Int Rev Public Nonprofit Mark (2013) 10:143–161

DOI 10.1007/s12208-013-0094-8
O R I G I N A L A RT I C L E

Using social media for arts marketing: theoretical

analysis and empirical insights for performing
arts organizations

Andrea Hausmann & Lorenz Poellmann

Received: 5 June 2012 / Accepted: 24 January 2013 / Published online: 12 February 2013
# Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Abstract Social media has become a buzz word in the German arts sector and
performing arts organizations seem to be especially eager to exploit its potential
marketing benefits. However, research on this topic is practically non-existent. Set
against this background the purpose of this paper is two-fold: First, it wants to explore
the use and relevance of social media for German performing arts organizations.
Second, it aims to understand more on how performing arts organizations can exploit
social media for their marketing. The methodology used to achieve these goals
includes literature review and primary research (i.e. an online analysis with all 144
German public theaters and a case study analysis with one German theater). The two
main conclusions from our research are: (1) The use of social media by performing
arts organizations is rapidly growing and the majority of theaters use at least one
application (with Facebook being the most popular one). (2) Social media can
effectively support the marketing of performing arts organizations with regard to
promotion and communication, stimulation of word of mouth, market research and
innovation management as well as reputation management.

Keywords Social media . Facebook . Arts marketing . Performing arts organizations

1 Introduction

No other country in the world affords so many organizations of the performing arts and
supports them with such high subsidies as Germany. In fact, more than one third of the
total budget for German culture (in 2010: 8.5 billion EUR) is spent on theaters
(including operas, dance theater and stage) and orchestras (SABL 2010). However,
for some time now, this cultural wealth is increasingly put under pressure. In fact, many
organizations of the performing arts in Germany find their heavily subsidized existence

A. Hausmann (*) : L. Poellmann

European-University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Grosse Scharrnstrasse 59, 15230 Frankfurt (Oder),
Germany
e-mail: hausmann@europa-uni.de
144 A. Hausmann, L. Poellmann

persistently questioned and threatened (e.g. Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin,

Philharmonisches Orchester Altenburg-Gera), some are urged to merge (e.g. Deutsches
Nationaltheater Weimar, Philharmonisches Orchester Vorpommern) or were already
shut down (e.g. Schillertheater Berlin). To make matters worse in this situation, a
majority of German performing arts organizations seem to have serious problems with
the demand side. Their audience is either declining—especially in operas and orchestras
(DBV 2011) –, rather old or ageing (Klein 2008; Dreyer and Endreß 2010), and in
general too homogeneous with regard to, for example, education, ethnicity and age
(Hausmann 2005; Mandel 2008).
With respect to these structural problems in general and the demand-side problem
in specific, German performing arts organizations continuously need to explore new
strategies to be more competitive, more market-oriented and more attractive for a
future audience. It is now common ground in the body of arts management literature,
that stimulation of demand in the arts can be achieved with the help of marketing (e.g.
Colbert 2007; Kotler et al. 2008; Rentschler and Hede 2007). One of the more recent
marketing tools that quickly gained interest both in research and in practice is social
media (e.g. Weinberg 2009; Scott 2010). Due to its features (e.g. communication
scope, interactivity, cost-effectiveness) social media has become a buzz word in the
arts sector, and first research in Germany indicates that the performing arts seem to be
especially eager to exploit its potential benefits (e.g. Tentler 2010; Wach and
Lachermeier 2011).
But although a slowly increasing body of literature (e.g. Janner et al. 2011; Turrini
et al. 2011) has begun to explore social media in the arts, it is still a topic that has been
neglected in research. Set against this background the purpose of this paper is two-
fold: First, it wants to explore the use and relevance of social media for German
performing arts organizations. Second, it aims to understand more on how performing
arts institutions can exploit social media for their marketing. To achieve these two
research goals, the relevant literature on the topic of social media will be evaluated
(sections 2 and 4) and two empirical studies—an online analysis with all 144 German
public theaters and a case study analysis with one German theater—will be under-
taken (sections 3 and 5). The paper will be rounded off by a short discussion of the
results; additionally, a number of managerial implications and future research direc-
tions are suggested (section 6).

