Although it may be hard to believe due to the sweltering heat, fall is just around the corner. That means pumpkin-spice everything, beautiful foliage, spooky movies… and your upcoming theatre season and fall production, of course!
If you think we’re jumping the gun, remember it’s never too early to start marketing your fall offerings. It should all begin with an exciting season announcement to create buzz and get your theatre on the community’s radar.
On The Stage presents unique ways to announce your fall production schedule to increase awareness, sell more tickets, and get patrons excited about everything you have to offer.
If you want to get your social media followers talking, consider having one of your actors ‘take over’ your social media channels for a day, posing as a main character from the first show (or biggest show) in your upcoming season.
The actor, in character, can announce your showcases for the year. Along with conveying crucial information, the actor can answer fan/patron questions, go ‘live’ on social media, run contests, and entertain your audiences for the day.
This excites people about your theatre, expands your social media following, increases engagement, and allows someone within your theatre to have fun and shine doing what they love.
Good marketing leaves you wanting more. Consider posting teaser trailers of your upcoming season on your social media platforms, with breadcrumbs and clues hinting at your offerings with an announcement date listed. You can also create posters or other printable items to encourage those passing by to visit your show site or social media platforms for more information.
In short, a little mystery creates the most word-of-mouth buzz, so enacting teasers for your season is a great way to increase engagement and excitement.
Not everything has to be digital or posted on social media, so make sure you’re putting time, effort, and money into your printable marketing materials and plastering them across your community. These printable items can range from informative posters about your season to billboards, fliers, mailers, and whatever else you can think of.
Remember to be strategic about where you’re placing your fliers, posters, and billboards about your upcoming seasons. Team up with business sponsors or community partners and have them put a mini schedule in purchase bags at their stores. Place posters in high-traffic areas within your community and at places with more arts-friendly patrons. After all, all that printing is expensive – so ensure you’re getting your ROI.
If you want to go digital, consider making a digital short à la The Lonely Island or other Saturday Night Live video content. You can make it as quirky as you want or keep it professional and informative. Either way, make it a short one that’s worth discussing.
Digital shorts have a variety of benefits. They can keep the attention of younger generations while still appealing to older patrons. It also allows creative freedom in your marketing efforts and is typically a low-budget option for announcing your season. Win-win-win!
Partnering with influencers within your community – as well as business sponsors or other people/entities of status – is an excellent way to ensure more ears are hearing about your theatre and its offerings.
Consider hosting a branded announcement party with an influencer as an emcee or going live on social media with the brand ambassador handling the announcement responsibilities. This will help you gain status within your community and benefit from reaching potential new patrons via your influencer partnership.
Announcing your fall season should come with plenty of fanfare and should be a multichannel approach. In other words, the more places you get your season announced, the better you’ll be. We offer a few suggestions to get you started.
Perhaps the most obvious is that your social media channels should be brimming with information about your season and its offerings.
Consider ‘pinning’ your season schedule to the top of your social media pages to ensure easy access to the information, especially for new followers. Additionally, link your show or theatre website in your social media bios. The more accessible your offerings are online, the more patrons you’ll see come opening night.
Alongside your socials, your website should be continuously updated with the newest information about your theatre. After all, if a patron visits your website and sees outdated information from years past, the likelihood they’ll return to that URL is low.
Consider also creating specific websites for each show to provide your patrons with the most nuanced details and information.
We’re talking posters, fliers, billboards, branded merchandise—the whole nine yards! Make sure that your theatre is relevant not only digitally but also in your physical community. Remember—not everyone is online!
Whether you’re a community theatre, a school program, or a professional non-equity, printed marketing materials are a key component of any season’s announcement.
Don’t discount the relevance of digital community calendars – whether through nonprofits in your community, print and digital publications, or influencer/blogger websites. The more places you share your information, the more eyes are on your work.
Perhaps a bit old school, but purchasing spots on local television and radio stations is a surefire way to spread the news about your season. This is especially important if your target demographic is an older generation – as they are far more likely to watch local news or listen to local radio stations.
If you’ve got the patron data and email contact information, why not harness that power? Send out a snappy, informative, and exciting newsletter announcing your season, with embedded links to purchase season tickets and/or make donations.
It’s no secret that marketing efforts can be challenging to deploy without the right tools. Luckily, On The Stage (OTS) makes marketing, building show sites, and creating more professional experiences more accessible than ever.
With OTS’s comprehensive marketing suite, you can:
Ensure your theatre season announcement makes an impression! Book a personalized demo today to get started.