Social Media Strategies For SIX

[IndyGuy4KI]

I am going to lay this out a bit and hopefully @DonHelbigcan explain a few things for I simply don't understand. I'm no way it's this too be disrespectful to SIX PR. I am just asking questions to learn.

I was at the park Thursday through Saturday. During that time of me just relaxing and enjoying the park I was posting on the KIC socials.

I highlighted merch, promoted the outgoing magic show, mentioned Congo being back open (with over 113,000 views and still counting as of this post), made 5 posts about the Opening of BeachBlast.

All of this is just fun for me to do and I enjoy it. I looked at the Kings Island Facebook page and saw only one post about the Halloween haunt. I thought that was odd timing with it being a holiday weekend. 

I don't understand why the outgoing magic show and the opening of the BeachBlast show were not highlighted. It seems like that would have made a great social media post over the weekend. As much as it cost them to bring those two shows to the park, you would think they would want to get the highest ROI on them.

So my question would be, has PR and marketing changed in the industry, all industries? Am I wrong in thinking that a social media promotion and highlight of the outgoing and incoming show would be a benefit for the park, or is that not how PR works now? Is data showing it not benefit the parks to do such things any longer?

It seems they're relying 100% on fan sites and Facebook groups to do the promotion for them? I realize SIX is trying to save money and may not be the fault their PR staff themselves for I don't understand all they are doing. 

Any PR majors want to jump in here and help me understand? Obviously this is to spark conversations so everyone else give your thoughts as well. 

[DonHelbig]

57 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

I am going to lay this out a bit and hopefully @DonHelbigcan explain a few things for I simply don't understand. I'm no way it's this too be disrespectful to SIX PR. I am just asking questions to learn.

I was at the park Thursday through Saturday. During that time of me just relaxing and enjoying the park I was posting on the KIC socials.

I highlighted merch, promoted the outgoing magic show, mentioned Congo being back open (with over 113,000 views and still counting as of this post), made 5 posts about the Opening of BeachBlast.

All of this is just fun for me to do and I enjoy it. I looked at the Kings Island Facebook page and saw only one post about the Halloween Haunt. I thought that was odd timing with it being a holiday weekend. 

I don't understand why the outgoing magic show and the opening of the BeachBlast show were not highlighted. It seems like that would have made a great social media post over the weekend. As much as it cost them to bring those two shows to the park, you would think they would want to get the highest ROI on them.

So my question would be, has PR and marketing changed in the industry, all industries? Am I wrong in thinking that a social media promotion and highlight of the outgoing and incoming show would be a benefit for the park, or is that not how PR works now? Is data showing it not benefit the parks to do such things any longer?

It seems they're relying 100% on fan sites and Facebook groups to do the promotion for them? I realize SIX is trying to save money and may not be the fault their PR staff themselves for I don't understand all they are doing. 

Any PR majors want to jump in here and help me understand? Obviously this is to spark conversations so everyone else give your thoughts as well. 

What’s changed is having people that know the difference between storytelling and messaging in the PR and social positions at KI and within Six Flags. You can tell the people doing it now don’t really know the park or their audience with the content that gets published. 

Disney Parks and Universal still do it as they’ve done it for years. They create emotional content, not marketing content. Disney and Universal routinely post content that makes people feel something: Family moments. Character interactions. Guest reactions. Behind-the-scenes stories. Cast/Team Member spotlights. Nostalgia. Vacation memories.

Kings Island and many Six Flags parks often default to “The park opens at 10.” “Buy tickets now.” “Here’s a ride photo.” “Food item available this weekend.”

When I was running social media, people knew there was a person behind the account. The Beast Groundhog Day tradition is a perfect example. It wasn’t an advertisement. It was a personality-driven tradition. Today Kings Island and many other Six Flags accounts feel corporate and interchangeable.

Disney and Universal make fans the stars. Look at Disney and Universal feeds: Guest photos. Fan videos. Influencer content. User-generated content. Vacation stories

Disney even has dedicated influencer and creator programs built around sharing guest experiences. Kings Island and Six Flags needs that. 

Kings Island and other Six Flags parks now operate as if every piece of content has to come from the marketing department.

The smartest social strategy today is letting fans tell your story for you. They are part of the conversation. Universal is particularly good at this. When something is trending, they join in. When fans joke, they joke back. When someone posts something funny, they engage. They feel like a participant in the community.

Kings Island and other Six Flags accounts feel like a digital billboard.

Disney and Universal are masters of teasers, construction updates, countown content, behind-the-scenes reveals, and sneak peeks. Kings Island used to be. 

Epic Universe is the perfect example. Fans were invested years before opening because Universal constantly fed the conversation.

Kings Island and Six Flags parks often go from announcement, construction photo, opening day. There’s no story arc anymore like there used to be. (Scroll back to Banshee and Mystic Timbers teasers, announcement, construction updates, ride opening, and post-opening content.)

The biggest difference is Disney and Universal tell those stories constantly. Kings Island and Six Flags often tell people what they can buy, what time the park opens, and what ride is operating. One builds a community; the other shares information. 

Bottom line: PR and social media in the industry hasn’t changed. Kings Island changed from what they had successfully been doing, which was taking a page from Disney and Universal.

 

 

 

 

 

[IndyGuy4KI]

What about the shows that got nothing over this past weekend? Am I wrong that would have brought more bodies through the turnstiles to see them and spend money?

[DonHelbig]

9 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

What about the shows that got nothing over this past weekend? Am I wrong that would have brought more bodies through the turnstiles to see them and spend money?

You’re not wrong. They should have published content about the shows. And they should have posted wishing dads a Happy Father’s Day. They could have asked to share photos of guests with their dad at the park. 

[TheCrypt]

I personally wish the park meaningfully engaged with its audience way more. The promo for Phantom Theater has been so stale that I feel like having a brand new ride hasn't even made waves within the park. Given that that ride hasn't changed the landscape of the park, they should be way louder and way more creative about its presence so more guests ride it and are excited for it.

I fear the depths of this issue go so deep. Has anyone seen the sign by the highway? It cycles through the same ~3 images all day, and some of the images have been the same for years. It's almost like they go out of their way not to make an effort with any community engagement.