Opinion Piece: Online Promotion on Hong Kong Street Dance Events

Online promotion of street dance events in Hong Kong is their main gateway to advertise their events, the norm in this urban city. Event promoters rely heavily on online promotion, due to the lack of support from the government or corporations to sponsor them. This leads to a lack of popularity to this niche market, where in reality, these events could be more popularized if they were promoted more efficiently.

“Being ready isn’t enough; you have to be prepared for a promotion or any other significant change.” – Pat Riley (1994)

I conducted a little research project, interviewing 3 event promoters and 10 street dance participants, in order to find ways to promote a street dance event more effectively. I did interviews with 1 event promoter and sent out surveys for all of the participants in this project.

Factors to Consider when Promoting Street Dance Events

Online Platform

Considering which online platform to use when promoting street dance event is essential to reach a mass audience, and also the right audience. According to my research project, it is uncovered that 79% of the survey participants will use Facebook and Instagram more, when they want to see street dance events. Due to the popularity of Instagram, with the support of Facebook’s event page function, it is more reliable with “easy to use” functions for event promoters and the participants. YouTube is another great online platform for promotion, but it will be more effective if it is combined with another social media platforms. Twitter and Snapchat were not as effective based on the data results, as they do not reach a large audience more effectively compared to Instagram and Facebook.

Venue, Popularity and DJ

72% of my survey participants stated that the venue, popularity and DJ are the most important factors for what attracts them to a street dance event. Venue plays an essential role when trying to attract a mass audience to a street dance event. Underground events like in factory buildings provide the “ghetto street vibe” but may not be as popular as venues like Tamar Park or Asia World Expo. Of course, creating a wide scale events will need a tremendous amount of financial support. This can be done by making a qualifier of a world class event, or collaborating with other promoters to increase popularity in the street dance scene and for the general audience. According to Halifax Convention Centre, an author for EventManagerBlog.org (2017), “Launch your Event with a Partner” is mandatory in order for your event to succeed in terms of popularity.

Having the right DJ for the event is vital, as different DJs have different music styles and also which genre they specialized in. The wrong type of DJ could potentially destroy event’s vibe, even if everything else in the event went smoothly.

In March 2019, Hong Kong has made a Hong Kong Qualifier for an internationally dance competition “World of Dance”. It was held in Ocean Park and it has sparked a lot of attention towards dancers in Hong Kong and nationally. The event’s success has made more noise in the street dance scene, demonstrating it is possible to grow this niche industry in Hong Kong, when done efficiently.

Consistency

When promoting an online event, consistency is vital for the event’s success. Constant updates of the event is essential, as it reminds participants that there is an event in the making. This hypes up the audience who are interested, and also brings in new people to know about the event with consistent posts regarding the event.

A street dance event promoter called “Good Job Brother” is a perfect example for consistency. They make use of the Instagram story and highlights functions and consistently post about their events, even after the event has finished. This has tremendously contributed to their event’s popularity, due to this online promotion strategy.

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With these factors taken into consideration, street dance event should be able to reach a mass audience in no time!

In the 21st century, it is essential for people to follow the trends, and online promotion is the way to go!

References

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