TIP FOR APRIL 2012

• Know YOUR audience
  The first thing companies say to me when they approach to discuss publicity is that their GOAL is to reach beyond their typical Friends/Family audience.  What’s wrong with their Friends/Family I ask?  The answer is NOTHING; those are the people who are going to help you build your Word-of-Mouth.  Those are the people who will support you through thick and thin.  Those are the people you should be embracing with open arms.
  
  When thinking about your secondary audience you should think about some very important questions: What is your mission? What are the goals of your production?  What are three adjectives that describe your ideal audience member? Describe them in as much detail as you can. Reference anything that applies: age, gender, sex, education, social/economic conditions, temperament, location, and family… What reaction do you want them to have when they see your show? What three pieces of information will be important to your audience? What do you want their take-away to be?  Once you identify these factors you can start systematically approaching the “right” places/organizations ect… that your ideal audience member may participate.
  
  Remember, audience building is an on-going process and it won’t happen overnight.  It takes a consistent systematic approach to reap any rewards.
  
  

TIP FOR MARCH 2012

• Top 10 Twitter Tips for Marketing Your Upcoming Show
  So last month we gave you the top 10 tips for Facebook for marketing your show. Now here are the Twitter tips:
  
  1. Follow the people you would like to follow you
  2. Talk to them, converse, engage, interact
  3. Don't post the same things on Twitter that you do on Facebook, but do let them interact, support each other, or enhance engagement
  4. Use tags appropriately, identifying what you are talking about within a trend--but don't use too many.
  5. Don't sell and don't ask too much of your followers... Twitter is an engagement tool, tell them something new, that they didn't know before, or respond to a current event that relates to your production.
  6. Gain one genuine follower and you'll get 10+ from them, just by appropriate interaction.
  7. Don't be inappropriate on twitter: racist, offensive, abusive.
  8. Share the good and the bad, be honest, be yourself, be genuine.
  9. Put your twitter badge on everything from your website, email signature, Facebook, postcards...
  10. Use a Twitter tool to schedule tweets when you are unavailable, such as HootSuite or Co-Tweet.
      
      

TIP FOR FEBRUARY 2012

• Top 10 Facebook Tips for Marketing Your Upcoming Show
  
  1. Post a status update saying "Like my page" or "Like my upcoming show"
  2. Upload photos of upcoming show, actors, and other production elements
  3. Offer an incentive for people to sign up, such as discounts or special offers
  4. Add a Facebook "Like box" to your website
  5. Use Facebook tagging and tag people in the photos and who you want to like the photos
  6. Make sure to mention Facebook in all your marketing messaging, postcard, and email blasts
  7. Run a "Fans Only" contest
  8. Link your Facebook page to your LinkedIn Page, your Actor's Access Page, your Broadway World page
  9. Upload video to Facebook
  10. Engage with your fans and create an exceptional experience.
  
  Contact Kampfire to run your next Facebook campaign!
  

TIP FOR JANUARY 2012

• Focus on customer service.
  We all think that if we provide a great show, with a talented cast, fantastic sets, interesting script and perfect costumes that our audiences will be pleased. Perhaps they will, but push yourself to take that enjoyment one step further. For example, the the cell theater offers wine before and after the show, or MTWorks provides homemade refreshments, or a smiling face greeting them at the door before and after the performance.
  
  Think about ways you can add-on to their night's experience... can you get a local restaurant to offer a discount meal, can you send them home with a free gift? In Danny Meyer's book, Setting the Table he talks about the whole customer experience and not just the food at his fine-dining establishments.  We can learn something from concentrating on the whole experience, from ease of ticket purchasing, to a thank you for coming to a performance.  Pay as close attention to details off the stage as you do to what is on the stage to make a lasting impression.
  

For more helpful marketing & public relation tips check out these blogs by Katie Rosin:

And be sure to visit the Kampfire Films PR website.