The Arts Business

The Brand Book: What it is and how to make it

Posted 17/08/202025/10/2020 RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Branding, Graphic Design, Marketing

As your business expands so will you staffing base and it is important when you bring newbies aboard that they fully understand your company and your brand.

It may even be useful to have when you’re starting out as it can really resonate clarity in your presentation. If you create a system of branding rules to stick to then your website and marketing material is bound to look super profesh!

A Brand Book can be an excellent way to not only create your parameters for your brand but also format it in such a way that is in keeping with your company’s branding. This not only gives your presentation a clear vision but also allows others who join you, whether freelancers or employees, to quickly gain a full understanding of your business’ branding.

You may want to consider hiring a professional (like The Arts Business) to pull together your brand properly, especially if there is no one on your team with a graphic design edge. This document makes a statement for your entire operations so it’s important to get it right.

But, as I’m sure you know by now, here at The Arts Business we are firm believers in Doing It Yourself!

So, here’s how to make your very own! You can pick and choose the aspects of Brand Book you want to enclose and as you grow, it can grow with you.

I’ll be working off The Arts Business’ very own Brand Book’s included sections and how to write them. Here is our lovely front cover!

Click here to download The Arts Business Brand Book to follow along, use as reference or simply admire.

I will also chuck in some bonus headings you can include. Just pick and choose which ones are best suited to you and your business.

Contents

Direct the reader to each section at the beginning. Simples!

Mission Statement

Kick start the book with what the brand represents. Officially it is a formal summary of the company, but I like to think of it as a series of bullet points telling the reader immediately what the company does and its goals.

Core Values

Single Words or phrases that ring true with your company and its aims. Have fun with this page. Really let your imagination run free with your design!

Target Audience

Who are you trying to reach? This is so important to define as it will not only make your vision clearer but will help you to design growth and marketing strategies to ensure that your business is reaching the right people.

Logo

Not only are you showing how your logo is displayed in colour, greyscale and how much space should be allowed around it but also any dos and don’ts for your logo. For example: don’t stretch or distort the logo, don’t recolour the logo. Don’t be afraid of details, your logo is one of the most important aspects of your brand and you want to make sure it always stands out.

Tagline

Think of this like your company slogan. When starting out you want to make sure your tagline clearly explains what your company does, really spell it out for anyone who stumbles across your page organically! Here is your opportunity to display how you want your tagline to tie in with your logo and those ever so important dos or don’ts.

Colours

In a nutshell this is the colours you want associated with your brand. It pulls your designs together. Be sure to include the:

HEX code: a six-digit number used particularly in coding.
RGB: it’s a mix of red, green and blue balance which dictates how the colour appears onscreen,
CMYK: stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key. This is the colour balance to recreate the exact same colours in printed materials.

Most brands include primary and secondary colours. Generally, (although not a rule) primary colours are those seen in the logo and secondary colours are used to compliment and offset those colours.

Some bigger brands even name their colour, so it is forever associated with their brand, for example: Spotify Green & Netflix Red.

Typography

Similar to colours these are the typefaces you want your brand to use. Give a description of each font along with what and when it is appropriate to use them. You can use the terminology primary and secondary here again to create a font hierarchy. You can also include information about font format and weight.

Social Media

A relatively new addition to the Brand Book and so important it takes up two pages. This should show what social networks your business uses and how to use them in keeping with your brand. Remember your dos and don’ts and be sure to use some illustrative imagery to explain exactly what to do. Social Media is one of the most important platforms for your company’s organic growth so if you’re not sure what sites to use or how you should check out our previous post on finding the perfect social media platform for your business.

Photography, Illustration & Artwork

The Arts Business has chosen to group these items into a single category to explain simply and efficiently how to use imagery throughout the website and any branded documentation. Should your Arts Business focus on any of these elements you may want to break them down into individual categories to expand on how you use them for company branding.

