social media + theatres: international peer review
DESCRIPTION
A look at the social media practices of large and small theatres in UK, Australia, and US as of Sept/Oct 2014. The key message: just because you're big doesn't mean you're good! Although we love what The Australian Ballet and The Met Opera are doing.TRANSCRIPT
Social Media + Theatres:
International Review
8 October 2014
“Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.
Right is right even if no one is doing it…”
National Theatre Wales 5,550 fans
11.1 k followers 246 followers
207 subscribers 3522 photos
https://www.facebook.com/nationaltheatrewalesLikes 5,550PTAT 23PTAT/likes 4.1%New likes per week ?Apps Timeline | About | Photos | Likes | Reviews |
Events|YouTube
Mainly Promotional Posts
• Average: 1 post every 2-3 days
• Not a lot of engagement – average 5 likes/post
Noteworthy:Silly Kings Facebook Competition• Well promoted with
images and video• Great engagement• Prize of tickets
Noteworthy:• Live video streams of
current productions• Fair use of YT with
interviews, behind the scenes, etc• Plus video links to
debates
Crowd Source Ideas For The Assembly
• Looking for content ideas from fans• People can vote for
finalists
It’s Not All Good…
•No image. No punctuation. Spelling mistake. •Little engagement
National Theatre Of Wales: Twitter
Twitter Activity
• Average 4 tweets per day
• Promotional content activity
• Interact with industry people
Note Worthy: Use of Lists
Followers vs. Following
Followers vs. Tweets
Engagement
• Often get 2-8 retweets from industry people or drama students
Use of hashtags:
National Theatre Of Wales: Pinterest
• Mix of promotional and non-production boards
• Pinning from other boards too
Most Popular Pin:
Added by NTW, to board Silly Kings (production)
Storify• Curates
social media posts to tell a story•1 per
production since August
2013• 64 followers,
low views
Flickr:Large amount of behind the scenes pictures
NTW is making an effort
But relies too heavily on promotional posts in Facebook and Twitter
Activity on Pinterest and Storify is much more focused, but with tiny audience
National Theatre Of Wales Summary
National Theatre of Scotland 1 10,005 fans
19.3k followers 1,128 followers
572 subscribers
PTAT 249PTAT/likes 2.4%Apps Timeline | About | Photos
| Likes | Events | Instagram
Erratic Posting Activity
• Before September, 1 post every 2-3 days• Sept: more frequent,
almost 1 per day• Image posts perform better (40 likes) than videos/links (max 25)
Noteworthy:
Spotify/ Soundcloud playlists of the set list of finished productions
Noteworthy: Dear Scotland
• Link to micro site community page•Users post
messages to Scotland•Huge engagement
Noteworthy:
Live streaming to provide free or more accessible theatre
National Theatre Of Scotland: Twitter
Doing a good enough job. Talking to people. RT’ing and using pictures not text.
TIP: Set up searches using our names and those of competitors. Daily responding to conversations happening.
Followers vs. Following
Followers vs. Tweets
National Theatre Of Scotland: Instagram
Increasing Popularity •4-6 pics per month
• Average 30 likes per image post (numbers
seem to be increasing recently)•Video posts get
significantly less likes
Mainly Promotional •Always promoting a show - hyping up
rehearsals or interviews• Never starting
conversation or promoting community, trivia, etc.
The Australian Ballet 1 107,982 fans 1,417
followers
24.8k followers 19,770 followers
15,383 subscribers
PTAT/likes
9.5%
Frequency of Posts
•Erratic – some days (mainly leading up to WBD) 4-5 posts• At other times only
posting once every 2-3 days
Engagement
• Posts seem to either get very high responses (1,000+ likes and multiple comments/shares)
• Or they hit 20 likes and 1-2 comments
• Promotional posts usually do better than others
World Ballet Day
•Campaign across FB, Twitter,
Instagram and YT• Inviting fans to see
behind the scenes, join discussions and more
#Whatisbeauty
•Encouraging fan submission and conversation•Gets recognition
across all Australian Ballet social media platforms
Australian Ballet: Twitter
•Mix of promotional and conversational posts• 3-4 per day•Increased amount in build up to World
Ballet Day•Encouraging
conversation whilst promoting what’s on
Respond to mentions and retweet a lot of industry people
Frequent Use of Hashtags
Followers vs. Following Ratio
Tweets vs. Followers Ratio
Australian Ballet: Instagram
Repost images from FB, often with same text
•Mostly promotional images•Encourage conversation
with similar Twitter questions
•Use of themes – Tutu Tuesday, etc.•Huge
engagement, many posts hit
the 1,000 mark
Australian Ballet: Pinterest
Mix of promotional pins directly from site and inspiration for different shows from other sources
Sydney Theatre Company 29,082 fans
20.4 k followers
54 subscribers
PTAT/likes 2.7%
New likes per week 0.8%
Apps Timeline | About | Reviews | Photos | Likes
Erratic posting activity
• 5 posts in August• Sept: Mon-Fri only• 1 – 3 per day• Not a lot of engagement• No promotions• No ad spend
Most Popular:• Picture of a seal! • Launch party pics• Beckett to UK
Noteworthy:• Free tickets to
rehearsals• Weekly archive
Content Posting Formula:
• Production pics 2 nights before opening
• Opening night pic• Reviews after
Sydney Theatre Company: Twitter
Following: Follower Ratio
Tweets: Followers
Formula:
• Proliferation of tweets on Mondays!
