That’s when someone around the conference table at every ad meeting I’ve been to usually asks, “But what are we doing on Social Media?”
See, everyone knows that in modern day marketing, every show needs to be on Social Media.
But very few know what to do once they get there.
11 comments:
Social media as a publicity tool is so new in the grand scheme of theatre that it is extremely hard to nail down all the whats and hows of using it for promotion. I think people often forget this in their endeavors, along with the fact that promoting a show is very different from promoting one's own life. When using social media for - what a surprise - socialization, one rarely has to widen their sphere of influence beyond those they have an established relationship with to get a reaction. When publicizing something, all bets are off as the less control one has over how many view an event or function, the better. A public event or figure wants to be seen by people who've never seen it or them before- and that is where people get confused as to how to use the facebooks and the tweeter and the instantgrams. Privacy settings cannot protect us in these uncharted waters. It is a scary thought, but getting past it has the potential to open many doors. I think the more theatrical professionals embrace these doors, the more effectively they will be able to use social media for promotion and the more social media will rise to the occasion to help them. Hopefully, within a few years we will watch the benefits of this evolution unfold, one sale at a time.
I have always loved seeing shows on social media! its like you're getting a behind the scenes look or an inside scoop that really no other form of communication can give you. I had never really thought that is was that hard for a show to establish their presence on social media and how careful they really have to be. From what I see on social media it seems effortless but I guess there is much more to it. Something that I found really interesting that the author of this article stated as being an important goal on social media is to not only attract a following, but attract the right following. I wonder what the author thinks is the "right" following. Personally, I feel as though the author makes some good points that companies should think about when entering social media such as "what not to say" and " how to respond to negative criticism" but I overall, I think that he might be over analyzing the presence an organization has on social media. Again, this is a completely personal view, but I find the most effective shows and organizations on social media are the ones that seem effortless and personal. I think social media is a great way to build a more personal and personable relationship with the fans and if too much attention and caution was placed on the posts, I think it would become less of that personal, inside look into the show that social media should be.
I'm curious as to what this author means by the "right" followers. I would assume this means theater-going adults with money to buy tickets and the means to travel to the theater-- which would pretty much exclude all the show-tune-crazed twelve-year-olds I know. However, this population tends to be the biggest users of social media. So that presents two questions: how do you avoid catering to this group, and do you really want to? I don't see any realistic way to limit advertising to only theater-going adults, and even then would that really be the right thing to do? There are so many articles on this blog about widening the scope of theater, so if you try to target just adults who actively attend performances that would make it more difficult for curious people to start getting into theater. Also, even if many of your social media followers are Wicked-belting tweens who wouldn't be able to actually attend the show (because of lack of money or ability to travel), is the fact that they're not buying tickets really bad enough that you feel like you should exclude them from your social media following?
Maybe I'm completely missing the point. I understand why a theater wouldn't want to cater to non-ticket buyers, but I don't see why they should try to exclude them.
I took a class that analyzed this same issue, but through the lens of engendering social change. The primary question that this class asked was whether or not people could be moved enough by social media activism to turn their likes into rally participation and real-life activism, which statistics show are more effective at causing the long-term change that most internet movements seek to cause. That being said, using social media to motivate people to change the world is a little different from encouraging people to buy a ticket to a show.
While both movements and sales initiatives can make the same branding missteps and tweet truly regrettable things, social activism rarely gets to choose exactly which followers are most called to get involved, as political affiliation, age, and socioeconomic stature play heavy roles in this sort of thing, while marketing firms can cherry-pick profiles not only those social media users that follow or like or retweet competitor's campaigns, but also engage with their friends, both real-world and virtual.
Like Vanessa I really love seeing shows on social media, as it gives you an inside scoop into what the show is really like. I know that Broadway World has a lot of videos of actors taking them behind the scenes as people are getting ready for the show. It really lets you feel like these are real people, and that you are getting to see a day in their lives. I've never really given much thought to a theatre's or show's social media as marketing, but it makes a lot of sense to me. Almost every commercial company out there has at least a facebook page, if not a twitter or instagram other form of social media. One of the most interesting things that the author mentions is that he can teach them which social media accounts they need and which ones they don't. I can imagine that it would be hard to maintain a lot of accounts, but it would be worth it if they know which ones work the best. Social media should definitely play a role in the marketing of theatrical productions, and I think that it will really help to increase the popularity of theatre overall.
