There’s nothing better than a live audience cheering after a wonderful performance. It’s one of the unique pleasures of theater and that feeling of community is one of the reasons why live performance has been part of human culture for thousands of years.
With the right strategies, you can tap into that excitement and grow your audience by creating vibrant, branded social media content that will help you connect more deeply with viewers, promote shows, and boost ticket sales. Social platforms can help you develop a relationship with your community so that they consider your theater a place they love to go, both in person and online. Be sure to see our audience-building tips below.
Define Your Theater’s Brand
Start by considering your brand and how you display it on your social media platforms. Is your theater more traditional or avant-garde? Do you want to appeal to families? Your theater’s personality should come across in your social posts. The look of your posts (logo, color scheme, fonts) and the content (images, captions, responses) should reflect the tone you are trying to promote.
Get Creative with Social Media Content
Theater is a visual medium, so use high-quality images and videos in your posts. Besides more direct show promotion, you can post all kinds of behind-the-scenes content: footage or photos from rehearsals, introductions to cast and crew members, pictures of the set/costumes, and interviews with the creative team. Offer special promotions or access for followers such as backstage tours, invitations to watch rehearsals, or cocktail receptions.
Your followers may also enjoy content about your theater’s unique features, themed content related to the show’s subject matter, or interesting facts about the play or its creators. These types of posts can strengthen rapport with your viewers and entice them to see more shows or increase their level of support.
Engage with Your Audience on Social Media Platforms
Aside from posting content, you should make it a priority to be consistently active on your social channels. The weeks when shows are live are the most crucial times to engage, as you can share and re-purpose comments from viewers, respond to comments, cross-post cast member content, and more.
We recommend spending 10-15 minutes engaging on your theater’s social platforms each day. This can include:
- Responding promptly to comments and messages
- Sharing content to stories (re-sharing feed content, creating polls and quizzes about upcoming shows or theater trivia, etc.)
- Engaging with other related accounts on your feed
- Hosting live Q&A sessions with actors or directors
You may even find yourself answering very practical questions like “What time is the show?” “How much are your tickets?” or “How long is the show?” Responding rapidly will not only facilitate ticket sales and attendance but will also help build trust with your audience.
Get Platform-Specific with Your Social Media Content
Each social media platform has its algorithm and opportunities, so customize your content according to where you’re posting.
- Instagram Stories – quick updates or day-in-the-life content
- Facebook Posts – show production photos or conversation starters (e.g., trivia questions about an upcoming show)
- Facebook or Instagram Live – for theater tours or interviews
- TikTok – short, creative behind-the-scenes videos
- Instagram Reels – videos of rehearsals, performances, or interviews
Instagram reels tend to heavily outperform regular image posts, so plan to include reels in your regular content.
Don’t forget to share! All platforms are great for cross-sharing with cast members, local influencers, or happy audience members. Cross-promotion can help expand reach and connect with new audiences.
Top Tips for Social Media Content Posting
How many times a week should you post?
This is a question we get often, and unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” answer. Post frequency varies greatly depending on the platform, your industry, your specific audience, and even the bandwidth of your team to create social content.
The most important thing to remember is quality over quantity—start with a level of content that is realistic for your team to create without sacrificing quality, and stay consistent with it! Posting frequently and consistently will give you the best chance at expanding reach with both new and existing audiences.
Here are some general guidelines that can help get your theater started:
- Facebook & Instagram: 2-3 times/week minimum for posts and reels. Stories can be posted as often as multiple times per day.
- TikTok: 2-3 times/week minimum, can post as often as multiple times per day.
- X (Twitter) or Threads: As often as multiple times per day.
How long should I make my captions or text?
A general rule is to keep it brief (around 125 characters or less); we all have short attention spans! If you want to experiment with longer captions on Instagram, try using keywords tailored to your target audience or things they may be searching for. Instagram will use tailored keywords in captions to make posts more easily accessible. Use three to five hashtags for each channel, combining a mix of location-based and show-specific.
- #Yourtown
- #NameofShow
- #MusicalTheatre
What is boosting and when should I do it?
Boosting your post—paying to promote a post to an audience of your choosing—is a great way for theaters to expand reach and engagement on a limited budget. Boosting is not the same thing as digital advertising and is fairly affordable. Spending about $500 a month on boosted posts can be very beneficial for an account that doesn’t have a high number of followers or has a hard time reaching them organically.
In fact, it’s probably best to accept that you are going to have to spend a little bit of money to reach a larger audience on Facebook. That’s how these social platforms have evolved, and they don’t always make it easy to get engagement no matter what you’re sharing, so being prepared to invest in boosting can help your content go a long way.
Types of posts that do especially well when boosted include anything with high-quality images or videos (behind-the-scenes, rehearsal footage, show production photos, etc.). We find that “Meet the Cast” posts do very well when boosted as well.
The good news is that boosting works! It is less complex than running ads and allows you to target your audience by interests (popular shows and movies, brands they like, arts/entertainment, etc.), geography, age groups, and other demographics. For example, if you are putting on a production of Beauty and the Beast, you could target people who are interested in Disney, Disney musicals, and the Disney movie version of Beauty and the Beast.
Theater Social Media Content Best Practices
- Vary the types of posts you are sharing: alternate static graphics with behind-the-scenes photos/videos, show photography, and more.
- Keep text on your graphics to a minimum.
- Show key art is important to incorporate in posts for branding purposes, but keep in mind that posts featuring photography and video are often more engaging. Make sure you have a good mix of both.
- On Facebook, we find that the best-performing posts are typically photo-based. Whereas on Instagram and TikTok, reels and videos seem to offer your best chance at increased reach and engagement.
Adapt Your Social Media Content Continually
Reviewing your social media analytics will reveal what content resonates best with your audience. Review analytics monthly to watch for any changes in performance and on a quarterly and annual basis to understand your content’s impact over time. These insights can also help determine the best days and times to post and which types of posts drive the most engagement.
Trillion Helps Theaters Grow Their Social Media Presence
Theater and social media are perfect companions: the excitement, visual assets, and community feeling of theater all make excellent social media content. At Trillion, we leverage targeted social media marketing to help theaters amplify their reach, boost engagement, and ultimately drive ticket sales.
Let us elevate your theater’s presence and connect you with audiences eager to experience the magic of live performance. Call us at 908.219.4703 or contact us to see how social media expertise can optimize your season. Our talented team is waiting in the wings!
