one of the launch partners. “We offered all the people who had been talking to us on Facebook one-off free entry on 18 Feb. if they checked in on Facebook Deals,” says Aspinall. Around 1 percent of the park’s Facebook followers took advantage of the offer.
Another success was the Facebook search to find the first test riders for Alton Towers’ “Th13teen” coaster. “We asked people to submit videos. We put them up on Facebook and asked users to vote on them,” Aspinall says. “We invited the 30 best ones to Alton Towers for a ‘boot camp’ before choosing the first riders. By following what was happening and posting it back on Facebook, we built a lot of excitement.”
Today Aspinall monitors the park’s presence on sites including Flickr, YouTube, Foursquare, and Twitter, where it has more than 6,000 followers. Alton Towers treats Twitter as a customer service tool rather than a selling channel: “Our policy is to answer questions within 30 minutes, so that people get a good experience from us before they come to the park.”
Alton Towers aggregates content through a Social Central page on its website. “It’s a one-stop shop of all our social media activity. We can share everything, and we can also make people happy by featuring their YouTube videos, for example,” says Aspinall.
The New Telephone
Eric Schwartzman, coauthor of “Social Marketing to the Business Customer,” advises companies to think of social media as “a new telephone—more of a communications channel than a media format. But the communications that occur on social networks are automatically recorded, discoverable through search engines, and shareable.”
Social media can help parks maintain stronger relationships with their customers and inspire them to make return visits, says Schwartzman: “Used wisely, social media has an advantage over paid media, because with paid media credibility is an issue. On the other hand, there’s nothing as trusted as the recommendation of a good friend, which is precisely the type of endorsement that social media allows marketers to secure.
“Before you jump into the conversation, figure out where your customers are and what they’re talking about so that you can engage with them on their own turf,” he continues. “Don’t start a Facebook page and Twitter account simply to push out information. Listen for conversations that are under way and advance them constructively. Be helpful in full public view as you transform customer service into public relations.”
Paolo Viarengo, marketing manager at Gardaland in Verona, Italy, agrees parks should listen to and respond to their audiences, rather than talk at them: “Users love it when their feedback is taken into account,” he says. In 2008 the park established a social media presence on Flickr, Facebook (273,515+ fans), and YouTube (50 videos to date, three of which have more than 100,000 views). Last year it added a Twitter profile. According to Viarengo, while Gardaland’s “official website is visited by people who are already interested in visiting the park, visits to the social networks are often based on recommendations through friends.”
The park is developing distinct strategies for each of its social media channels. With Facebook, Viarengo recommends customizing the page with creative images, regularly uploading new photos and videos, and encouraging fans by posting original messages. For YouTube, his tips include creating short videos, using immersive music, optimizing tags, and inserting the park’s logo into videos (to show that they are official releases when used within external sites). Viarengo is also looking ahead: “As social media is evolving at a fast pace, and some things that are free today may not be free in the future, we are evaluating the opportunity to build our own community.”
Business Driver or Simply Guest Service?
Whether social media actually creates business “is an issue that we could debate for a long time,” says Viarengo. “Everything can be business. For example, we can use social media to save money—online surveys, free web platforms, etc.— and this is business. The direct effect on ticket sales, at least in Italy, is currently very limited.”
Ryan Dixon, brand manager for Thorpe Park in Surrey, UK, believes social media can generate business, “but in a less obvious, less trackable, and less commercial way,” than conventional methods. “You create new business by getting people bought into your brand. Give them good content; make them feel like they’re part of your community, and remind them how much fun they had at your park, so that they make that decision to come back again. It’s about getting them engaged in the brand, as opposed to just pushing them into buying a ticket.”
Dixon admits it is easier for attractions like Thorpe Park— which targets younger, ultra-connected consumers—to tap into the power of social media. “Social media works for us because our audience is geared up for being friends of friends, compared to the family market,” he says.
Thorpe Park’s priority is to provide compelling content. “We had a hugely successful live video stream last October of one of our ‘Fright Nights’ mazes, which was exclusive to Facebook,” says Dixon. “That’s what the audience is craving, and it’s one of the things that we’re going to do again, especially for big events.”
Dixon says Thorpe Park has seen limited redemption from Facebook and Twitter deals: “We’re not saying that we won’t do it again, but if we do want to push offers out, these platforms are not necessarily the best way to achieve that.” Future plans include revamping the park’s Facebook page with branding, and competitions that reflect its “insane fun” message. Thorpe Park’s free iPhone app will be continually updated. Dixon also wants to use Facebook Places for trial food and retail discounts for users who are in the park.
“We can start to influence where people go,” he says. “Do we need to move people to quieter restaurants? Or, as we know that we make better margins on certain food and beverage outlets, can we move people into those higher margin areas? Perhaps we can with Facebook Places, by creating offers that prompt people to visit those outlets.”
Social media sites like Facebook also provide a candid snapshot of what people think about parks. Thorpe Park had a taste of this after its annual passholder event: “We attracted 12,000 people, compared to 3,500 last year, and operationally we weren’t quite ready for that. There were a lot of queues on park, and passholders were pretty unhappy with us and turned to Facebook to complain. We apologized properly and, because of that, we had some really positive feedback from guests,” says Dixon.
Ultimately, successful communication through social media depends on genuine engagement and a “nonstop focus on how to make things better for people,” says Dixon. If guests feel valued, they are far more likely to walk through your gates.
Juliana Gilling is a specialist attractions journalist. E-mail: julianagilling@gmail.com.
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