Potential Social Media Platforms for Free Shakespeare in the Park:

Listed below are the various social platforms that Free Shakespeare in the Park (FSitP) can use to further their connectivity with the immediate community and a community aboard. Currently FSitP uses free announcements in the Register-Guard and Eugene Weekly, word of mouth, radio show interviews, posters/flyers, Facebook page and event posts, and an e-mail list but by utilizing other social platforms they can reach more targeted audiences and make the organization more inclusive and accessible.

 

– YouTube: for “behind the scenes” clips, interviews with actors or production team

Target:

• Young adults aged 18 to 24

Benefit:

• Archival purposes entice or educate audience members
• Potential for generating funds through subscriptions
• Be able to conference with other theatres, demonstrate caliber of direction and cast
• Be a resource for actors to have as resume purposes
• Able to share with other social media platforms or embed in emails

Pitfall:

• Lack of subscribing followers
• Negative commentary by posters with the intent to “troll”
• Issues with uploads or recording quality,
• Incomplete catalogue of all productions recorded onto film
• Will require a Gmail account, new email for FSitP will have to be created

Why this platform:

• Free to use and can be a way to entice and educate audiences if they can see and hear the actors. Plus, FSitP would be on trend with other organizations that have also produced trailers for upcoming shows.

When to use this platform:

• The potentially best time to release a trailer onto the site would be a week or two before opening, if not around 4 weeks before opening. There is the desire to avoid bringing the trailer out too early as it may be forgotten. Adding update or interview videos of the production leading up to opening will also be a reminder to the audience but the structure of the videos need to be well edited and released on either a given day of the week or every few days.

 

– Pinterest: to show thematic images, costuming, prop or setting ideas

Target:

• 25 to 44 years of age
• Women with young children seeking summer activities
• Costumers, other theatre practitioners

Benefit:

• Shared pool of knowledge
• Advancement of production quality
• Find solutions to set pieces or costumes
• Catalogue costumes and share construction methods
• Can be linked to the organization’s Facebook page

Pitfall:

• Too much given away for the audience
• Original information/caption for the “pin” is deleted by other users as it is “re-pinned”
• Account must be set up to an email address, this may require a generic email for FSitP
• Broken or Virus-based links to the images contents

Why this platform:

• Pinterest is used worldwide and there is a plethora of resource images that then link to blogs or websites that contain the information related to the image.

When to use this platform:

• This would be best applied during the pre-production and in production phase of the show. Developing boards that the production teams can access and give an idea to the “Followers” and as it can be set up to share “pins” onto Facebook, you are then reaching a greater target. Once the show is up and running, the Pinterest account may be quiet until a new show is selected and goes into pre-production phase.

 

– MailChimp: to send out an e-newsletter, announce performance dates or fundraising opportunities

Target:

• Men and women 40 – 65yrs of age
• Post-high school or higher education
• Working professional or retired
• Families with adult children or grandchildren
• Socially active within the community
• Retirement Centers’ Activities Coordinators

Benefit:

• Personalization of information, such as a “Week in Review of Rehearsals”
• Can be posted onto social media outlets
• Reach a specific number of individuals
• Easy to track or update for assessment of reach

Pitfall:

• Email not being opened
• Too many sent in a short amount of time
• Infrequent updates to the email list
• Not enough emails are going out when show is not in production

Why this platform:

• A large number of people can be reached with more detailed information as other social platforms require you to be concise with your words, emailing will allow for more flushed out information to be shared.

When to use this platform:

• The emails will be sent out over the weekend so targeted constituents can open them on Mondays and get the “news” in the form of an e-newsletter and it will be used throughout the year and not just during the production season as this can be used to inform targeted constituents of operational updates and fundraising, volunteer, or script reading opportunities.

 

– Tumblr/Reddit (or similar format): Document production, display images with quick caption

Target:

• Teen to young adults aged 16 to 24

Benefit:

• Archival opportunity
• Expand upon topics for show(s) with online discussion
• Interviews or “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) with actors/production team
• Personal responses, feedback from target group
• Widespread sharing of information
• Tie in with other social media platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, or YouTube

Pitfall:

• Unable to commit to the AMAs
• Professional images used out of context or without permission
• “Trolling” of participants or community
• Information being at the bottom of the list = more scrolling down the page

Why this platform:

• Using Tumblr or Reddit will allow for the YouTube channel to be shared here reaching the targeted constituents by way of conducting interviews or share images. The potential to add humor to the production by encouraging “memes” of approved photos can be shared here but may also be syndicated to other platforms like a blog or to Facebook.

When to use this platform:

• Tumblr or Reddit may be best used throughout the entire production process but could see less utilization after the close of the show. Ideally, posts should be timed around YouTube uploads, PSA releases, and show reviews to generate interest throughout the entire run of the show.

 

– Facebook: currently in use but need to set up more postings for interactions

Target:

• 25 – 44 age range
• Adults with young to teen children
• Post-high school or higher education
• Socially active with family, friends, neighbors
• Tourists (more specifically the out of town guests of our target group)

Benefit:

• Brief, engaging updates
• Sharing of images, videos, or articles
• Communication with other theatre companies or audience members
• Reviews or ratings available for others to see
• Post events that can be shared or exported to a followers calendar
• “Boost” posts towards targeted segment

Pitfall:

• Page is “unfollowed” or “unliked”
• Periods of inactivity leading to lack of interaction(s)
• Too many posts in a short amount of time
• Unclear Event posts with inaccurate information

Why this platform:

• FSitP has an established outreach of 445 “likes” (1/20/15), a number of photo albums, and comments/posts by previous show attendees. Facebook is still a widely used social media platform and is easily accessed by desktop computer, smartphone, or tablet.
• Posts to the Facebook page can be themed based on popular photo sharing, they can also be arranged to appear at a designated time, and can be linked to other platforms like Tumblr, Pinterest, or YouTube.

When to use this platform:

• The Facebook page should be used throughout the year with posts timed around the trailer release, PSAs, show reviews, interviews, and press photos. The “check-in” ability through the site can allow attendees to inform others of where they are and what they are doing once the production is in show mode.

 

Summary –

Free Shakespeare in the Park has an excellent opportunity to mine for free social platforms that are tailored to nonprofit organizations and to also incorporate other options for interactivity via Instagram, Flickr/Photobucket, Twitter, Foursquare, and a dedicated website. To maintain all of these platforms, they will need to add in a Social Media Manager into their organizational structure. Currently, the Artistic Producing Director, Sharon S`elove, and the Arts Administrator, me, take turns to send out PSAs, post to community calendars, or update the Facebook page. My hope with creating a detailed Marketing Plan for FSitP is to demonstrate the opportunities we have and to encourage more dialogue with the Eugene/Springfield area by way of more inclusive communications.

Resource Websites:

https://blog.compete.com/2012/12/14/this-is-what-an-age-breakdown-of-the-top-social-sites-looks-like-3/

http://kanguro.fi/blog/who-uses-tumblr-17-statistics-marketers-need-to-know-about-tumblr/

http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/05/09/50-awesome-youtube-facts-and-figures/

http://www.authormedia.com/7-reasons-why-mail-chimp-is-better-than-constant-contact-for-author-newsletters/

https://blog.bufferapp.com/8-effective-email-strategies-backed-by-research

http://kanguro.fi/blog/who-uses-tumblr-17-statistics-marketers-need-to-know-about-tumblr/

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