The annual Seafair festival is synonymous with summer in Seattle. From the end of June through the first weekend in August, the city is abuzz with sporting events, parades and festivals which celebrate the diverse neighborhoods and ethnic communities across greater Seattle.
Seafair is in my blood. I grew up going to the neighborhood parades and events and I still get a rush when I hear the jets fly through the sky during the annual airshow. Later, after a college internship with Seafair, I was hired on as a full-time employee and enjoyed five fun-filled years as part of the small group of year-round staff. Now, after living a number of years away from Seattle, I’m honored to serve on the board of the Seafair Foundation which oversees the festival’s scholarship programs and community events.
As a 64-year-old civic institution, Seafair is steeped in tradition, but it is also a great example of a seemingly “old school” organization that has embraced social media. I recall being one of the first hundred or so people to like Seafair on Facebook and now they’ve grown to a community of 30,000-plus friends. In addition to their main Facebook page, Seafair also maintains a Facebook page for its sports events, as well as individual pages for the Seafair Torchlight Run and the Seafair Triathlon. Seafair also has an active presence on Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, Tagboard and YouTube.
Seafair did not grow to more than 30,000 Facebook friends overnight; they got there by maintaining their commitment to social media. Here are a few social media best practices that I’ve observed that Seafair does well:
- Share engaging content. A picture is worth a thousand words and almost every Seafair update includes a photo, video or other visual. Who doesn’t love a picture of smiling children?
- Provide timely and relevant information. The dynamic and instantaneous nature of social media often makes it the first place people turn to for the most up-to-date information. Seafair leverages this well to communicate everything from event updates and promotions to information about road and bridge closures.
- Be consistent. In the weeks preceding the festival and at its height, you can count on Seafair to post multiple updates each day. But, even during the off-season, Seafair is good about posting once or twice a week. The cadence at which they share updates is also such that it doesn’t overwhelm your newsfeed.
- Share the love. While the majority of updates are Seafair-related, the organization is also good about sharing relevant content from others.
Social media has also been a great vehicle for recognizing the involvement of the corporate sponsors who support the festival. That’s a great sponsor benefit.
Seafair culminates this weekend with the unlimited hydroplane races and Boeing Air Show on Lake Washington. Will you be there?