2 Definition of terms: social media and its applications

Though social media is still a rather recent phenomenon, an increasing body of

marketing research has already focused on this subject. But even if there is an ever-
growing number of books, articles and studies, disagreement still exists regarding the
definition and use of the term (e.g. Alby 2008; Kaplan and Haenlein 2010; Scott and
Jacka 2011). What is accepted by the majority in research, though, is the fact that
social media enables, facilitates and supports the communication and interaction
between users and the creation and exchange of user generated content. At the core
of social media is a shift from the traditional broadcast mechanism to a many-to-many
conversational model: Content is no longer (exclusively) created and published by
organizations, but is instead continuously created, modified and disseminated by all
Using social media for arts marketing 145

kinds of users in a participatory and collaborative fashion (e.g. Weinberg 2009;

Kaplan and Haenlein 2010; Evans 2008).
Various social media applications exist that allow this creation, modification and
exchange of content. The most relevant categories of social media applications at
present are summarized in Fig. 1 and cursorily discussed below (for a detailed
discussion see e.g. Scott 2010):

& Collaborative projects encompass knowledge communities like “Wikipedia”,

bookmarking sites like “Mr. Wong” or review sites like “Yelp”. While knowledge
communities enable users to add, remove, and change information on a variety of
things bookmarking and review sites allow a group-based collection and rating of
Internet links, media content or products and services. One of the favourite
collaborative social media applications worldwide is Wikipedia and a vast ma-
jority of German performing arts organizations established and maintain a profile
on the encyclopedia.
& Weblogs (Blogs) represent the earliest form of social media and are regularly
updated websites on which contributions are published in reverse chronological
orders. In general, blogs allow extensive interaction between blogger and readers
via a comment function. However, practitioners from the performing arts field
report a kind of awkwardness associated with the use of the comment function in
Germany (e.g. Tentler 2010).
& Microblogs like Twitter are seen as a hybrid of blogging, instant messaging and
status notifications. They allow people to publish short text messages (restricted
to 140 to 200 characters) using a multitude of various communication channels
such as cell phones, instant messaging, e-mail and the Web. To be successful on
Twitter, it is necessary to gain a “critical mass” of followers (i.e. people who
subscribe to the updates of, for example, a performing arts organization). And the
more valuable the content of a message is the more likely people “retweet” it (i.e.
share it with their followers).
& Content communities like YouTube, Flickr or Slideshare focus on content and file
sharing between users. Content communities exist for a wide range of different
media types like text, photos, songs, videos and PowerPoint presentations. From a
performing arts organization’s point of view, applications like YouTube or Vimeo
provide a (relatively inexpensive) possibility for visualizing otherwise intangible
services (e.g. concert, dance, play). In particular, videos or online clips can be
used to materialize the intangible acoustic and/or visual experience and to emo-
tionally activate the user before actually using a cultural service and to support
their decision in favour of a “real” visit.
& Social Networks connect users with similar interests who create personal, fully
customizable profiles displaying their identity and then share these with so-called
friends or fans. Profiles can include any type of information, i.e. photos, videos
and audio files. From an economic point of view, it is most helpful for performing
arts organizations that the worldwide most used social network Facebook inte-
grates other applications (it is, for example, possible to publish to Twitter from
Facebook). This helps to make marketing in the arts through social media cost-
effective.
146 A. Hausmann, L. Poellmann

& Virtual Worlds comprise virtual games and social worlds where a three-
dimensional computer-based environment replicates the “real world”. In games
like Warcraft user can appear in the form of a personalized avatar and interact with
the community. In worlds like Second Life user live virtual lives comparable to
their real life (but, for example, with different strategies of self-presentation).
Apart from the Dresden State Art Collections no other German arts organization is
currently represented in virtual worlds.

