This document provides a recommended social media strategy for Yale Repertory Theatre (YRT) in 2010. It analyzes the importance of social media and adoption rates among theaters. The goals for YRT are to listen to audiences, empower audiences to promote YRT, deepen relationships with current audiences, attract new audiences, and lead in the social media field. Strategies are provided for engaging fans on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube based on analytics of other theaters. The strategies focus on regular posting, responding to users, and measuring engagement. Additional time of around 10 hours per week is estimated to implement fully.

1. Yale Rep & Social Media A recommended strategy for 2010

2. Why is Social Media Important? Because 3 out of 4 Americans use social technology. Forrester, The Growth Of Social Technology Adoption, 2008 Visiting social sites is now the 4th most popular online activity—ahead of personal email. Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places, 2009 85% of social media users believe that a company should go further than just having a presence on social sites and should also interact with its customers. Cone, Business in Social Media Study, September 2008 *Thanks to Brand Infiltration for statistics on Social Media

3. Social Media Adoption among Theatres

5. Strategies for engaging fans on Facebook Goal: Empower & Deepen Create a fan page for YRT Acquire friends by Linking YRT fan page to YSD and Yale Cabaret’s fan pages Promoting fan page on print & online marketing materials Friending YSD students, staff and faculty Advertising on Facebook Post new content at least once per day (wall comments, links, photos, video) about artistic & administrative life at YRT + respond to fan’s comments Use Facebook Insights to measure results Look to Kansas City Rep, Actors Theatre Louisville, and Denver Center as examples

6. Success Metrics onFacebook

7. 82% of LORT theatres are on Twitter. On average they:

8. Strategies for engaging followers on Twitter Goal: Listen & Empower Consider using Hootsuite Twitter desktop client Create a Twitter username that’s easy to search for (@yalerep) Find followers by Searching for who’s already talking about YRT Promoting YRT’s Twitter username on print & online marketing materials Following other Yale & theatre organizations Use an authentic voice Respond to and retweet every @mention Comment on other user’s tweets Ask questions to followers Post new content every day UseTwitalyzer and Hootsuite to measure results Look to ACT Theatre, Portland Center Stage, and ART as examples

9. Success Metrics onTwitter

10. 88% of LORT theatres are on YouTube. On average they:

11. Strategies for engaging viewers on YouTube Goal: Empower & Attract Upload a new video to YRT’s YouTube channel every month LORT average = every 10 weeks, but 34 theatres average 1+/month Don’t assume that only a certain “type” of video will attract high viewership. Understand current demographics of YouTube Make videos easy to find Embed videos on Facebook and yalerep.org Link to videos on Twitter Use keyword tags Put videos into playlists Use YouTube Statistics to measure results Look to ART, Center Theatre Group, and Portland Center Stage as examples

12. Success Metrics onYouTube

13. Don’t Waste Time On Except maybe for YSD

14. How much time will it take? ~10 more hours/wk

15. But what if…

16. In the future Professional networking Blogs Geo-aware games Mobile apps

17. Questions?

18. Appendix: More Reports on 24 Usable Hours Facebook Twitter YouTube Flickr MySpace Blogs Staffing for Social Media

19. Created by Devon Smith, Director of Research & AnalysisYale Repertory Theatre Email: devon.smith@yale.edu Follow: @devonvsmith Read: http://devonvsmith.tumblr.com/