Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t enough to simply hang posters and rely on word of mouth promotion for your theatre production. Audiences spend an increasing amount of time online DAILY, and you have to meet your people where they are. Taking your promotion strategy online doesn’t have to be stressful or time consuming, though – just follow this simple step-by-step guide to optimize your theatre organization’s online presence and a larger and more engaged audience will eventually follow.
In today’s world, a social media presence is critical for success in any promotional effort. While you should be setting your social media goals high, it’s important to remember that everything needs to lead back to your website. Here are the four most important things to keep in mind when using social.
A big part of appearing like a professional organization is posting consistently. But even more importantly, this creates better engagement opportunities with fans, and it also is one of the most important factors to having positive results with the algorithms. By scheduling posts in advance you can ensure that your show maintains a consistent presence online.
Just like merchandise is a way for fans to promote shows on their own, social media is a place for fans to come together and have a community around the show. Foster the community by actively engaging with fans.
From Live Videos to various kinds of ‘Stories’ there are a host of multimedia options available within social media platforms. Utilizing these can help create new content and be of use with algorithms.
Algorithms change, and if suddenly a platform you’ve depended on changes its marketing rules, your organization could be out of luck. If you choose to make your website your main hub, and have all social activity point back to your website, you’ll be immune from the changes that consistently happen on social media sites. Your website is where where you truly control the content. Also worth remembering: it’s where the ticket sales happen.
While the audience might think the show begins when they arrive, you know the true story of the months of preparation and planning that made the performance possible. Share that with the audience and do so in a way that truly draws them in by taking full advantage of multimedia content.
In promoting your organization it’s critical to maximize the effectiveness of all aspects of your online presence from social media to your website. And while a ‘Broadway style’ website might seem like overkill for your needs, imagine having a hub that can provide more than just a superficial bulletin board or even an online ticket box office.
When done well, your organization’s online presence can act as a dynamic resource to develop new avenues for growth and to engage the audience, making them feel like part of the larger experience that extends beyond showtime.
Instead of simply writing a synopsis for the set designer’s plan feature a video where they discuss their vision. Include interactive slideshows of the costume design thought process. Allow behind the scenes videos to welcome the audience into the larger story behind the show. But content doesn’t have to be complex to inspire engagement. Sneak peaks and short snippets of rehearsal outtakes are easy to create, perfect for social media and don’t give too much away.
Adding multimedia assets can be employed with every aspect of content, including:
There are some things that both you and your audiences expect from a good theatre website. Having a single online place where you can fulfill multiple functions and provide the right resources might sound great, but perhaps feels out of reach without an IT department. But the truth is, it’s much easier than you think to fulfill all of these functions:
While the key components of a theater’s online presence can be broken down into three main categories, when employed to their full potential the possibilities for taking both your show and your organization are endless. To learn more about what On the Stage can do for your organization, book a free demo of our software.