Summarizing the above, it can be concluded that there is a variety of social media
applications for performing arts organizations to explore. However, with regard to the
general scarcity of resources in the German performing arts sector (e.g. Ranan 2003;
Hausmann 2005; Haselbach et al. 2012) it seems advisable, especially for smaller
organizations, to focus on services with a high marketing impact (i.e. with a high
number of users). With regard to this, the relevance of social media applications in
Germany will be analyzed in the next section.

3 Importance of applications in Germany and use in German theaters

Social media is growing at an impressive pace. In 2010 three fourths of the people
worldwide who surfed the Internet used social media. The average visitor spent 60 %
more time on these sites than in 2009, almost 6 h in April 2010 versus three and a half
hours in 2009 (Nielsen 2010). The rate of growth is especially impressive in
Germany, where the reluctance to publish personal information has traditionally been
greater than in other countries (Adams and Willems 2010; Moore 2010). While only
39 % of Germans used social media in 2008, their number had risen to 51 % in 2009
and 63 % in 2010 (Nielsen 2009; 2010).
As discussed at the end of section 2 it is now of interest, which of the above
discussed types of social media are predominantly used in Germany. Table 1 below
gives an answer to this question: Wikipedia, content communities (especially video
services) and social networks (especially private services like Facebook) are used

Social Media

Collaborative Projects

Weblogs (Blogs)

Microblogs

Content communities

Social Networks

Virtual Worlds

Fig. 1 Categories of relevant social media applications. All figures and tables in this paper are original
unless stated otherwise
Using social media for arts marketing 147

Table 1 Use of social media in Germany in % (source: ARD/ZDF 2011)

Occasionally (at least rarely) Regularly (at least weekly)

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Wikipedia 47 60 65 73 70 20 25 28 31 29
Video portals 34 51 52 58 58 14 21 26 30 31
Private social net-works 15 25 34 39 42 6 18* 24* 34* 35**
Photo communities 15 23 25 19 18 2 4 7 2 3
Business social networks 10 6 9 7 6 4 2* 5* 5* 3
Weblogs 11 6 8 7 7 3 2 3 2 1
Bookmarks 3 3 4 2 – 0 1 2 1 –
Virtual gameworlds 3 5 – – – 2 2 – – –
Twitter – – – 3 3 – – – 1 –

See ARD/ZDF-Onlinestudie (2011). This comprehensive study was undertaken by the research group of
the two German public broadcasting and television organizations and includes all internet users from
14 years on (⦸ n=1222); marked with the symbol “*” are user with own profile; marked with the symbol
“**” most used network

most often by German social media users. In contrast, weblogs, bookmarking sites,
virtual worlds, and Twitter (as the only microblog in Germany of importance) do not
attract many users in Germany.
Bearing in mind these findings, it would now stand to reason that German
performing arts organizations focus on video portals and private social networks in
order to maximize the marketing impact of their social media activities. Surprisingly,
exploratory research undertaken by Schmid (2011) with 21 German orchestras in
November 2010 showed that while the organizations indeed focus on video portals
(especially YouTube) and private social networ2ks (especially Facebook) they are
also considerably engaged on Twitter.
To understand more on this and with regard to the first research objective of this
paper, the authors decided to undertake an empirical study with all German theaters
(n=144) listed in the annual report of the Deutsche Buehnenverein (the German
association of the performing arts) in January 2011, which was repeated in September
2011. To collect primary data, we decided to do an internet-based research on existing
social media profiles of theaters. With regard to the findings of Schmid (2011), we
decided in a first step to restrict our analysis to three applications: Facebook (social
network), YouTube (video portal) and the microblog service Twitter. In a next step,
all 144 German theaters were searched for on these three applications in order to
analyze whether they operated a profile or not. For each theater listed in the annual
report it was written down whether or not it had a profile on Facebook, YouTube
and/or Twitter. At the end of our data collection process we were able to say a) which
theater was on which social media application and b) which social media application
was used to what extent by theaters to operate a profile.
As shown in Fig. 2, the findings of our research clearly support the exploratory
results of the study undertaken earlier by Schmid (2011): In January 2011, a distinct
majority of all public German theaters had a profile on Facebook (74 %), 41 %
148 A. Hausmann, L. Poellmann

