Social Media - why though?
Social Media is the opportunity for individuals, organisations and everyone else to share content with other people through the Internet. It has never been more popular or easier to create user-generated content.
Whether it is an idea, a photo, a personal thought or a business concept, Social Media allows us to interact worldwide with other people by sharing everything we've got.
It can be on the professional side, like LinkedIn or blogs, to expand our reach, create connections and build dialogues, or we use it for our own personal interest in sharing our everyday life with friends, family and strangers.
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, Blogging, Vlogging. The opportunities are endless!
At this point, I'd like to hint you to my Social Media accounts. Links are all around the blog.
See, why did I just do that?
Because of followers. I am not blogging and posting my pictures, thoughts and ideas for nobody to see it.
We all want people to see (and like) what we are posting. That's the challenge: Hunting for likes and followers without liking and following much yourself.
There are lots of bloggers and YouTubers giving us average kids advice on "How to get more Followers".
It's always the same:
Like, post and comment other people
Shoutouts
Hashtags and Location tagging
Stepping up your filter/caption game
Consistency
Patience
And if you are obsessing and not getting anywhere like the rest of us you can always buy followers and likes, but seriously, I am not willing to go that far.
So, what role does Social Media play regarding Festivals?
As I have explained in other posts like the Holi Festival and Chiemsee Summer, Social Media is the most powerful tool for organisers to get their festivals to their visitors. Of course people are attracted by the music and artists, but influencers are what gets people there.
It's the cool kid in school, the one with the best music taste in your clique, the adventurer and explorer. It's the happy people around you that always try to get a whole group going. And how do they know? From their other friends who are even cooler (if that's even possible). The ones that saw it first on Social Media. We call them Hipsters. We trust their taste in music and instinct to know how to have a good time; that's what we're looking for in a festival.
Once a hashtag (#) is created, a post can spread around the world. We use hashtags to share, see, be seen and get inspiration and a feeling for what's about to come. Hashtags are the game changer of Social Media and made our research much easier. We use them as "Zero Moments of Truth" when we gather valid information about a product or service before purchasing. Adapting this theory to the festival industry, Social Media is a powerful influence and can determine our purchasing decision.
Instagram Hashtag Ranking:
#Coachella 2,4 million posts
#Tomorrowland 2,2 million posts
#Holifestival 200k posts
#Chiemseesummer 10k posts
