It’s that time of year again. The time where girls and guys pile into a car and drive to Indio, California to experience the epic three-day music festival known as Coachella. Tomorrow marks the kick-off to weekend 1 of 2. As one of the biggest music festivals in the United States, people around the country take to every social media outlet to upload their pictures, talk about their experiences, and check-in to the event. But what about those who couldn’t make this year? Not to worry. As has occurred in the previous two years, Youtube will be live streaming weekend 1 of Coachella starting tomorrow and ending Sunday. It seems that they have everyone covered, going or not, making their social media efforts noteworthy. Here is a deeper look into their social media usage:

Tweets, Check-ins, and “Muploads”:

• Twitter: Coachella has an official, verified Twitter handle (@coachella), which is promoting their ride-share initiative-among other things. Those who are caravanning down (or up) to Indio have the chance to win prizes if they are spotted by the #carpoolchella secret spotter. People are also encouraged to use #carpoolchella in their tweets. Prizes include anything from upgraded VIP packages to the grand prize of VIP tickets for life. A great cause, cool prizes, and a lot of buzz on Twitter? Sounds pretty awesome to me.
• Foursquare: There is an official Coachella badge that you can unlock on foursquare. Users are also encouraged to check in every time they enter the festival grounds. This is currently being promoted on Twitter as well.
• Facebook: Beautiful pictures, promotions, and festival information can all be found on Coachella’s Facebook page. They have also taken advantage of cross-promotion by relaying information regarding their Youtube live stream and Instagram feed. They also are using it to promote their sponsors including H&M, Heineken, and other establishments nearby.
• Instagram: What better way to share your awesome concert pictures than with a sweet retro filter? According to Facebook, over 100,000 instagram photos were tagged with #coachella last year. They are encouraging their Facebook fans to try to top that number this year. Think they’ll do it?
• Mobile App: Finally, an official mobile app has been created that gives concert-goers information at the tips of their fingers. Moreover, they have created a “Coachella Timeline” where you can update your status, upload pictures, tag your friends, and create a personal schedule of who you are going to see. All of these things show up on a newsfeed for your friends’ viewing pleasure.

Phew! So much social media packed in 3 days! As noted above, Coachella is getting an incredible amount of engagement across multiple social media platforms. People want to share their pictures, statuses, etc. with their friends who aren’t there, and these outlets are making it very easy to do so. Furthermore, with really cool campaigns and contests going on, people are getting excited about the prospect of winning some great prizes. There is this collective social experience that will be going on this weekend, with people all experiencing the same festival, but through different point of views. All of these differing experiences, which reveal themselves via statuses, posts, and pictures, all come together via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, mobile apps, and the like where people can talk.

Youtube Live Stream- The remote Coachella experience:

There is a parallel social experience that will occur with viewers at home watching the live stream. While these people will not be experiencing the festival in the same way that those attending will, they are still able to see the performers, comment on what they thought, and share their feelings with whichever community they choose. Much like the Redbull Stratos campaign, the Coachella live stream will foster engagement from a large group of people watching. The perk of this is that engagement and social interaction can be monitored in real time, without having to worry about post production or editing.

Coachella’s use of social media is pretty genius, leaving no one out. So even if you can’t go, you can.