Super Social Media: Parks and Recreation Social Media Campaigns That Soar to Success

http://sarahtpage.com

SUPER Social Media

Parks & Recreation Social Media Campaigns That Soar to Success!

Get these slides here: :

http://sarahtpage.com/TRAPSInstitute/


http://sarahtpage.com/TRAPSAnnualConf/

CASE STUDY #1

“Texas Critter Clash” 2013

WHY Opportunity to

communicate about all sorts of native Texas wildlife species

Capitalize on the popular “March Madness” basketball tournament fervor

HOW

Voting began March 18, 2013

TPWD posted photos of the animal opponents on Facebook

Fans simply “liked” their photo of choice to vote

The species with the most votes moved on to the next round

Used a bit.ly link to track clicks to Prezi bracket





RESULTS

Total reach of 582,514 unique people who saw the posts

The top “viral” Facebook post of the contest was the final showdown between the Bobcat and the Horned Lizard with a reach of 52,073 and 5.4% virality

The Prezi page with the bracket graphic got 3,294 views

CASE STUDY #2

#TagUrIt Contest

WHY Get people engaged

on social media and talking about Raleigh parks and recreation programs (Parks and Recreation month)

Launch new Instagram account

HOW

Upload your favorite parks

and recreation photo or video to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram

Tag the image with the #TagUrIt hashtag

Created video to help participants understand what to do

Judges select 4 winners

Prizes include a GoPro camera and gift cards to REI and Dick’s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G-DKT5vJVk&list=UU-B6SPEeJc7bavjL2Z75-Aw

Instagram Promotional Graphic






RESULTS

Campaign was a

success because they were able to get people engaged and talking about Raleigh parks on social media

LESSONS LEARNED

Facebook privacy settings prohibited them from seeing participant photos posted even with the #TagUrIt hashtag

Allowed people to email photo entries instead

CASE STUDY #3

#OutIsInNB Outdoor Challenge Photo Scavenger Hunt

WHY Celebrate National Parks and Recreation Month

Launch new Instagram account

Get people into the parks

HOW

Encouraged people to visit a list of 10 parks in 20 days

Post a photo to Instagram of themselves enjoying park amenities

Tag photos with #OutIsInNB hashtag

Those completing challenge had a photo published in the Recreation Guide and won New Braunfels swag

Contest ran July 1-20, 2014






RESULTS

8 families completed

the challenge

Contest generated 59 Instagram followers, 72 posts, and 218 new Facebook likes

CASE STUDY #4

“Park It Forward” Campaign

WHY

Celebrate National Parks and Recreation Month

Showcase the diversity of Kansas City Parks’ facilities, amenities, and programs

Increase website visits and social media numbers

HOW

Based on the “Pay It Forward” campaign

Developed a calendar showing a daily fun park outing

Posted each outing on social media

Sent out interns with prize packs to reward people for participating

Took a photo and posted it

HOW

The “Park It Forward” part was the prize pack plus tickets/passes to try something new in a KC park






RESULTS The campaign resulted

in significant increases on social media accounts:

Facebook +89%

Instagram +53%

Twitter +37%

Educated the public about the new website

Visits to the new website +75%

CASE STUDY #5

#RecRace Twitter Contest

WHY Increase Twitter

followers

Increase engagement

Encourage the public to visit parks they’ve never experienced

Have fun!

HOW

Contest ran from July 1 to August 26, 2014

Featured 1 park in each of the 9 wards (1 per week)

Tweeted clues about the park

Text, photos, and videos

Participants had to follow @ParksRecEvanston and #RecRace hashtag for clues

Parks staff awarded prizes to the first person who arrived at the correct park





RESULTS The contest was a

success

City of Evanston engaged the public on their social media channels

Twitter followers increased

LESSONS LEARNED

9 weeks was too long

Recommend 4-5 weeks

Weather rained out one of the clues/parks

CASE STUDY #6

#EvanstonBeach Instagram Contest

WHY

Increase Instagram followers

Increase engagement

Kick off beach season

Have fun!

HOW

Contest ran June 2-25, 2014

Participants must follow @CityofEvanston on Instagram

Take a fun beach photo

Tag the beach location

Use the #EvanstonBeach hashtag

Staff chose 4 weekly winners

Public chose overall winner by popular vote

Winners receive free kayak or SUP rentals






success

City of Evanston engaged the public on their social media channels

Instagram followers increased

CASE STUDY #7

S’Mores in the Outdoors Contest

WHY

Promote camping at Indiana state parks and reservoirs

Engage visitors in conversations about state parks properties

Promote iconic and little-known park features and resources

Celebrate National S’Mores Day

HOW

Two contests:

S’mores selfies and S’mores in the Outdoors

Contests ran during August 2014

Parks staff posted fun s’mores photos in the parks, and people guessed the location

During National S’Mores Day weekend, visitors posted “S’mores Selfies”

Winners chosen randomly

Winners receive free kayak






success

Impact measured by likes, comments, and shares

Facebook fans increased by 2000-3000 during the contest

CASE STUDY #8

Experience Columbus Year-round Instagram

WHY Showcase things to see

and do in the destination

Increase followers and engagement on @ExperienceColumbus account

Encourage use of common hashtags like #ExpCols and #CbusFoodScene

HOW Post original content when possible

Comment and like photos with Columbus hashtags

Repost exceptional photos that use Columbus hashtags


Try Photo Repost




RESULTS 95% of photos are

reposted images

During 2014:

Photos tagged with #expcols increased 191%

Followers increased 107%

Interactions increased 55%

Key Takeaways

Have goals

Make your contest easy to enter/participate in

Match the (social) media to the market

Measure and report

Don’t be afraid to have fun!

Follow Me

Linkedin.com/in/sarahpage

Facebook.com/SarahTPageConsulting

@pagetx

Sarah Page, Principal Sarah T. Page Consulting, LLC

http://sarahtpage.com [email protected]

512.914.8873

Instagram.com/stpconsulting

Pinterest.com/sarahtpage


http://sarahtpage.com/

mailto:[email protected]

Thank You! Questions?