Tone of Voice

This is how you want your content to come across. Are you professional and corporate? Conversational and friendly? Explanatory and informative? It’s up to you how you want your brand to be portrayed but think carefully about your target audience appeal when making this decision.

Stationery

Stationery in this context includes branding like letterheads, email signatures and business cards. Pretty much any time your business presents itself in print. Use this page to show examples of your stationery and how you have incorporated your brand guidelines into the design.

Flyers, Posters & Merchandise

Similar to stationery I have shown examples of flyers and merchandise The Arts Business has produced in the past to suggest how the logo might be used.

Contact Details

Self-explanatory really! Whoever reads your Brand Book should be able contact you if they have any questions or simply want to congratulate you on a job well done!

I like to display my contact information in the same way:

Logo – make sure it’s there somewhere, doesn’t necessarily need to be above but somewhere on the same page! I like to think that subconsciously this means that when someone sees your logo, they automatically associate it with you contact details springing to mind but even if this isn’t true it still looks pretty.
Name and Job Title – not necessary to include with the Brand Book but if you think it is applicable to the document go for it!
Tagline – As I explained previously the company’s tagline is kind of like a one sentence pitch or explanation of what you do, so I try to include it at the beginning or end of official company documentation to remind anyone who may be reading it exactly what we do.
Phone Number,Email Address, Social Media, Website – make it as easy as possible for the reader to contact you should they have any questions.

Optional Extras
- Brand Journey – your company’s origin story and brand history
- Composition – how to arrange company documentation
- Iconography – specifically about little, simple icons used throughout your branding
- Animation and Video – should you include video content frequently with your work, you’ll also wanna specify guidelines for these
- Product Line – should this be central to your brand, include it

There are loads of ways you can build your brand book so here are some links to awesome examples from companies of all shapes and sizes including:

Santa: If Father Christmas had a Brand Book this is what it would look like
Scrimshaw Coffee: I just love the simplicity in the design of this one
Coca Cola: A brand for everyone
American Red Cross: Brand Values summed up in a poster.

Ultimately, don’t be afraid to get specific! Remember, it’s your business, your brand, your baby. It should be exactly how you want it to be!

Do you have a brand book to be proud of? Let us know! We’d love to share it.

Want The Arts Business to create a brand book for you? Get in touch.

APP OF THE MONTH: SEMrush

Posted 02/03/202028/07/2020 RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in App of the Month, Marketing, Start Ups

Name	SEMrush
Product Description	For all your SEO needs! Any stats you could possibly need to know for your SEO Report and the quickest way to research if your SEO efforts are working and how you can improve your strategy.
Availability	The best way to access SEMrush with all of its functionalities is directly through your browser. There is also an app available through Google Play Store and Apple App Store which can be used to track your existing projects.
Key Features	· Analytics and Advertising: Unlike Google Analytics SEMrush can also tell you all about your competitors SEO and online advertising strategies and how well they’re working out. · Backlink Analytics: Assess your backlinks (incoming links on other peoples’ websites to your own) to see who is linking you from where and how successful it has been. In addition you can learn where your competitors have backlinks too. · Keyword and Keyphrase Research: Find the right words to improve your business’ ranking on search engines and how these change, dependent on countries you are active in. · Product Listing Ads: Understand Competitors best performing products and how this can be utilised in your business. · Traffic Analytics: The who, what, where, when, why, how, of the users visiting your page. · A/B Testing: Loads of ideas and practical guidelines for setting up A/B Testing on your website. · Projects: Set up a specific campaign for your website(s) with the exact information you want to track, from keeping an eye on your google position to scheduling your social media, available live to you whenever you want it. · And so much more information that can help you to monetise your business online.
Prices and Plans	Price plans can be pretty expensive (ranging from $99 – $399 a month) so to access all its power you would ideally need to be a large scale business looking to expand further, but it has loads of free features so long as you set up an account.
Biggest Pro	It is perfectly to the point and beautifully laid out to make the information quick and easy to read and understand.
Biggest Con	You only get 10 searches a day with your free plan so make sure you’re strategic and leave yourself some time to write your plan.

