DonHelbig

My primary role the last few years I was at Kings Island was managing all of the park’s social media channels, which included organic and paid content, writing and publishing blogs, and optimizing the key performance indicators. The park annually had industry-leading results the years I managed the digital content efforts. I made it a priority to try to at least “like” every comment so the person making the comment knew it was seen, but due time restraints I wasn’t able to always reply back with comments. I would have liked to have been a lot better in this area, but was still able to accrue industry-leading results for engagement. A lot of that high engagement was derived through storytelling. That’s what I enjoyed the most, both when I did PR and then social media, telling the park’s stories. I was hired in 2007 to do the PR for the park, and then took on social media as that was emerging in 2008 around the time construction on Diamondback began to take shape. By 2015, it had become two distinctive different jobs. In the summer of 2017, there was a marketing restructure and at the bigger parks in the chain, PR and social media (digital marketing) were split into two different jobs. I landed on the digital side, which allowed for me to expand my skill set. It was a great opportunity, which came at a time when traditional PR was changing and the printing press was no longer news outlets, but rather Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs to share your news and stories, because that’s where the people you were trying to market to were. When I did PR, I was always looking to make noise to keep top of mind awareness for the park. During my years riding The Racer in the 1980’s, I was fortunate to be around and learn from three of the best to ever do it (PR) in the amusement and theme park industry in Bill Mefford, Ruth Voss and Carolyn Boos. They were the three most influential people in my career and the reason I was able to have a successful 27-year PR career, including 11 seasons doing PR at Kings Island. Way too much information, but this is what my role was during my years at Kings Island.

Story I published on my Theme Parks By Don blog about WinterFest. I think it captures the spirit of the thing. https://themeparksbydon.com/kings-islands-winterfest-promises-joy-festive-fun-for-all-ages/

Thrill-seekers across North America are getting ready for an adrenaline-packed update. Cedar Point and Zamperla Rides are set to unveil the much-anticipated Top Thrill 2 roller coaster train at this year's IAAPA Expo in Orlando on Nov. 14. http://sanduskyregister.com/go/452f8302c0b3d

Hmmm…trying to remember where I’ve seen that phrase before.

It's a common misconception that nobody is on X anymore, but the numbers tell a different story. With approximately 556 million active monthly users and an impressive 6.4 billion monthly visits as of this fall, X is still very much alive.

Word of mouth has been, is now, and will always be part of the fabric of a brands reputation.

Great questions! Submit them on the Tower Topics X in the pinned post asking for listener questions. You can combine them into one question.

Perceived for the record, as continuing to do The Attractions Group Podcast and beginning a second one with Tower Topics this summer would attest. @BoddaH1994 and I have fun doing the podcasts. We have pinned to the top of the X channels for each podcast a post for listener questions if you or anyone else has anything about the industry, Kings Island, Buc-ee's.

You can definitely put a tangible number on it by looking at the metrics for engagement, web traffic and conversion value for every social media post, every blog published, and e-mail newsletter article and ad. OTD posts and repeating them annually have value for parks and sports teams, when they’re done right.

I didn't say you said it needed to be a Tower Topics podcast; just said it could be addressed someday. With OTD yearly reminders, a lot of people that see that kind of content are seeing it for the very first time. Give it your usual LOL if you want, but that OTD content connects with audiences every year. So says the analytics, not me.

Perhaps one day your curiosity will be a topic on a future episode of Tower Topics. With blogs, from 2017 to 2022, more than 1,000 stories were published on the KI Blog, including 245 in 2019. Why the significant decrease in frequency? Time restraints? Corporate restraints? Laziness? Out of content ideas? Certainly, this being a topic for a Tower Topics episode would address a lot of the questions that you and some others have on this forum, but I believe the podcast audience would rather hear about the latest news, events, park history with their time.

Soak City Water Park - Hurricane Harbor

I think so. I went to Great Escape several times when I lived in Albany, NY in 2006-2007. Enjoyed it.

Looking forward to having you back on in a few weeks to talk WinterFest and get your thoughts on the Six Flags and Cedar Point merger.

The future is next week on The Attractions Group Podcast.

FUN FACT: The idea for The Attractions Group Podcast Pick Six segment was born while watching Pardon the Interruption, a sports talk show that airs weekdays on ESPN.

A lot of possibilities. I wouldn't mind seeing the kids' area being revamped to Looney Tunes and Action Zone rethemed to DC. Opens up a whole new line of merchandise opportunities.

Yes! I will send one to you.

On a recent podcast episode of Tower Topics, @boddah1994 and I talk about the value of the Prestige Pass. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tower-topics/id1698426928?i=1000633063943

I have one of the parking signs. Huckleberry Hound.

I thought being located by the train depot and Millennium Force made for a nice setting for the Prestige Pass VIP area at Cedar Point. I enjoyed it, thought it was a nice set up. And it had really good, ice cold tap water, plenty of snacks, cords to recharge my phone.

@BoddaH1994 and I will be talking about the Prestige Pass in an upcoming episode of Tower Topics, which is a podcast about Kings Island.

Both are good parks that don't get talked about enough. Dorney Park will be debuting Iron Menace, which is one of the most anticipated new rides for 2024, and that for me would give it the edge if I had to choose one park or the other to visit next year. If you're going to drive nine hours, the drive is more interesting on the way to Dorney Park than Worlds of Fun. Plus, while you're in the area there is Six Flags Great Adventure, Hersheypark, and not too far away, Knoebel's Amusement Resort. I always try to plan my visits to Worlds of Fun when the Kansas City Royals are in town to give me something additional to do. Tickets are among the most affordable in Major League baseball.

On an upcoming episode of Tower Topics, a question was asked by a podcast listener about the possible return of Phantom Theater. If you have a Kings Island question, submit it here and it could be featured on an upcoming episode of Tower Topics.

Nice job!