The Most Buzzed About Music Venues by Millennials – And What Got Them Buzzing
With more mobile phones in the hands of Americans and a generation of tech-savvy Millennial thrill-seekers on the rise, social media is the main barometer for buzz. And thanks to an era of constant connection, the party doesn’t stop. Music venues enter the conversation way past last call as music aficionados, club kids, and partygoers of all kinds take their excitement online.
Eventbrite teamed up with leading social media research company Mashwork to understand which U.S. music venues Millennials love the most and what drives them to share the love online. Over the course of a year, we gathered over 12.5 million mentions for more than 600 venues across Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and forums. A whopping 43% of the conversations surrounding these venues came from Millennials, aged 18 to 34. Read on for interesting insights into what’s driving conversation around America’s most popular venues, and recommendations for how to translate these findings into an effective event strategy.
Millennials focus on experience. A recent study done by Harris Poll found that 78% of Millennials polled would rather spend money on an experience than a physical product*, and our analysis highlights the experience-driven nature of this generation. The conversations around the 10 most-mentioned venues highlight the experiential aspects of the space, including excitement around artists, expressing thanks to the venue for an amazing time, and having a blast with friends.
“@PachaNYC last night absolutely epic! Thank you for everything Pacha! Ill be back sooner or later! This one was a memory of a lifetime!” – @SvitTech
Clubs and artists stand out. Given EDM’s extreme popularity among Millennials, it’s no surprise that seven of the top 10 most-mentioned venues are clubs. The performing artist was one of the hottest topics of conversation across the board, and the majority of artists mentioned were DJs performing at clubs. Those engaging in conversation about the top 10 venues are 15 times more likely to discuss EDM and house music than the Twitter population at large.
“Another amazing #soldoutsaturday @EncoreBeachClub!!! @davidguetta killed it!!” – @cheyennemevans
Tips for venues:
- Throw down for top talent. Book artists that appeal to your desired audience.
- Listen to your people. Survey your most loyal attendees to ask who they want to see next.
34% of the conversation is related to image and status. With 19% of posts centered on portraying a party lifestyle and 15% of the conversation about fashion, Millennials use nightlife as a way to express their identity.
“@kaskade @LIVmiami I’ll be up all night dancing and hopping on an 8:30am flight back to nyc on Sunday morning. #worthit” – @vitt0riana
“Me and my boys out here gettin buckets all day at @EncoreBeachClub” – @jeffbrieger
Tips for venues:
- Post professional party pics on Facebook and encourage people to tag themselves.
- Reward attendees who submit a photo of their outfit with prizes and discounts from a retail partner.
- Know the value of a share. On Eventbrite, every time someone shares an event on Facebook, it drives 14 additional page views and $4.15 in ticket revenue back to the event organizer.
Music fans prefer to talk about their experiences on weekends—and revel in the post-adventure glow on Mondays. More than half of the venue conversation happened on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, when people are gearing up for the night or sharing their adventures in real-time. Monday was the third most popular day of the week for Millennials talking venues. This aligns with our finding that 22% of the overall conversation around venues stems from people recounting the experiences they had over the weekend.
Tips for venues:
- Catch the post-weekend wave. Post pics and videos from the weekend festivities on Sunday evening or Monday morning to facilitate social sharing.
- Cater your social media calendar to your community. Post and promote when people are most likely to be online and active.
- Build hype in down-time. Take advantage of weekdays to hint at upcoming events and seed your channels with easily sharable media for the weekend.
- Be savvy about social. Track your social media posts using Eventbrite’s tracking links to know which posts are driving the greatest traffic and conversions back to your event page.
30% of posts from Millennials include a picture, video, or link. Millennials are most likely to include a picture, video, or link when engaging in conversation about fashion, events, and artists.
Tips for venues:
- Invest in photo-worthy spaces at your location. A photogenic venue means a higher share of engagement and conversation.
- Consider using a red carpet or a photobooth to create more photo and video opps.
- Make sure your venue is easy to find on Foursquare so attendees can tag it on Instagram and Facebook.
Research Methodology