Want to learn more about SEMrush and how to build your own SEO Report, click here.

The Evolution of Scottish Tourism

Posted 30/09/201924/03/2020 RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Marketing, Museums, Publicity

The National Museum of Scotland boasts exhibits from all over the world including the only place you can see an Ancient Mummy outside of Egypt, limestone sculptures from Ancient Assyria and a dodo from Mauritius. But what was one of the major complaints I received from tourists back when I worked as an Edinburgh Tour Guide? It isn’t Scottish enough!

Crazy, right?!

So, what does the National Museum of Scotland do to combat this? Well every couple of years, over the summer, which is peak season for tourism, they put on an exhibition that is all about Scotland.

And this year they have really hit the nail on the head with their latest paid entry exhibition: ‘Wild and Majestic’ which is about the history of the Scottish tourism industry.

It explores how the Romantic Movement during the 18^th and 19^th century, including poets like Wordsworth or Byron and painters like Knox, captured the imaginations of the world and so the idealised depiction of Scotland was born.

Through both artistic perception and real artefacts, the National Museum of Scotland differentiates between what the real Scotland is and the glamorised vision spread worldwide throughout history. In particular, it explores the monarchy of the UK focusing on both George IV’s royal visit and Queen Victoria’s fascination with the Highlands leading to her eventual purchase of Balmoral castle.

The development of Balmoral gives an interesting insight into the overall development of Scotland to keep up with the surge of tourism. The rural area, which had been untouched for centuries, was now being – somewhat begrudgingly- taken over by the upper classes. This led to the development of the travel networks and buildings all over the Highlands. It tells us that in order to preserve the history that attracts visitors, we must also be prepared to evolve.

Another brilliant move the National Museum of Scotland has made is to pair up with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig College on Skye, which is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI). Together they wrote copy and content for the displays which were then translated into Gaelic as well as discussing the impact that the language and culture have had on Scotland’s evolution. This aspect will not only encourage those from the North to experience the Museum but should also appeal to specialist societies and charities looking to preserve this ancient language.

In short, the travellers who come to Edinburgh can see their perfect and stereotyped vision of Scotland: everything from Tartan to Bagpipes, whereas the locals can see how Scotland was (and still is) essentially rebranded for the sake of the tourism industry. An insightful way to make the exhibition accessible to all.

Find your Perfect Social Network: Part 2

Posted 16/08/2019 RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Marketing, Social Media

Platform Name	LinkedIn
Monthly Active Users	303 Million
Key Demographic	Mainly professionals, but this is the key social platform where you’re likely to find the older generation age bracket.
Pros	A great platform for hiring staff, anyone and everyone has their CV or some kind of uploaded imitation of on here. It also has a great, informative blog platform and a section to advertise job positions.
Cons	Due to its nature it means that, unless people are using it for one of the above options, users don’t tend to check it that frequently, hence its low active monthly user figure.

Platform Name	Snapchat
Monthly Active Users	301 million
Key Demographic	Children and Teenagers, if they are your target audience you need to be all over this social media platform.
Pros	It’s quick and they have some great AR capabilities. Especially good if your running a show for teenagers or educational purposes. Think about appointing a Snapchat Officer when running workshops for teenagers! They love the responsibility! Just make sure to get permission slips signed for under 18s to be on social first.
Cons	Did you not hear what Kim Kardashian said? Snapchat is on its way out! Seriously, on the day she shared that the value of Snapchat dropped by $1.3 billion, which probably also tells you a bit about the demographic of Snapchat… I’m saying nothing.

Platform Name	Pinterest
Monthly Active Users	291 Million
Key Demographic	Mainly women, in fact 80% of its users are female. The median age of Pinterest is also slightly higher than many other social networks at 40 although active users usually fall below this age.
Pros	Amazing craft and ideas platform. The ability to create separate mood boards is genius and I have seen it frequently used by designers and event managers. If you have merchandise you can create a sales platform on here to.
Cons	Very rarely is there citation to who has made and designed the items on here which means plagiarism is common if you are putting up your own work up, although some would argue that Pinterest is about utilising others ideas and coming up with your own creation.

