Social media marketing in performing art centers

In the reality of an economic recession and increasing competition in all sectors of economy, companies strive to find more effective and efficient ways to increase brand awareness and market their services. This study investigates one such effort used in the entertainment side of the tourism sector – social media marketing. Specifically this research looks at how Performing Art Centers are developing social media marketing. Developing an effective viral marketing strategy within the social media landscape requires being aware of the current usage of social media by Performing Art Centers in their attempt to market the services to their target audiences. There is a growing interest in social media marketing research with only modest research available in the tourism and arts field. To fill this void an online survey was administered to 60 performing arts centers with a total response of 23. The performing art center venues were chosen based on three criteria. These were open-air venues, non-sporting stadiums, and a seating capacity of no more than 30,000. Questions focused on four objectives. The first was to document social media tools used by PACs. The second was to assess the most effective social media tools used in marketing by PACs. The third was to document expenditures on and revenue from social media marketing of PACs. The most common social media tools used by the sample were Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Among other social media tools Facebook and Twitter were assessed as the most effective used to achieve marketing objectives. Social media was seen as most effective in increasing brand awareness and building strong fan community. It appears that those not using social media tools have plans to do so in the future; however the majority still allocates their resources towards traditional marketing. This study will help other small to medium size tourism attractions and facilities with the use of social media marketing efforts