Adding complexity to this discussion are a couple of other observations:
1. Last month a quarter of visitors to our Carter Observatory website came via a mobile device ie. a smartphone or a tablet. We gotta be in it or we'll miss out!
2. Observing the changing of the media mix with the intervention of social media at events such as the recent Boston bombing where mainstream media picked the story up via twitter rather than the more traditional routes of well written media releases sent to media outlets. News is now instant - good AND bad!
What I have noticed for us, as a smaller visitor attraction is that social media helps us in a couple of significant but not necessarily obvious ways:
1. It amplifies our word of mouth
Again, this can be both positive and negative. We have mainly had positive feedback but I am quick to respond, very publicly to anyone who has a negative comment, it shows we're involved in the discussion. Like it or not, you can bet your bottom dollar that you're being talked about so best to be part of the conversation rather than fall victim to it!
So if you consider that word of mouth is any businesses best advertising tool, then if you overlay that with online comments made on platforms such as Facebook, Trip Advisor, Rankers (NZ), Google Places; and then you multiply this by the expanded number of eyeballs looking at these listings - well you get the message.
Earned media is much harder to get but it doesn't have to cost you as much money. It doesn't negate other channels, but it certainly enhances them!
MARKETING
| |
Paid
|
Advertising on TV
Advertising on radio
Magazine advertising
Newspaper advertising
Billboards
|
Owned
|
Website
Advertising
Retail Store
|
Earned
|
Public Relations
Word of Mouth
|
* Social Media allows you to take advantage
of word of mouth
| |
2. It expands our vision into an online community
Carter Observatory's vision is: that Carter Observatory will use the science, heritage and culture of the Southern Skies to excite, engage and inspire.
Our vision statement brilliantly describes what we're about. It gives us direction and a filter by which we make decisions in our business around creative, tone of voice, programming, etc. It gives us a personality and a focus in our marketing communications.
To me, all that Carter is online reflects this in our tone, the content we share and the programmes we put together. It expands our brand by engaging with an online community that serve as our ambassadors - this despite the fact that many (if not most) have never visited us!
I love seeing the pictures folks put up of photos they've taken of the skies above us, the questions they ask, and the online community that answer many of them. It has life outside of us sometimes - but we facilitate it. That's got to be good in our quest to make space accessible to all.
3. It drives media attention to us
Our Facebook page currently has over 3,600 likes. We're earned these over the past few years but the very interesting thing to me is that we gained 1,000 of these in a 24 hour period! Here's how:
We linked to an international story about the Sun releasing a solar flare. These are critical in the phenomena known as Aurora Australis - the Southern Lights. A curious newspaper journalist then called and interviewed one of our astronomers and the resultant article linked to our Facebook page as the place to go for information.
Well three of us worked that page all day - people from all over the country wanted to know if they'd be able to see it and what it was all about. This story tapped into our natural curiosity as human beings and also reflected the interest there is out there to see this amazing sight - it is a bucket list item for many.
Following this, we have had many, many occasions where we are contacted by the media following our Facebook posts. For one local photographer who uploaded a time lapse video of the Moon over Mt Victoria - it went viral and was picked up by CBS in Los Angeles and was the Astronomy Picture of the Day - internationally!
They all relate to space (such a wonderful subject matter) or navigation or Maori cosmology or local Wellington history - all these topics connect to Carter. This media attention has certainly helped build our profile locally and nationally.
These examples demonstrate to me the advantages of social media.
I haven't spoken of the various social media channels, except that we do work with a few and often. Facebook would be our primary social media tool at this stage though.
I know there is much discussion on the ROI, particularly for those investing large sums of money. We're the opposite, we don't have large sums of money, nor do we pay others to do the work for us so we use it to maximum advantage within the limitations of our skills and experience.
And while those returns are often intangible, if you can build your reputation using these tools, surely it's worth embracing!
See you online :)