Platform Name	Soundcloud
Registered Users	76 Million
Unique Monthly Listeners	175 Million
Key Demographic	Music fans and podcast listeners
Pros	Unlike Spotify you are able to upload your own music and podcast content through Soundcloud to share with the world. This can then easily be shared either by you or your listeners across other platforms and through your website by embedding tracks in the code.
Cons	A low viewership at present means it is one of the least common streaming sites but it is building in popularity, especially amongst podcast developers and listeners. Also, at present, you don’t have to create a profile to register which makes finding users with specific tastes difficult!

Platform Name	Vimeo
Monthly Active Users	240 million
Key Demographic	A rather small demographic mainly consisting of creatives who prefer a higher quality of video. Basically, perfect for the arts industry.
Pros	The biggest pro by far is the ability to privatise your videos! If you’re workshopping or trying to market your show to tour promoters but don’t want to spoil it for paying audiences simply send them your video link with a password so they can view it, but no one else can!
Cons	Unlike most the social media networks Vimeo has a lot of restrictions in the number of videos you can upload and store when you use it for free. For £6-70 per month you can pay for additional storage and upload limits (it’s basically like paying for hosting).

Platform Name	Tumblr
Monthly Posts	1.1 Billion
Key Demographic	Another of your younger platforms (although not as young as Snapchat) catering mainly to under thirties.
Pros	You can find any different interests on this site which makes it hugely accessible! You can also have multiple blogs which discuss different topics and unlike must social media where consistency is key you can come and go as you please on Tumblr without effective your business.
Cons	Due to it’s blogging nature it is open to discussion which can be a feral breeding crowd for trolls! Think about YouTube arguments but on in parliament, discussing Brexit, on speed. They’re also super cagey about their visitor statistics so it’s difficult to gauge the kind of reach your getting.

BONUS TIP: Try to always keep your finger on the pulse with new, up and coming social platforms! How? I have found the easiest and most constructive way of doing this is simply seeing what is currently all the rage with my friends kids! If it is winging its way through the local comprehensive school, chances are it’s buzzing all over the UK. Obviously if you don’t have access to the fountain of knowledge that springs from the youth you can always listen to a social media podcast or keep your eye out in the news!

Do you use any social networks I haven’t mentioned? I would love to hear about them in the comments.

I have tried to pull the most recent user data and demographics from the following websites:

Find your Perfect Social Network: Part 1

Posted 13/08/2019 RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Marketing, Social Media

Find your Perfect Social Network Part 1

Relevant at all times of the year, but also hella helpful for your Fringe residency!

With so many platforms available to you and your business it is difficult to know exactly what platforms you should cover.

Don’t just go mad and join all of them at the same time! Especially if you’re a one man band. As we’ve have mentioned in 10 ways to your social consistency is key and you will make your life incredibly difficult for yourself (unless you are a content creation machine!).

We’ve broken down the key stats of leading social media platforms for you to make your life a little easier.

Platform Name	Facebook
Monthly Active Users	2.41 billion
Key Demographic	Basically, everyone and their parents, and often their Grandparents. Pretty much one third of the entire world uses Facebook so your target audience is bound to be here!
Pros	Everyone is on it! And every community group you could ever want to find probably already exists somewhere. It is also diverse in the content you can share including live video, gifs, photos, text etc.
Cons	Due to the high number of users it means you also have a high number of competition so it can be really difficult to build followers organically

Platform Name	YouTube
Monthly Active Users	1.9 Billion
Key Demographic	Again, a lot of people! But the people who use it for the longest each week are aged 16-24, followed by the 25-34 age bracket. Also, keep in mind that 70% of users turn to YouTube to learn something.
Pros	The Biggest Video platform in the world! Streaming platforms are slowly taking over from TV and YouTube stars are becoming the new celebrities so if you hit the right market not only will you find your audience but you could even make a living from Vlogging.
Cons	Like Facebook you have a lot of competition so do your research and make sure you’re using it to your advantage.

