Adventure parks and zip line canopy tours are, by nature, visually compelling in both the activities they offer and the settings they occupy. Thanks to this, user generated content on social media is quite stunning. Images and videos of people zipping down a mountainside, hanging 30 feet above the ground, or hovering above water all speak to the energy and excitement of the experience, and ultimately the reason why people come to our facilities. If this content is identified and shared regularly, it can also create bountiful interest, drawing people to our courses.
Staff members are often times not allowed to use the devices needed to participate in social media while on the job. The goal, then, is to have guides encourage the attendees to post, share, like, etc., content they gather during their thrilling experience.
At the very beginning of the day, part of your staff’s routine should be to encourage guests to take pictures, videos, and actively gather content to share on social media. The key here is for the staff to promote a specific, consistent hashtag (#) for guests to use when they post content from their visit. Make sure each staff member is aware of this hashtag and knows the proper spelling. This makes it easy for you to locate this content on social media at a later time, and then repurpose it through shares, likes, retweets, etc.
You may go as far as putting up posters of a cool image from your park accompanied by what looks like a social media post that includes your hashtag. This is a great way to promote your hashtag and remind guests to use it when they post their own content.
When given a hashtag, it’s possible that participants not only use it for their own posts, but will also search for that hashtag and share other people’s posts, thus increasing your park’s social media presence.
Repurposing existing user generated content can easily be assigned to staff members. At the beginning or end of each day, they can search for the hashtag and share some of the best photos or video through your facility’s social media channels. You can also encourage your staff to like those posts and share again using their own profiles (if appropriate to your facility’s social media policies and procedures). The more the post is shared, the more exposure your park gets.
This applies to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. On Facebook, staff can like and share the posts from the park’s page, retweet guest’s posts on Twitter, and use 3rd party apps to “regram” images on Instagram.
As a trainer I have witnessed a myriad of phenomenal poses, moments, and situations that would make for memorable content. All it takes is a handful of social individuals, educated staff, and constant follow-up to promote your social media presence. It will build with each guest and group that visits your tour.
