This past Thursday, Facebook released a report outlining how concert-goers are using social platforms (particularly ones owned by Facebook) to find concerts, plan trips around concerts, socialize afterwards and more. Of course, they used this report as a means to suggest how marketers can use Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to promote their events. While of course there's an agenda here, the stats are pretty interesting and useful! Even better? They've broken the report down geographically so we can take some time to summarize and deconstruct what it all means for Canada. According to the folk's at Zuckerberg's lair (I kid), ticket sales will be up over 25 billion by the time 2023 rolls around. That's a 14% increase from this past year, so it's definitely worth looking at.
Before the Concert
Right off the hop, Facebook notes that 77% of Canadian concert goers discover concerts online and of those people, 41% of them discover those concerts on Facebook-owned platforms followed by ticketing sites (27%) and e-mail (26%). Let's note that none of those stats are anything to balk at. For concert promoters, labels and bands to run successful tours in 2020, a three-prong platform should definitely be considered.
Perhaps more important is the stat that the number one reason for people missing a concert was that they heard about it too late. That didn't always mean after the show, although in many cases it did. Often, people learned about concerts after tickets had gone on sale, good seats sold and then were at a point where re-sellers had jacked up the price. Sigh. Another fairly common scenario seen in the survey was people hearing about the show one month in advance and then not again, allowing them to totally forget if they were not reminded again before the show.
What we can learn in my opinion: Keeping people amped up about an upcoming concert in every step through out the purchasing process is paramount. In this day and age, people are constantly bombarded by advertisements and other content that moves things out of their feeds at a quick pace. If concert tickets are to sell well, people need to be updated and reminded regularly. This will be especially important for small to mid-size band.
Even more important in my opinion? Keeping tickets out of the hands of bots and scalpers and speaking up against ticket sites who are acting as their own verified scalpers (I'm looking at you Ticketmaster).
During and After the Concert
Any music-loving concert goer has been annoyed by somebody filming a show and keeping their phone right in front of their face for minutes on end, right? I know I have. Facebook cites that 38% of concert goers post photos and videos on Facebook and more than 1/3 of concert goers watch videos of live shows on their Instagram stories.
What we can learn in my opinion: First let me just say this sort of concerns me. We should be enjoying shows in real time, not through our phone screens. That being said, I always snap a couple photos so who am I to judge? I think (and sort of hope) this means more concerts taking measures like Yondr pouches to make sure people just experience the concert. That being said, an artist simply asking that people put their phones away can have a profound effect.
For bands, I think this drives home the importance of a really good social strategy. Fan platforms and artist social platforms are crawling with fans watching live videos and searching for photos in the hours and days after a concert. It's a great way to stay front of mind with fans and make sure they come to see you next time they're in town. The more the band can take control of their own platforms, the more authentic and loved the content will be (unless the band is made up of a bunch of assholes, of course).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Facebook definitely wants marketers to continue using their platforms for promotion. Duh! That being said, these stats offer some great insights into consumer behaviour and a desire for social experiences.
Peace, love & history.
P.S. I did want to mention one really cool stat shared in the report! Facebook says that 98% of people attend concerts with others and of those, 53% would attend a concert they don't normally so that they can hang out with people. Furthermore, concerts are used as a way to connect with friends we haven't seen in a long time. In fact in the age range of 25-44, 1/5 people go to concerts with people they haven't hung out with in a long time. I can't really say what this means other than to say, isn't it amazing how music can be used as a tool to reconnect with people?