Platform Name	Whatsapp
Monthly Active Users	1.5 billion
Key Demographic	Like many social platforms it is predominantly your younger audience, but it is slowly taking the place of text messaging and its market is growing.
Pros	It all runs through the internet so it’s pretty much free, unlike text messaging. It has multiple ways you can use it for business means including: internal team communications; customer support; marketing and promotion.
Cons	Not many companies currently use whatsapp for business. I think this is really a pro disguised as a con. What it means is that if you can creatively think about ways you could use Whatspps in your business you can be ahead of the game! You could set the example.

Platform Name	Instagram
Monthly Active Users	1 billion
Key Demographic	Those in their 20s and 30s, Instagram has, in some cases, replaced Facebook for many people due to its simple, image based interface.
Pros	It can be used to direct message other users even if you’re not following each other! It has built in photo editing software so that even the most rubbish pictures you have taken look amazing. It integrates tags and hashtags seamlessly.
Cons	The focus on photos means users are less likely to read content so find a way to integrate text into your photos.

Platform Name	Twitter
Monthly Active Users	330 million
Key Demographic	Millennials and Stephen Fry
Pros	Like Instagram the ability to tag others and utilise hashtags is hugely beneficial. This means you are easily able to keep up with the latest trends and see what people are looking at on a daily basis.
Cons	You can only message people if you both follow each other which, although is marginally restrictive, does make sense because of the number of celebrities who would otherwise receive mountains of spam. You also have a limited letter count on Twitter so be succinct.

Platform Name	Reddit
Monthly Active Users	330 Million
Key Demographic	Predominantly Males aged 25-34.
Pros	A platform which openly encourages discussion on anything and everything it differs to other social networks because of its high levels of interaction. These discussions are split into categories or ‘subreddits’ to make your subject matter and audience easy to find.
Cons	Some people only use Reddit to act as the opposing party so be prepared for what can often be unnecessary and time-consuming debates. It can be easy to take things personally on Reddit so make sure you spend some time detaching yourself from your online profile for the sake of your sanity

Stay tuned for tomorrows post where we will be talking about some of the smaller social networks which can be equally as useful for your company.

What is it?

Simply the posts, tweets, grams, messages, videos, gifs, photos and content you share across your social media platforms when they are shared by someone else.

How do I get one?

Try tagging the people you want to share your content in your posts, if the content is special enough they may just share you, but at the very least they should notice you. But, don’t be a spammer! Nobody likes a spammer! Using topical and appropriate hashtags can help to!

So, go out and get in the paper so you and your followers can: READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Top 10 Podcasts to make your Arts Business

Posted 10/08/2019 RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Marketing, Podcasts

A random but excellent choice, every episode from the BBC archives are available! So, stick it on in the background and learn about how the celebrity has evolved from the 50s to the present. I always learn more about the creative industries when I have it on! 10-30 minutes.

Click Here to Learn More

So, whack in your headphones and get listening.

What are your favourite podcasts? Let me know in the comments!

To Flyer or not to Flyer

Posted 08/08/2019 RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Marketing, Promotion

That is the question

Yes, it’s tiring, emotionally draining, time consuming, environmentally unfriendly and you’ll probably get soaked to the bone due to the terrible and completely unpredictable nature of Scottish weather, but yes! To Flyer is always the answer!

The Arts Business have complied all the reasons you should flyer, the where’s, the when’s, the who’s, the what’s and the how’s all of which will make your flyering the most effective and enjoyable it can be.

1. Be Human – build up report, have a chat, some human interaction and conversation goes a long way. You want to show off your personality, see if it matches. If you’ve got some great banter with your flyeree chances are they will take a shot at your show.

