A shared experience

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) kick-started its social media journey in 2008. The initial motivator to scope out and start using the social media landscape was its potential to reach key target audiences, namely those aged under 44, from C2 social class backgrounds, and from Black and minority ethnic groups. There was also a desire to open up a two-way dialogue with audiences and social media offered an opportunity to do this.

In early 2009 we launched the RSC Facebook Page and Twitter feed and these have since developed to be vital communication channels. Managed by the marketing department, an initial small investment of £300 was made to set up the Facebook Page. The return on investment has been enormous. Facebook and Twitter are amongst the top referrers to the RSC website and, by using the Google E-Commerce tool, we can approximate the financial value of these visits – a measure that can be used to prove the benefits of investing in social media. We also know, from Facebook Insights, that 79% of our Facebook fans fall within our target age group. Through social media we also reach a wide international audience: 36% of Facebook fans are from outside the UK.

Away from the hard sales figures and statistics, social media have opened up the RSC to its audiences in a way that had not been previously possible. We have successfully encouraged online audiences to converse with us, and each other, via these platforms. A recent Facebook post about the final performance at The Courtyard Theatre prompted 55 responses and our Twitter followers are now encouraged to use RSC hashtags when tweeting about our productions so other tweeters (and the RSC!) can follow online reviews, thoughts and criticism. A recent Twitter highlight was the hashtag #RSCMatilda trending – if only for a few minutes!

As a marketing department we have purposefully chosen to shy away from the ‘book tickets now‘ messaging prominent in our traditional marketing materials. Instead we focus upon sharing interesting web content, new video trailers, behind the scenes news and live tweets from rehearsals, and we actively encourage comments and sharing. For example, for the launch of ‘Matilda, A Musical’, a simple ‘Where is Matilda?‘ photo campaign via Facebook invited fans to see if they could, in a series of photos, identify where in Stratford Matilda was. It got our online audience talking about the production and their love for Stratford.

Our social media audiences enjoy the occasional last-minute ticket offer but it is the opportunity to engage with the RSC directly that has enabled us to build these relationships online. Moving forward, the RSC wants to build upon its current social media successes. The first social media strategy is being developed with targets and objectives for the next 12 months, and our fiftieth birthday this year will surely bring about plenty of opportunities to have fun with social media.