Support for American Music Festivals is increasingly on the rise, and thanks to social media, these festivals are able to harness their audience like never before. There are many ways in which festivals are able to interact with their followers online. Here is an overview of what the top American festivals are doing on Facebook to engage fans, promote their events and ultimately, increase attendance.
Bonnaroo
Content is always king in the online world. So much great content is produced at festivals, and a key way to keep fans involved (after they recover from their post-festival hangover of course) is to bring them back to watch all of the action that they may not have been sober enough to enjoy.
Bonnaroo can captivate an online audience for hours and hours of continued enjoyment with over 100 post-festival clips posted online. The reaction is clear… the incredible number of likes and comments speak for themselves. They also know exactly how to appeal to the culture of their crowd, as exemplified in their beard and mustache contest.
Newport Folk Festival
George Wein’s Folk Festival has been a staple in American music for over 50 years. While their Facebook audience is smaller in comparison to their counterparts, they are successfully interacting with their fans in a number of ways.
The inclusion of sponsors is key, especially if it’s creating awareness for a green initiative that calls for fan participation.
The Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge is a great way to get fans involved in an opportunity while displaying the vibe and ethics of the festival.
Van’s Warped Tour
When dealing with a crowd that is used to getting continuous freebies, finding ways to interject added value is a must. The Warped Tour does a great job of running contests and giveaways in each market leading up to the event.
With so many assets under their belt, they also do a great job of reminding fans of all the different ways they can stay involved, and the rewards they will get for doing so.
SXSW
South by Southwest sets itself apart as a festival by dedicating half of its time to panels and discussions. Naturally, they keep the discussions going online by posing questions and prompting followers to join the discussion.
Seeing as SXSW is tapped into many industry pros and veterans, they also make sure to continuously feed the advice to their community well beyond the season of the festival.
Coachella
A festival’s Facebook page is also a very useful forum for getting fan feedback. Coachella does a good job of stepping to the side and letting fans really blurt out what they expect from the festival.
Constantly improving a festival’s experience, especially in the eyes of the beholders (i.e: attendees) is necessary to keep people coming back for more.
Well there you have it…
The successful use of social media by festivals is crucial towards maintaining and nurturing an audience year over year, and keeping people informed about the event’s happenings. Since each festival’s ‘season’ happens but once a year, it is important that they utilize their online assets to keep their followers engaged. A lot can happen in those off-seasons, and to keep people chatting about your festival a half a year away is a surefire way to turn loyalty into ticket sales.
What would you like to see more from your favorite music festivals?
Tags: Bonnaroo, Coachella, Facebook, music, Newport Folk Festival, SXSW, Warped Tour