2. Never Flyer Alone – Always have a partner! Flyering can be exhausting and the constant rejection can really get to you so have someone in the trenches with you, someone who is going through the same thing, someone to rant to, someone who will be your comrade!

3. Rope in the Family – no one is more on board with your show than blood relatives who will rave about you to unsuspecting flyerees! Chances are they are coming to see your show anyway and with crazy low budgets who doesn’t love a bit of free and passionate labour.

4. Schedule Times – Protocol usually dictates that you should flyer in the two hours a day before your show as this will be the most effective time to draw in the punters. Don’t over flyer: you have to keep up your flyer enthusiasm for the entire festival so better to have short but constructive bursts.

5. Have Breaks – very few of us are resilient enough to flyer for 2 hours straight so start 15 minutes earlier and have that cheeky tea break in the middle where you can try to chat about anything but flyering!

6. Mix it up – An entire month promoting the same thing day in day out can be boring so why not trade flyers with a company you know and trust for a day, they flyer you, you flyer them, it adds a little variety to what can otherwise become a tedious activity.

7. Location, Location, Location – obviously the Royal Mile but you are guaranteed a load of competition so other areas to think about are Princes Street Gardens, Bristo Square, George Square and The Mound, especially the paved area by galleries where the Half Price Hut sits. This is filled to the brim with undecided audience members just looking for your suggestion.

8. The Royal Mile – you have loads of competition here so make sure you stand out. Another cheeky tip is to have a wander up and down in the morning and check out the pop-up stage performers for that day. Any with a similar genre to you? Chances are those crowds who stop will also be interested in you and your show!

9. Flyer at your Venue – basically the only place you don’t have to ask permission to flyer so get up and down their box office queue, find shows that are like yours and flyer at the beginning or end of your show! Take advantage of your space, chances are you’re paying enough for it.

10. Flyer entries and exits – do your research into similar shows and ask if you can flyer either the start or end of their shows, maybe even ask them to leave flyers on chairs inside. Remember in queues there are bound to be paying customers just looking for their next show and if it’s a similar genre to yours chances are the audience will be interested.

11. Find your Audience – Take the gamble out of flyering by finding out where your Target Audience hang out. Are you a magic show for kids? Try mummy and me clubs or creches. LGBTQ+ Comic? Look into the gay bars and clubs of the city.

12. Have a Gimmick – something that makes you stand out in the crowds, wear your costume, create a photo opportunity, carry around that puppet, give out free condoms: draw attention to you! Think outside the box and have fun with it.

13. To hire or not to hire – street teams can be pricey, but they are also time saving. Their pros are that they know the distribution channels and the city better than you do but remember they don’t know your show as well as you and your crew! Just do your research and figure out if the money for time trade-off is worth it.

14. 5 second performance – think of it like a micro show, hook them in with a fun 5 seconds, then make a plan for the next 5, then the next 5 and the next. Reel them in and keep them hooked! If they like you then they will most probably like to see your show. And don’t be afraid to practice before you flyer!

15. Don’t force it – sure offer a flyer out but don’t force it into their hands, let the flyeree take it from you. If they show genuine interest in you they are way more likely to come and see you, remember one flyer gently given is better than 10 thrust into uncaring hands. It’s more environmentally friendly to!

16. Nail your Exit Line – Don’t let the goodbye be awkward, like a farewell after a one night stand it is better to be confident not weird. So, come up with a killer one liner which will make them remember you when they’re looking for they’re next show to see.

17. Stay Positive – I know this is easier said than done but at the end of the day flyering makes up a big part of everyone company’s fringe experience so you may as well have fun with it. Remember, we’re all in the same boat so turn that frown upside-down and don’t let the haters bring you down!

Don’t worry about flyering! Be Happy!

Have you got any flyering tips and tricks? Let us know in the comments so we can add them in!

