Social media usage continues to rise meteorically year upon year. In 2021, it was estimated that over 4.26 billion people across the globe were on social media. This figure is predicted to be over six billion in 2027.
Whatever your business is – be it a restaurant, a clothing outlet or a casino – with these numbers of people (who are a dedicated audience) you have to be on the social media platform where your target audience is.
Before we look at what the role of social media is in promoting casinos, let’s take a deep dive into each of the networks so that you can see which one a casino should be on.
As the largest social media network, Facebook has 1.85 billion active daily users. This figure rises 16% year upon year. Their users are relatively evenly split between men and women. The majority are older Millennials.
With its massive audience, you have the opportunity to put together a wide variety of campaigns. Facebook Ads offers very specific targeting and it’s quite easy to use.
Both B2B and B2C (the latter category being the one that casinos fall into) should be on Facebook as it is a great opportunity for brand exposure.
Instagram is a visual platform that allows users to post pictures as well as videos. However, if you do decide to use this platform make sure that you only use your best footage. This is because unless it captures the attention of Instagrammers they will just scroll on by and not pay any attention to your message that you want to put out.
In terms of demographics, Instagram’s are very similar to Facebook’s. Instagram is very popular with Millennials as well as Gen Z. Keep in mind that Millennials’ purchasing power is $65 billion while that of Gen Z is $100 billion. So if you want your casino to be profitable, Instagram is a great platform to be on.
TikTok
TikTok is a video-sharing platform on which people can share short video snippets. This network is widely used for entertainment, infotainment and comedy. The largest group of TikTok users is between 10 and 19.
The trick behind using social media correctly is to not spread yourself too thin. Only be on the social media platforms where your target audience is. So, for casinos, our advice is to steer clear of TikTok – there are much better platforms that you could be spending your money on.
Snapchat
As with Instagram and TikTok, Snapchat is a visual platform that allows users to ‘snap’ moments in time using videos and/or pictures. Augmented reality (AR) overlays are available if you would like to add a bit of fun to your uploads.
Snapchat has 293 million active daily users. Most of these people belong to the Millennial and Gen Z groups. So if you want your casino to reach this target audience, have a look at what this platform offers and how you can make the most of this audience.
LinkedIn is the world’s foremost business-2-business platform. Although most social media networks can be used to promote your business, this is not the place where you would go to look up an old friend. In fact, people who use LinkedIn for personal purposes are actually frowned upon and – more often than not – are blocked.
The audience members are skewed towards men and the largest age group is between 25 and 34. It has 810 million daily active users. This is possibly because it is business focused so people are less likely to visit it as frequently as B2C (business-to-consumer networks).
So, if you want to promote business relationships with, for example, other casino owners then LinkedIn is your go-to platform.
How To Promote Casinos On Social Media
Build Strong Relationships With Your Customers
The beauty of social media is that it allows you to build relationships with your players. If you have a strong relationship with them they’ll be far more likely to come and play at your establishment as opposed to another one.
An idea about how you could go about promoting these types of relationships is posting ‘behind the scenes’ videos at your casino. For example, post some videos interviewing the blackjack table dealer. Get him or her to share something about themselves. The players watching that video will be interested in learning about the dealer so if they see them when they come through they’ll remember him from the video and will be far more likely to strike up a conversation with the dealer. And because they’re engaging the players will be far more likely to come back.
Promote Special Offers Or Discounts
Social media is a fantastic space to promote any special offers or discounts that you may be running. In fact, even online sites like Grand Bay casino may make use of this tactic as it’s so effective. So if, for a period of time, players could win a car, post about it. Use your banner images to market this special prize so that every time people land on your page, the first thing that they’ll see is a reminder of your offer.
Remember the 80 – 20 rule. A total of 80% of your content needs to be informative, value-adding content while 20% can be promotional. If you want to do more promotion for your campaign rather think about taking out an ad.
Businesses in all industries need to be on social media. If you’re a casino offering fabulous prizes and a great night out with friends or if you’re the owner of a small business, social media is a very cost-effective platform on which to promote your organisation. Don’t make the mistake of just putting up a profile and then leaving it. You need to constantly update your profile with content that is relevant to your users which they will find value-adding to their lives. Don’t always make advertising posts. If you do your audience members will shy away from your profile and may even unfollow you because you’re not posting anything that is relevant to them. And if you start losing followers you start to lose a golden opportunity – people who will buy into your brand.