THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Special Project

Special Project
From the 16th Annual Shorty Awards

Empire State Building Social Strategy

Finalist in Travel & Tourism, TikTok Presence

Objectives

The goal for the Empire State Building social media team is to leverage the iconic status of the building to create engaging content which drives web traffic and boosts brand awareness. Our specific objectives include: 1) Crafting compelling narratives to attract a diverse audience, 2) Utilizing a multifaceted approach to social media, encompassing various platforms like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook to reach different demographic segments, 3) Implementing a mix of informative and entertaining content to engage viewers, and 4) Utilizing organic social optimization techniques to increase web traffic. With a keen focus on these strategies, we aim to further solidify the Empire State Building's status as a cultural icon and beloved landmark.

Strategy and Execution

In 2021, we undertook a social audit for the Empire State Building, recognizing that the existing 'cute' tone of its online presence did not befit such a historic landmark. We sought to recapture the essence of the building, reminding fans, old and new, of its cultural significance. We wanted to give the Empire State Building a unique voice that resonates with its status in popular culture.

We discovered that we could leverage the building's iconic status by tapping into pop culture and social media trends, making it relevant in conversations happening in the world. This included aligning our content with global events, celebrity appearances, and weather occurrences in New York City. We aimed to make our channels a must-follow, always on, and part of the cultural conversation.

Despite the Empire State Building's competitors having various locations and features, their social marketing strategies were almost identical, leaving a gap for us to exploit. They were meeting the need for seasonal content, but failing to engage in popular culture discussions for online relevance and shareability.

We've planned collaborations with celebrities, optimized video content to drive awareness, and taken efforts to be timely and relevant. Our focus is also on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, each with unique strategies. Twitter allows us to engage actively in online conversation, Facebook helps convert fans into ticket sales, Instagram reaches a younger audience, and TikTok presents a growth opportunity to target the GenZ demographic.

Overall, we are redefining the Empire State Building's online presence to reflect its iconic status, captivating our audience, and keeping them eager for our next post. We're the Empire State Building, and we have something to say.

Results

The measure of success for these efforts lies in the tangible uptick in audience engagement and online conversions we have experienced. Not only has there been a notable increase in our social media followers across all platforms, but our content is consistently shared and engaged with, extending our reach further than ever before. Moreover, celebrities have started to actively participate in our campaigns, lending their influence and further boosting our visibility. Also, our conversion rate of social media interactions to web traffic has seen a significant growth. These metrics provide clear evidence that our strategic approach to the Empire State Building's digital presence is not just working, but excelling. Consequently, we consider these efforts a resounding success.

Media

Video for Empire State Building Social Strategy

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Empire State Building

Links