100
January 2011
90
September 2011
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Facebook You Tube Twitter
Fig. 2 Use of social media applications by German theaters (in %)

theaters used the video portal YouTube and more than one third of the organizations
(38 %) were engaged on Twitter.
We repeated our study in September 2011 to estimate changes in the use of the
three social media applications by the 144 German theaters: As can be seen in Fig. 2
and Table 2, Facebook and YouTube registered a significant increase in use during the
period of examination (¸ +22 % and +20 %). In September 2011, a striking majority
of the theaters (90 %) had now a profile on Facebook and almost every other theater
was on YouTube (49 %). And even Twitter registered an increase in use: In
September 2011, 42 % of the theaters had an account compared to 38 % in January
2011 (¸ +11 %).
Summarizing, the following can be concluded from our studies: First, our data
show that a distinct majority of German theaters use at least one social media
application. This result is remarkable, especially if compared with study results from
other sectors (e.g. Bernecker and Beilharz 2012): In fact, German public theaters are
even more active on social media than private companies in Germany. Second, our
data indicate that from the three considered applications Facebook is the most
relevant one. Bearing in mind the importance of social networks for users in
Germany (see Table 1), the use of Facebook by an overwhelming majority of
German theaters makes sense from a marketing point of view. With over 900 million
users, Facebook is one of the worldwide most used private social networks (Facebook
2012). In Germany, Facebook counts more than 25 million users with 50 % of them
visiting their favourite social network daily (Nielsen 2011). The same can be said about
YouTube which counts more than 21 million users in Germany (Nielsen 2011) and is
used by almost half of the German theaters in September 2011. What is striking, though,
is the fact that a significant (and growing) body of German theaters also engages in

Table 2 Use and increase in use

Facebook YouTube Twitter
of social media applications by
German theaters (in %)
January 2011 74 41 38
September 2011 90 49 42
¸ Increase in Use +22 +20 +11
Using social media for arts marketing 149

Twitter—although the application is generally used by very few German users (see
Table 1). Further empirical research will have to show whether German theaters rather
waste their (marketing) resources on Twitter or whether German arts users engage more
heavily in Twitter than the average German social media user. Third, our data reveal that
the use of all three social media applications significantly increased during the period
analyzed. However, these results do not allow a conclusive prognosis about the future of
social media in German theaters. On the one hand, it could be assumed that the use of
social media will further increase (i.e. at one point all theaters in Germany will use
Facebook). On the other hand, a decrease in use is also possible, assuming that some
theaters might have not achieved their goals by using social media or do not have the
resources to maintain their profile. This makes further empirical research necessary and
it also highlights the importance of examining the specific use of social media, for
example in the context of marketing, as will be done in the following section.

4 Social media and the marketing of theaters

It is clear from our empirical evidence that social media applications are widely used
by German theaters. However, it is disputed in arts marketing research whether these
applications are already exploited to their full extent (e.g. Schmid 2011; Henze 2011).
Because of this, and with regard to the second research objective of this paper, it will
now be analyzed how social media can support the marketing of performing arts
organizations. Taking into account the existing research in general marketing (e.g.
Mangold and Faulds 2009; Miller and Lammas 2010; Trusov et al. 2009; Hettler
2010) the authors grouped their findings into four categories:

