Photos Courtesy Joey ThorsenJoey Thorsen strives to bring joy to the community while running Silver Dollar City's social.
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Culture
The Person Behind Silver Dollar City's Social Media
In 2018, new hire Joey Thorsen had plenty of ideas for Silver Dollar City’s social media presence. Six years later, his content creation continues to surprise and delight fans.
By Jennifer Johnmeyer
Sep 2024
When Joey Thorsen became the first non-intern to take the reins of Silver Dollar City’s social media presence in December 2018, the landscape was wide open. After creating SDC’s brand guidelines, Thorsen focused on initial goals. “In the early days, the No. 1 metric I looked at was impressions. If you’re doing something right, you’re going to get more impressions,” Thorsen says.
In 2020, Thorsen hit the impression jackpot when he posted a now-infamous tweet: “no there aren’t any sharks in the mystic river* please stop asking us #SharkWeek
*that we know of.”
“The rumor of sharks at our theme park (which is just a rumor, by the way) came about because of two reasons: the creation of a playful brand tone and voice that we defined and fostered for months leading up to the post, and the perfect middle ground between a culturally relevant moment (shark week) and our attractions (Mystic River Falls),” Thorsen says.
Thorsen is always looking for that sweet spot where cultural moments, conversations and trends align with the SDC brand.
“That’s where real connections with our audience happen,” Thorsen says. “Those opportunities where you can find a universal truth in a specific moment. If nobody responds, why are you doing it? You’re just yelling into the wind.”
He pointed out that social media is part of marketing strategy, but it’s also… social.
“I’m not competing with other theme parks,” Thorsen says. “I’m competing with your grandma posting pics of grandkids. You have to tell people things that will make them stop scrolling.”
Thorsen has definitely been competing. He’s capitalized on trends, fun visual puns and dad jokes, to the surprise, delight, and yes, engagement of SDC social account followers.
“I think everyone wants to pin the demise of society on social media, but we’re all there,” Thorsen says. “It’s the driving cultural force in this world right now, and we’re a little oasis of positivity. Silver Dollar City’s a place you go to escape the troubles of your day, and I try to extend that to our social media.” See what he does next by following @SDCattractions on X and Instagram.
