Social Media and Spring Break Have Become a Match Made in Student Heaven
By Carmelo Giardina
Since the dawning of social media’s power and in fluence on the student landscape, major live events have never been promoted with so much authority.
Sporting events, concerts, awards shows, and occupation rallies have all been fueled by the credence and clout of social media. And if used properly and strategically, the message can be delivered with such viral verve, that even the smallest corners of the earth can’t ignore it.
In recent years, College Spring Break has been given a social media boost, propelling the annual student party tradition into a global brand. Social media sites and pages dedicated to spring break in Panama City Beach alone number in the hundreds, if not thousands.
The northern Florida destination is widely regarded as ‘The Spring Break Capital of the World’ due to the over half a million students that flock there each year. No other destination can come close in terms of numbers.
Collegiate Marketing Group, a student marketing company specializing in spring break promotions for Panama City Beach, are affiliated with no less than ten social platforms promoting Panama City Beach as the Spring Break go-to destination.
CMG administers the http://www.pcbeachspringbreak.com website, highly touted as the official website of Spring Break in Panama City Beach. In March 2011, the website reported over 80,000 unique visitors for just the one month – its prime period. The forecast for March 2012 is tracking at 300,000 unique visitors – almost quadruple the amount reached one year ago.
Perhaps much of the website’s success can be attributed to its affiliated social media platforms, pointing students and fans towards the site – arguably the ultimate goal.
Facebook platforms such as www.facebook.com/pcbeachspringbreak and www.facebook.com/panamaniaccard are key drivers, constantly pumping the website’s information onto the social scene. The pcbeachspringbreak facebook page has amassed over 60,000 fans – easily declared as the most followed Spring Break fan page in the world today – and that number continues to grow.
Twitter has also been a key driver in promoting and selling the Spring Break brand. Keeping with Panama City Beach and the pcbeachspringbreak brand, their @springbreakpcb handle has reached nearly 3,000 followers and continues to grow steadily.
Other platforms, such as @panamaniaccard, @springbrkguide, http://springbreakguide.com, http://springbreakfunplace.com and http://www.panamaniacclubcard.com are all helping to drive interest in the Panama City Beach destination, and all of these media outlets are administered by Collegiate Marketing Group.
Companies have been buying into spring break and its influence for years now.
It’s become a massive business being on Spring Break. The corporate world has embraced it. Students are clearly the driving force in setting trends, and corporate brands from all over the world recognize that the “next big thing” can easily be conceived during spring break.
For more information on Collegiate Marketing Group and what their role continues to be in branding Spring Break, please visit http://www.collegiatemarketinggroup.com and follow them on twitter @cmarketinggroup and facebook at www.facebook.com/collegiatemarketingllc