1. Promotion and Communication: Social media applications can spread informa-

tion and broadcast messages in a both effective and efficient way (e.g. Eyrich et
al. 2008). First, communication via social media is characterized by immediate-
ness, significant reach, and lack of both geographical and temporal boundaries
(Jansen et al. 2009). Second, communication with target groups is—especially, if
compared with traditional tools (advertising, direct marketing etc.)—relatively
inexpensive. In the first place, not more than a computer is necessary to go
online. And even if online content has to be regularly updated, interaction has to
be continuously initiated and comments by fans have to be regularly monitored,
promotion through social media applications remains more cost-effective than
traditional tools (Weinberg 2009; Scott 2010). Third, promotion via social media
can include a variety of multimedia (images, video, audio etc.) which makes it
easier for arts organizations to materialize their otherwise intangible goods:
before deciding whether or not to buy a ticket user can, for example, watch a
trailer on a specific dance piece or a concert on YouTube (Hettler 2010;
Hausmann 2012).
2. Word of Mouth: Due to the fact that messages broadcasted via Twitter, Facebook
or YouTube can be spread to an unrestricted number of recipients, social media is
especially useful to initiate word of mouth (e.g. Allsop et al. 2007; Jansen et al.
2009; Miller and Lammas 2010). Word of mouth (WOM) is the informal,
positive or negative communication between consumers on the objectively
150 A. Hausmann, L. Poellmann

existing and/or subjectively perceived characteristics of products and services of

a supplier (e.g. Wilson 1991; Helm 2000; Dye 2000). Compared to traditional
(offline) word of mouth, the attractiveness of electronic word of mouth (eWOM)
is primarily based on its capacity for high information diffusion, as news spread
on the internet at extreme speed and the cost of this distribution is low in relation
to the awareness it creates (e.g. Miller and Lammas 2010). Besides this, word of
mouth via social media applications has high credibility as the sender and the
recipient (i.e. friend, follower) know each other personally. When spreading news
in content communities and social networks, it is therefore safe to assume that the
word will be spread to the right target groups and that the recipients have
comparably high interest in the content (Helm 2000; Hennig-Thurau and Walsh
2004; Schulz et al. 2008). The impact of social media on word of mouth is
especially interesting for theaters and orchestras since empirical studies have
repeatedly shown that referrals are very relevant in the creative sector (e.g. Helm
and Kuhl 2006; Chevalier and Mayzlin 2008). It is therefore advisable for
performing arts organizations to actively support word of mouth. This can be
done through, for example, the provision of exclusive information, creation of
stories with a “buzz factor” and use of applications that facilitate interaction and
the passing on of content.
3. Market Research and Innovation Management: Another important aspect of
social media is its capacity to facilitate market research (e.g. Poynter 2010;
Hettler 2010). Quantitative research, i.e. explaining phenomena by collecting
larger numbers of data that are analyzed using statistical methods (Aliaga and
Gunderson 2000), can be conducted by, for instance, sending out a link to an
online questionnaire through applications such as Twitter. On Facebook, the
survey link can be posted on the “wall” of a performing arts organization or sent
by a message. But social media can also be effectively used as a platform for
qualitative research (i.e. the collection of in-depth data from a relatively small
group of respondents). For example, comments on content communities, social
networks or blogs can be analyzed to learn more about the reputation of a
performing arts organization, the overall satisfaction of its fans and followers
or the rating of specific products and services. While it may be time-consuming
to analyze all comments general search engines, like the Twitter search engine
(http://search.twitter.com/advanced), or aggregation services (Google News) can
support this process. Additionally, social media supports innovation management
processes in theaters and orchestras and helps to generate new ideas for product
development and service enhancement (e.g. Weinberg 2009; Hettler 2010). In
particular, in-depth analysis of comments, complaints, recommendations (also for
offerings from competitors) can help to identify problems, weaknesses and fail-
ures in the service chain of performing arts organizations.
4. Reputation Management: Closely connected to the above mentioned is the
capability of social media to support the reputation management of performing
arts organizations. Reputation is a perceptual representation of past activities and
future prospects of an organization that describes its overall appeal to stake-
holders when compared with competitors (e.g. Fombrun 2008; Helm 2004).
Social media has an impact on the (online) reputation of performing arts organ-
izations and its management in many ways (e.g. Jansen et al. 2009; Hettler 2010).
Using social media for arts marketing 151

