Presentation given at Tessitura UK conference at the RSC - 9 November 2012

1. Trends in social media
Amy Rushby
Digital Marketing Officer
Royal Shakespeare Company
Author’s name, Department 1

2. Everyone uses social media
 Are we reaching saturation point?
 How can our messages stand out over the noise?
 Is Facebook really social now, or just an advertising
platform?
 When social media turns bad
 Digital marketing or community management and other
discussion topics
Amy Rushby 2

3. Are we reaching saturation point?
Amy Rushby 3

4. The RSC (like most arts organisations)
likes to use social media...
RSC Facebook Page @theRSC
@matildamusical
RSC Teachers @theRSCKey
RSC Open Stages @RSCRooftop
The RSC Key @HiretheRSC
@matildamusical
World Shakespeare @wsf2012
Festival @RSCPress
Matilda The Musical
AND: YouTube, Pinterest, Google Plus, Storify, Instagram,
Flickr
Amy Rushby 4

5. And why not? Social media
helps the RSC to:
 Engage our audiences in the life of the company and
the development of a show (and hopefully sell a ticket!)
Reach out to a younger, global audiences
Safe user friendly platforms for conversation and
discussion
Gather informal audience feedback
Share our growing bank of online content
Build the RSC as a well-known and trusted cultural
brand
Surprise people “wow – the RSC is on Twitter”, “the
RSC just RT’ed my photo!” “You replied to my question
– thanks”
Amy Rushby 5

6. But social media is busy and noisy – are
we heard?
A tweet is lost in a Twitter minute – 340 million tweets
per day
Are RTs the new spam email?
More and more advertising – promoted posts and
tweets
And Facebook has changed its algorithm -
EDGERANK
Amy Rushby 6

7. Tweet, Tweet...Twitter
• 517 million Twitter accounts
• Second biggest social networking site, after Facebook
•Top three tweeting cities: Jakarta, Tokyo and London
• For the RSC Twitter has overtaken Facebook in terms
of number of followers: 50,700 compared to 34,700 (last
week we gained 1,600 new Twitter followers)
Amy Rushby 7

8. Promoted Tweets
Using promoted hash tags to
get your campaign noticed – a
form of subliminal advertising?
Amy Rushby 8

9. A stumbling
block for UK
organisations
Amy Rushby 9

10. Understanding Edgerank
http://www.whatisedgerank.com/
Amy Rushby 10

11. Sponsored Stories /
Promoted Status
My friends like
Bacardi, therefore I
must like Bacardi...I
don’t like Bacardi –
is this the new
spam?
Amy Rushby 11

12. Where are our friends?
If you want to speak to the other
80 to 85 percent of people who
signed up to hear from you,
“sponsoring posts is important.”
Do we need to find new
social media platforms?
Source: http://dangerousminds.net
Author’s name, Department 12

13. If we can’t beat them, should
we join them?
The RSC could
potentially spend
approx £1,500 per
week on promoting
its Facebook
updates, in order to
increase reach and
engagement.
Annual spend =
£78,000!
Amy Rushby 13

14. When social media turns bad...
• 2011 – As You Like It “Rabbit Gate”
• 2012 – The Orphan of Zhao “Zhao Gate”
What can you do when your Facebook
Page gets hijacked by groups with strong
views?
Amy Rushby 14

15. What did we learn?
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16.  Social media vigilance
 Tolerance and thick skin
 Clarity about what is and what is not
acceptable
 Familiarity with terms and conditions
and community guidelines
 Internal communications
 Expect the unexpected – there’s not
one rule for every Twitter Storm
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17. Is social media digital
marketing or community
management?
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18. Discussion
• What is the future of social media?
• Thoughts on Edgerank and promoted posts?
• How will this impact upon arts organisations?
• Do new platforms potentially offer us a better
deal?
• What are your social media experiences – good,
bad and ugly?
• Are marketers now community managers?
Amy Rushby 18

19. Thanks!
amy.rushby@rsc.org.uk
@amy_rushby
www.culturaltweeters.blogspot.com
Amy Rushby 19