APP OF THE MONTH: Hootsuite

Posted 05/08/201924/03/2020 RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in App of the Month, Marketing, Social Media

Name	Hootsuite
Product Description	This software allows you to manage all your social media platforms in one place quickly and easily!
Availability	Through Browser at http://www.hootsuite.com/ and as an app from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
Key Features	Schedule Posts in your own time so your profiles always look active. Easily find, manage and share content across all your platforms. Boost all your best posts. Check all your analytics in one place. Monitor topics and hashtags relevant to you and see when their activity peaks and troughs. Assign tasks to others in your team. Protect your brand with inbuilt security measures. Learn how to use Hootsuite in their very own cohesive online Academy available for subscribers.
Prices and Plans	FREE for the most basic plan which allows you to manage 3 different platforms in each place and limits the amount of scheduling you can do (although it is still a huge amount!) Handy Tip: They tend to hide their free plan pretty well so when looking at plans simply scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and you’ll see a link to their free plan. Paid plans for more platforms and users available from anywhere between £25-£520 per month. Find out more here: https://hootsuite.com/plans/upgrade
Biggest Pro	Having all your social media profiles and pages in one place to save you chopping and changing between apps and website. It really helps you get the best out of your time.
Biggest Con	If you have multiple companies running through Hootsuite there is currently no way to easily change between profiles so a bit of a faff involved in constantly logging in and out. I reckon this will come soon though!

Spread the Word of Mouth

Posted 04/08/2019 RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Marketing, Social Media

The best way to sell out your Fringe Show still via word of mouth.

Up until recently Word of Mouth was entirely organic, like people sharing show ideas with friends down the pub. I once overheard someone raving about a Korean Adaption of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ which remains one of the best pieces of theatre I have ever seen!

But when the internet began to take over the world, marketers realised they could begin to encourage the generation Word of Mouth themselves.

How?

Social Media of course!

So here are 10 pieces of advice to help you spread the word!

1. Make your show the best possible experience – people want to talk about experiences good or bad. Obviously, we’re looking to spread the positive but remember: no publicity is bad publicity (Unless you’re Harvey Weinstein)

2. Ask people to post – Most companies are doing this now so if you’re not buck up! It’s the norm. At the end of the show simply ask your audience to give you a social media shout out if they enjoyed it! Afterall, if you don’t ask you don’t get!

3. Share the fun – people love sharing jokes, gifs and interesting content they can relate to so don’t always keep it serious! Don’t just spam people with your flyer. Think outside the box and share the bants!

4. Don’t be afraid of gimmicks – or as I would like to think of it: Instagramable Promos! So, give out those condoms covered in your show branding! Share those cheeky pin badges! Your audience loves a freebie and you’ll get a bit of free advertising!

5. Think interactive posts – Hitler’s Tasters do some awesome tweets requesting people to reply gifs with how they’re feeling. It gets all the action! So think quizzes, polls, puzzles, questions, challenges, competitions, ticket offers, whatever will get people to interact!

6. Do your hashtag research – what’s trending, what’s hot, what are people searching for. The Edinburgh Fringe always create hashtags that get a lot of action so use #edfringe #edfringe2019 #MakeYourFringe and find some that suit your show and genre!

7. Go Live – Whether your streaming the backstage gossip and grabbing audience at the end of your show to get their opinion live on video or sharing hilarities throughout your day on stories, audiences love these ‘DVD extras’.

8. Never be missed – stick your social media branding on everything! Flyers, Posters, T-Shirts, Websites, Reviews, toilet doors with a sharpie! Make sure the public can’t miss you!

9. Real Life Interactions – shocking, I know, but not everything needs to take place online! Think about those photos taken at the end of escape rooms with hashtags and branding all over them! Take this idea and make your own experience when you flyer out on the mile!

10. Make Friends – are you an all-female acapella group? You know you probably have a similar audience and similar interests to other female acapella groups so use your posts to tag companies like you.

Viral Marketing can make sure your show ‘gets around’. Plus, all of it improves your credibility in the eyes of the algorithms of social and circulates the word!

Have you had some awesome social campaigns that have spread the word! We want to know! Tell us in the comments!