Can you remember the world before social media? It’s strange to think that such an existence was actually a reality not that long ago.
Gradual as it may have seemed, social media has infiltrated our lives in many unimaginable ways, tearing up the rulebook on human interaction in its course. Leisure has particularly benefited from this, most notably as a highly competitive industry with an often loyal fan base and plenty of exciting topics to talk about.
Connecting with your members
Award-winning branding consultant, Simon Mainwaring once said ‘social media is not about the exploitation of technology but service to the community.’ This is pretty on the money for the leisure industry whose main focus is, of course, the local community.
Whilst at Bigwave we might disagree with Mainwaring about the exploitation of technology (we simply can’t get enough of it, and encourage you to appeal to as many mediums as possible), we’re certainly on board with his thinking.
Social media gives rise to a host of benefits so vast there simply isn’t the space to cover them in this short bite. Perhaps some of the most important of these is the ability to sustainably harness the power of the crowd.
With leisure growing at such an exponential rate, grasping on to your members and keeping them has never been more important. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn – they all provide the tools necessary to maintain a continuous conversation with your audience.
Making social work for you
Nevertheless, this conversation can be rendered useless if a return isn’t seen. Throughout our workshops, we heavily hone in on Google’s zero moment of truth philosophy (ZMOT). ZMOT is important because it highlights the way in which the internet has completely changed the once, almost linear, journey customers take before making a purchase.
Rather than going direct to a service or supplier as was once the case, people will utilise numerous research points to reach a verdict. Social media provides multiple channels allowing people to do this. From reviews to paid advertisement, social media is a lynchpin in the ZMOT.
This is actually a positive thing for leisure facilities, which largely rely on offers, competitions and rewards to increase their membership levels. Your social strategy will take you a great deal further in ensuring this. It will also take you a great deal further in building your overall brand awareness online.
If your organisation could use some social media TLC, then why not get started with our one-day ‘social media training for the sport and activity sector’ workshop?
This will cover a wide range of areas critical to the successful delivery of social media for a successful sport and activity service, from a review of current trends to advanced metrics providing a deeper insight into the effectiveness of your social strategy. Your employees can earn up to 5 CIMSPA CPD points by partaking.
Get in touch now to find out more.