Squirrel!
Is Your Social Media Content Grabbing Attention?
Like most of us, I’m really busy every day. But a few times a week, I “catch up” on my Newsfeed and favorite social channels to make sure that I haven’t missed anything “important” (like a picture of the largest litter of sheepdogs in the world). I scroll through at a pretty brisk pace, only stopping when something … “squirrel” … grabs my attention and I need to read it through. Sound familiar?
Are your social media posts compelling enough to grab someone’s attention, make them stop, and move them to engage? Here are a few tips to improve your “squirrel factor”:
1. Images Gain Engagement – Intriguing photos and video are extremely important for grabbing attention. Whenever possible, substitute the image of your promotion poster with one that’s funny, fun and relevant with an attention-grabbing headline. Get a subscription to a stock image service, and use it! Be creative with images and videos that are relatable to the event or subject you are posting about.
2. Get Personal – Winners’ photos receive good engagement, so post them regularly. It reinforces that your casino has lots of winners, and players like to see where people are winning.
3. Be Authentic – Behind-the-scenes (#BTS) posts are great opportunities for funny or interest-grabbing photos or video: that mountain of shrimp being prepped for the seafood buffet, backstage antics at the sound check for tonight’s show, or time-lapse video of the bingo room being turned over for a VIP dinner.
4. Ask Questions – People like to participate and engage. Have a vote for the next big prize for your promotion. Post a photo of your Marketing Director hugging a pickup truck with why you should vote for it. The GM could then be photographed “buried” in cash for the next post. (If you have a good relationship with your regulatory body, come up with some “stacks of cash” photo ideas that they would approve).
Getting butts in seats starts with getting your message out, and social is an important part of your marketing plan-of-attack. Grab their attention and you’ll get them to read the message … be the “squirrel.” Not only does the “squirrel” make you stop and look, but if it’s interesting or appealing enough, it will be liked, shared and talked about.
Here are some final tips for your social success:
- Consistent posting – set a schedule and plan your posts in advance. Allow time to find or create those compelling images.
- Avoid straight-ahead advertising 100% of the time. Provide content of interest and you’ll strengthen engagement.
- Lastly, format posts per platform. Facebook allows you to push posts through to Twitter, but what appears on Twitter is a partial post and a link to the original Facebook post – no images, no hashtags. It takes a little more time to format and post to multiple platforms, but it’s worth it, and there are 3rd party scheduling apps that can make it easier and more time efficient.
Good luck, and most of all – have fun with it!
