An Idiot On Stage

You know you have to diversify the marketing strategy for your community theatre company, right? In today's episode I share some of the things you can do to reach big audiences offline and through little known avenues online. Use these processes yourself but, more importantly, let them expand your understanding of marketing theatre and get creative. Experiment and test. It's actually quite enjoyable.

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Learn more: www.sherrylleesecomb.com

Gathering enough content to effectively promote your theatre production leaves you feeling like you need nine arms, six legs and two heads. There just isn't enough time to do everything that you need to do to market with impact.

After a few years of doing everything by myself (hello Idiot), I started building teams of amateur photographers and harnessed the huge value of user generated content known affectionately as 'the cast and crew'.

In this episode I give you my process for making this all work in a volunteer organisation and how to avoid the pitfalls that can come when collaborating.

Here's the link to the Stay Classy at the Theatre facebook page I mention today, as an example of opening night social photography.

LINK: https://www.facebook.com/StayClassyTheatre/

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Learn more: www.sherrylleesecomb.com

Let's talk about your theatre company's brand.

Here's our logo.

No, I want to talk about your actual brand.

Blank stare.

Today we're going to smash the misconception that your logo carries the entire story of your brand. First we need to dig around and discover who your theatre company really is, what your values are and who your real audience is.

I've included one of the first steps in my brand discovery sessions to help you begin a process that will have a huge impact on the future of your theatre company.

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Learn more: www.sherrylleesecomb.com

Your promotional photos are the foundation of your marketing strategy for your shows. Without them, you'll be ignored by potential audiences and your chances of getting media coverage are super slim. But creating quality promotional images on a budget of, well, zilch, is almost impossible...isn't it?

Today, I'm going to share with you a simplified version of my process for creating and managing promotional photoshoots for theatre productions. I've developed this process over the last decade, using talented amateur photographers and top professional photographers alike and have learned this one truth - the secret is to do something simple extremely well.

This episode is full of information that will get you started and help you understand that you don't need to spend a fortune to get promotional shots that will give you credibility with audiences and the media, but if you want more information, send me a DM and I'm happy to coach you through the process.

Remember, EVERYTHING I do is built for promoting community and independent performing arts and its creatives. I've spent a decade working with standard business marketing practices and making them accessible for volunteer theatre creatives.

I offer my skills and experience to the Australian community and independent theatre scene at not cost as my way of contributing to our future.

Learn more: www.sherrylleesecomb.com

You've set your theatre company up on every social media platform you can get your hands on and you've started creating content. After a little while though, you begin to resent the whole process because you're spending all your valuable 'spare' time (huh!) creating content that doesn't seem to be having any impact - who the hell is listening?

Today we're going to build a social media strategy that will help your content actually achieve the goals you have set for your theatre company - selling tickets, building brand awareness and, if you're an arts educator, building authority.

Before we begin, you might want to check out Episode 4 which explains WHY you need a strategy. Episode 5 is full of resources to help you upskill from personal social media use to professional social media tactics - yes, they're different - helping you gain confidence up the wazoo.

In this episode, our framework will get you thinking about:

1. Your purpose for using social media - your objective.

2. Set goals for reaching that objective.

3. Discover who your REAL audience is (and it's not everyone!).

4. Learn the 4-3-2 content plan I use.

5. Repurposing content.

6. Some secrets of social media advertising.

7. How to go deeper with your social media and really get it working.

And remember, EVERYTHING I do is built for promoting the performing arts and its creatives. I've spent a decade working with standard business marketing practices and making them accessible for volunteer theatre creatives.

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Learn more: www.sherrylleesecomb.com

One of the mistakes theatre creatives make is thinking that their personal social media style/method is enough when building an online presence for their theatre company or professional career. I meet them several months in, burnt out and discouraged, having made little impact and struggling to be noticed by people who actually want what they're creating.

I get it. I've been marketing theatre since social media began and I wish I had known in the beginning some of the tips I'm sharing with you today. These things are just the beginning but they can make a huge difference to your results when marketing your shows and craft.

The truth is, you have to upskill if you want to make a real difference, so today is going to help you do just that.

**NOTE: I do not use sponsorships, affiliations or receive any financial remuneration for this podcast. The platforms and people I promote offer some of the best resources I have found (and use myself) to help you upskill and feel more confident.

Resources and links mentioned in this podcast:

LINKTR.EE

A third party URL platform which allows you to offer more than one link in your instagram bio.

https://linktr.ee/

AMAZING FACEBOOK TRAINING

Mari Smith is known as the 'Queen of Facebook'. Offers an enormous amount of free training and daily live updates of the latest news from Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/marismith/

LATER.COM

A third party scheduling app with fantastic free training all about Instagram. A huge resource with the latest changes and tactics to Instagram.

https://later.com/blog/

PRIMAL VIDEO (JUSTIN BROWN)

An Australian coach that will help you up your video and Youtube game. A brilliant resource for marketers, not just film makers.

This particular video will help you set up your Youtube channel and give you the information you need to take advantage of the SEO capabilities of this huge 'search engine'.

Set up your Youtube channel for best results:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o7qODwjEz8&t=30s

Understand Youtube ranking and make SEO work for you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLR3YmJJ0no

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Learn more: www.sherrylleesecomb.com

Say words like strategy to most theatre creatives and you can almost see their eyes glaze over. I get it - it's much more fun to jump into your social platforms and play with all the latest shiny objects than do something that can feel like your old high school assignments.

If you want to really make an impact, you need a strategy; a plan.

Without a social media strategy, you're going to waste your money, your time and eventually experience the burnout that comes from creating random, directionless social media content that doesn't really achieve what it could. Let's take a look at why a plan is so very important to your theatre company's future.

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Learn more: www.sherrylleesecomb.com

Our theatres haven't just gone dark; they've gone silent. Very few community theatre organisations seem to know why, what or how to continue building relationships with their audiences and members during Covid. So, when we don't know what to do, we tend to do nothing.

The problem with doing nothing is that we won't be ready when the ghost lights are finally turned off. Our audiences will have forgotten about us and so will social media algorithms. Any momentum you had worked hard to build up, will be gone and you're going to be starting from scratch. What a bore!

It doesn't have to be like that. There is a way to maintain your audience and member relationships on social media and today I'm going to share why it's important to keep going, what sort of content you can use and a couple of the most important elements of this whole deal - empathy and respect.

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Learn more: www.sherrylleesecomb.com

You spend hours creating content for your show and ask the cast and creatives to share it with their friends but they drag their feet. Your project team can be a brilliant marketing team if only you could get them enthusiastic about what you post.

In this episode, I give you the secrets to getting your team and even your audience keen to share the content on your social media. Generating engagement like this can save you advertising dollars and act as the personal recommendations that help you sell tickets to your show.

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Learn more: www.sherrylleesecomb.com

Why is it so important to know the difference between marketing and advertising? Aren't they the same thing? Aaaah, nope, and if most of your message to the world is "buy tickets to my show" then we need to talk. This episode is dedicated to creatives who feel 'icky' when promoting their shows and helping you understand why you need to stop advertising and start building a relationship with your audience.

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Learn more: www.sherrylleesecomb.com