Considering how much our generation is on social media, it only makes sense that shows should be on social media as well. However, when you are a show trying to sell tickets, there is so much less room for mistakes. As the average human, we can say whatever we want on social media and maybe just make a few people angry, but if you're a big name company, the stakes are a lot higher. I am interested in seeing what the author thinks are the right followers and how to grow that base of people. I also cant help but keep thinking about how this article is all about how to make more money by selling tickets, and the prime part of the article is a webinar that costs money. This author is going to be making a lot of money off this article, and they said all the right things to make me want to check it out- including making me not realize the end goal of selling views of the webinar until I started wondering if there was anywhere official to learn these things.
Social media is obviously very new at the extent that it is now, and for large corporate shows, it makes a lot of sense to use social media as any business would. But even for smaller artists, it's imperative to build a fan base on social media because unless you get very big, there is a high chance a lot of your fans may never even see you live. By building a social media platform, a performer or company can tap into those resources and become a big name even without having the most accessibility - the spread of information through the Internet is enough to draw people in.
I think the effects of social media can extend well beyond theater. I follow many of my favorite stores or artists on Facebook or Instagram almost solely when exclusively deals are given through social media. That's one thing that I think every company should get more in on, sales and coupons. I literally feel like I am high when I get a good coupon. It is addicting. Extreme Couponing makes 100% sense to me, and makes me soooo much more likely to return to a website or vendor if I am even convinced I am getting a good deal. That could be applied to theater with comp tickets or discounted tickets, or maybe a credit system where if you see enough shows, you get a free one or something. People love working towards a goal or earning something, play into that, theatrical businesses!
I’m glad this is happening. $149 seems kind of ridiculous, but I suppose I’ve never been to any kind of webinar so I won’t complain. I think this is a great path for theatre to be going down. Everyone keeps saying that we are a dying art, and more and more theatres are shutting down everyday. This is the type of revitalization we need. If box offices can begin to understand the platform that such a large majority of my society strives on then we gain so many potential audience members.
A couple of comments on the website that this article is orginially posted on are doubtful, but to be honest they just sound old. So many businesses are on social media, like clothing stores have entire social media departments. And at the end of the day theatre is a business. We can continue being elitist and old fashioned, and depend on the season ticket holders, or we can evolve.
Social media is such an incredibly great tool for marketing. You are able to spread a message to millions of people with the click of a button. With social media marketing, shows have the option of being topical and very "with the times." I remember when A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder was still on Broadway, I was extremely impressed with their social media at all times. For every show that opened on Broadway, they would post a happy opening picture that somehow related itself to both the show and Gentleman's Guide. These posts were so clever and obviously reflected that they had done some research. I don't really agree that social media alone can sell tickets, but it absolutely can make a significant impact on helping. By making theatre obvious and somewhat accessible to the common public who are not necessarily into theatre, theatre is able to take a place in countless people's lives. Previously, shows had to rely almost entirely on word of mouth, which simply is not enough.
I definitely think social media is a great way for shows to gain publicity. I personally really like seeing shows on social media, since it's kind of the only way for me to learn more about the show other than physically going to watch the show. After reading this article, I can definitely see how it's hard to start up a social media account, but I also think that there's no harm in doing it. While things like movies or tv shows are much more accessible to everyone and social media accounts might not be as necessary, I think social media accounts are in a way necessary for theatre because it is the only way to reach to people who don't really interact with theatre. I also find it interesting how the article stresses the importance of building the right followers, not just any followers. I guess there are a lot of intricacies behind building a social media platform for a show than it seems like, but again I don't see the harm in having more people know about/follow your show even though they won't necessarily buy tickets.
Social media absolutely does sell tickets. It also tends to bring in a younger audience, something that the theater community tends to struggle with. When I go to see shows on Broadway, most of the time I am one of the only younger people there, and it is sad that younger people are not exposed to theater as much as they should. As much as I hate to bring up Hamilton, it is a perfect example of using social media for its gain. Musicals that do really well are those who can tap into a younger audience, wicked, rent, spring awakening, all box office hits, all adored by young people, and now the way to reach a younger audience is by using social media. Hamilton is all over my social media, I see Lin Manuel Miranda's posts on Twitter and Facebook all the time, and more than the show or its soundtrack his tweets are a constant reminder of his work. So if I haven't seen Hamilton I can not listen to the soundtrack and pretend it doesn't exist. Bot I can't avoid the advertisement on social media, and I can't avoid it's social media presence. Hamilton is a prime example of the perfect way to market yourself on social media. I think there is an argument to be made that social media advertising is not as useful as regular advertising, but it does bring a younger audience in, and that is what is missing from the theatrical community more than anything. So I hope that more people start to advertise on social media, and more younger people start to attend the theater.
Post a Comment