Cinemas reopened later than retail following the UK COVID lockdown(s), and faced different challenges to other industries with limited availability of new products. The pandemic pushed back release dates of upcoming films which meant Cineworld, like other chains, had to rely on showing older content alongside a limited number of new releases. But Cineworld knows there’s nothing like the big screen experience, and in the run up to reopening, used customer opinions to help them grow social media engagement by 143%.
How did they do it?
In the run up to cinemas reopening on May 17th 2021, Cineworld drummed up excitement and engagement by asking their followers to share what they’d missed the most about Cineworld and the big screen experience. The result was an Instagram feed totally covered in customer content rather than content the business had created itself.
By handing over the content creation keys to its audience, Cineworld’s social media feeds put the customer and their passions at the heart of everything. This approach not only generated thousands of engagements for Cineworld on each post, but also increased the volume of online conversation about the brand.
“Cineworld drummed up excitement by inviting their customers to lead the conversation. Recognising customers who engage with you, resharing their comments and posts is a much stronger endorsement than anything you could say about your business yourself. It creates a sense of community and belonging, and shows you really value your customers and their experience.” Says Polly Barnfiled, OBE CEO Maybe*
How you can succeed with social like Cineworld
Ask your customers for their opinions about things they are passionate about and they will not only engage, but create conversation about you too.
Use customer content in your own posts, it will encourage other people to join in.
Invite customers to tag friends into your post or ask what they think to encourage comments. Remember, comments will generate more reach than a like.
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