3 best practices when using social media at your pool

3 best practices when using social media at your pool

The marketing opportunities of social media are endless and here to stay. Taking advantage of these opportunities may mean that pool management might have more responsibilities on their hands, but it doesn’t have to be difficult or tedious.

Figuring out different platforms
Unless you’re incredibly savvy with social media, you might not be familiar with all the platforms. Before you open an account for your facility, consider activating a personal one and exploring the features first. After all, you don’t want to make your pool’s page public and have nothing posted for a long time as you figure things out.

If you’re feeling daunted by this seemingly monumental task, don’t worry. Here are three tips to get you started.

1. Take baby steps: It’ll be tempting to join the most popular social media pages from the get-go, but there are risks associated with this, especially if there’s one that you’re unfamiliar with. Start slow and fully master one site before moving on to another one. There’s a learning curve with every medium, and taking the time to figure them out will pay off in the long run. Additionally, you won’t stretch yourself thin.

2. Don’t just advertise: All too often, companies turn social media pages into advertisement spaces, pointed out Pool & Spa News. This takes the social aspect out of the equation, which is detrimental to your intentions. Swimmers and prospective visitors are interested in discussions and engagement, so don’t flood them with ads. PSN suggested an 80/20 rule when it comes to company-based social media pages. Eighty percent of posts should look to encourage conversations between visitors to your page and 20 percent should be marketing.

3. Use more than words: People respond better and faster to visuals than reading material. So when you do advertise a new feature at your pool or want to draw attention to a new event, consider posting a photo instead of just writing about it, especially if it’s something new and exciting. This will ensure that you capture readers’ attention right away.

Think of social media as an opportunity to really get to know your audience. People may be more comfortable discussing the features they’d like to see at your pool on these pages instead of on your actual website or in person, so stir up good conversations!