Orlando City Soccer Club Hosts Social Media Scavenger Hunt

It’s important to engage fans in creative ways and thank them for their support. This can be done through engagement, personalized content, contests and so much more. Last week Orlando City SC hosted a social media scavenger hunt that’s a great example of engaging fans in a creative fashion. For the contest, the social media team hid three pairs of tickets around the city and offered up clues on social media to find them. The team used a different social media platform- – Twitter, Instagram and Periscope– to unveil each location where the tickets were located. Here’s a breakdown of how it worked on each platform:

Periscope.
For Periscope, the social media team had a code word they unveiled on Periscope during the live stream. Fans had to find the social media team at their location in Downtown Orlando (based on what they were seeing in the live stream) and give the code word. The cool thing about the Periscope activation was that it captured the fan’s reaction, which is absolutely priceless. See how it all unfolded on Periscope here (and not all the hearts from fans):

Twitter.
For Twitter, the team decided on a location and tweeted out clues. They had three clues in total, and by the first clue, someone had found the tickets.

3 hints is all you'll get. 25 minutes until the first one drops. Who will find the tickets? #PurpleFriday pic.twitter.com/VMgGpnFXay

— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) June 19, 2015

Clue 1: Find the four ladies. Where it’s always raining.

— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) June 19, 2015

Congratulations to @mkedwrds for finding the first set of tickets inside the Thornton park fountain! pic.twitter.com/QycYPplvVJ

— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) June 19, 2015

Instagram.
For Instagram, the team did a nine-panel post (3×3) picture on Instagram unveiling the location of the tickets. The picture was a recently completed mural of a Lion. A new photo was uploaded every minute with a small clue.

 

 

 

Contests like this are a fun way to bridge the gap between the online and offline worlds, foster deeper relationships with fans in the city and say thank you. And, thanking fans through giveaways can go a long way. This fun social media scavenger hunt from Orlando City SC proves it (just watch the Periscope video again).

If you want to host a social media scavenger hunt or a similar contest, here are a few lessons from Orland City SC’s awesome execution:

Keep it simple.
As with any activation or social media campaign, it’s important to keep it simple. If the contest can’t be described in a sentence or two, then the point of entry is probably too complicated. Keep it simple.

Over-communicate.
The Orlando City SC did a great job of communicating throughout the contest. Their social media team articulated the timeline of the contest across platforms and kept fans up-to-date on the winners and progress. This communication is so important. It helps reduce any confusion and frustration for fans.

Play to each platform’s strength.
Orlando City SC was smart to leverage different platforms because it helped them reach a wider audience. And not only that, but they played to each platform’s strengths. It’s important to use each social media network as authentically as possible. What are the platform’s strengths? How do users use it? What makes the platform unique? Let the answers to these questions guide the execution.

If you are looking for a way to thank fans, consider hosting a fun social media contest, just like the Orlando City SC did. If you remember to keep the idea simple, over-communicate the information and play to each platform’s strengths then the initiative will be a great success!

 

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A big thank you to the social media team at Orlando City SC for their insight into how they handled the contest. Give the social/digital talented crew a follow: Stuart Drew (social media coordinator) at @studrew1 and Ed Cahill (director of digital) @EdCahill.

Thanks for reading!

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