• No images• Love # #• They don’t talk to
anyone
Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney 15,497 fans 233 followers
12.7 k followers 2185 followers
233 subscribers
PTAT/likes 2.3%
Content Strategy:
1-2 posts dailyReviews + picNot much Engagement
1 promotion!
Closure
Closing forum on last night’s performance
Belvoir Street Theatre: Twitter
Following: Follower Ratio
Tweets: Followers
Company B at Belvoir St Theatre makes a point of replying to everyone who asks a question on Twitter and it re-tweets any positive mentions of its productions. All tweets are printed out and stuck on a bulletin board for cast and crew to read each day.
Twitter Policy
Berkeley Repertoire Theatre 15,220 fans
7,113 followers 340 followers
275 subscribers
Posts
• Average 1 post every 2-3 days
• Average post gets around 40 likes• Some posts
jump to 150
Mixture of promotional posts, sharing others posts and water cooler
Contd.
• r
Conversation made, but no follow up as promised!
• Prefer to post a mix of styles rather than favouring one
• Appreciated by fans, resulting in steady, good engagement
• Strong use of images – could use more behind-
the-scenes, natural images
Berkeley Rep: Twitter
• They talk to people!• Retweet and favourite many fan tweets & mentions
• Good use of images
• Often industry people, community councils, etc
•Images are different from Facebook images•Mainly
promotional
Followers vs. Following Ratio
Tweets vs. Following Ratio
Berkeley Rep: Instagram
•Poor quality photos•Hasn’t been updated since April•When started 3-4 posts per month (Nov
& Dec)•Then went to 1 post per 2/3 weeks•Very low engagement•Not promoted on website
The Metropolitan Opera 307,416 fans
22.4k followers
7,822 followers
Frequency of Posts
• 1 post every 1-2 days• With exceptions:• September 10 – 15 there were
no posts• Sometimes 2 promotional posts
in 1 day• Most posts get good engagement, with
minimum 300 likes, up to as much as 3,500 likes at times
• Some of this can be attributed to the reputation of the institution
Post Types:• Promotional• Links to its other
sites• Throwbacks,
facts about the Met
• Links to livestream/listen to links
• Topical posts linked to opera
Noteworthy: Apps
• Use apps for promotions and tie ins with current show
Top Fans App:
• Ranks top fans through likes, comments, engagement
• Unclear what benefits of this system are
The Met Opera: Twitter
• Mainly retweets and promotional
• Before the summer, more engaging posts, but few images
•Throwback posts•Link to current shows•Good
engagement
• Links to ‘Last night @ the Met’•Tumblr
documents audience fashion
Followers vs. Following
Tweets vs. Followers
The Met Opera: Instagram
Instagram•Constantly linked by
Twitter and FB•Minimum 150 likes per
post• Posts erratically - five
posts on one day, then none for a week
Best Performing Instagram Posts
Best Performing Posts
Sleep No More 34,402 fans
1,127 followers
2,194 followers
Likes 34,402PTAT 817PTAT/likes 2.3%
• Posts in bursts every few days
• Engagement is good - average 45 likes per post
• Uses tweets to promote shows•Unusual design•Ties in with
themes of show
•Share links to Instagram
•Sometimes their own•Often others •Part of
#mysleepnomore campaign
Noteworthy: #mysleepnomore
• Tracks audience mentions of the show•Incorporated into a Facebook app
Promotional Posts
• Often tie in with show
• Not overtly commercial •Sometimes
present character pics with no caption•Mysterious vibe
Sleep No More: Twitter
•Predominantly RTpraise•Sometimes linking to Instagram pictures w/o captions •Post/retweet most
days
Following vs. Followers
Tweets vs. Followers
Sleep No More: Instagram
•Post erratically •Nothingsince July•5 times in
May•Best
performingpost:
Conclusions
• Most are doing Facebook wrong! Erratic, promotional posts, no ad spend, few competitions.
• Best: Berkeley Rep and The Met (only one using apps)• Engaging content is topical, retro,
feedback + promotional•Campaigns fare well (Scotland, ballet)
• Most are doing better with Twitter, but largely talking to industry audiences•Best: Aussie Ballet, Belvoir•Images for own posts, RT’ing others.•Wales use of lists
• Most are there but not using it. Toe in the water.
• Huge engagement for Aussie Ballet and The Met
• Different types of content – after party pics, view from the pit, etc.
• Hasn’t really taken off for this audience• Tumblr for fashion• Flickr for pics• Storify
Pinterest & Other
• Spotify / Soundcloud for playlists• Live streaming video• Post show audience forums• Free tickets to rehearsals
Noteworthy