For example, being on social networks allows performing arts organizations the
opportunity to keep on top of what is current, to display their identity in a specific
way (and maybe a little different to their physical world image), and to keep in
touch with a rather young audience. Additionally, it is possible to monitor the
(online) reputation of a performing arts organization via search engines and, if
necessary, to take actions to push negative results down in the search engines (for
example, with high-quality content that a lot of user link to) (Weinberg 2009). In
this context, social media can be especially helpful to avert publicity disasters by
turning negative past incidents into positive ones and save the reputation of
organizations. While serious reputation issues always had an impact in the
physical world, nowadays, they can have even greater impact in the virtual
world. For example, bad comments from dissatisfied users will stay online for
a long time (and sometimes forever). Also, negative word of mouth can easily
spread through the internet. In turbulent times especially, it is necessary for
performing arts organizations to rebuild trust (for example, through the inclusion
of statements by experts) and to take time to respond to user queries and
complaints and to give feedback in a constructive manner (Hettler 2010; Kaiser
and Hopf 2011).
Having grouped the literature findings into four categories it was necessary in a
next step to develop a conceptual framework for the case study. For this, the
categories discussed above were further operationalized, that is, given a set of items;
in total, we generated 33 items. In specific, we identified 13 items for the category
“promotion and communication”, 5 items for the category “word of mouth”, 10 items
for the category “market research and innovation management” and 5 items for the
category “reputation management” (see Table 3).

5 Case study

Based on the theoretical analysis above, the authors undertook an exploratory

research study whose results are provided in this section. The analysis was supposed
to address the question of how the conceptual framework is implemented in theater
practice. The method used was a case study approach. Though this qualitative
approach has its limits with regard to the reliability and validity of findings (e.g.
Hussy et al. 2010, p. 65 ff.) it likewise offers a detailed account of a specific case,
helps to examine a contemporary phenomenon in its real life context, generates
broader understanding and contributes to the enhancement of the current exploratory
state of research (Stake 1995; Yin 2009). And although the case described below is
unique, it can nevertheless be used as an instrumental case (and possibly good
practice example) and its findings can be helpful for other performing arts
institutions.
It was decided that a theater suitable for this purpose should be an early adopter of
social media, should be strongly engaged in social media, should have many fans and
should be discussed in literature and/or social media forums as a good practice
example. The only theater that fitted to all of these criteria was the Bayerische
Staatsoper (BSO), which is one of the most prestigious operas in the world. It is
 152

Table 3 Conceptual framework (Categories and items)

Promotion and communication Word of mouth Market research and innovation management Reputation management

1. Posts on wall 14. Availability of 19. Demographic information 29. Statements by experts
exclusive information
2. Ratio of posts by 15. Stories with a “buzz factor” 20. Insights on how information is spread 30. Affirmation by non-
BSO to posts by fans experts (i.e. other users)
3. ⦸Updates per day 16. Fans talking about the BSO 21. Number of fans who have already 31. Demonstration of reliability
been at the BSO
4. Comments on BSO posts 17. Use of share function 22. Number of “likes” 32. ⦸Response to user queries
5. Ratio of BSO posts to comments 18. ⦸Use of share function 23. ⦸People who 33. ⦸Response to complaints
per BSO post “like” a post
6. Ratio of external posts to comments 24. Getting “Like”
Source Information
7. Initiation of interaction 25. Number of explicit “thank you” posts by fans
8. Target specific information/relevance of content for fans 26. Number of complaints
9. Post with information 27. Collection
on performances of primary data
10. Posts with background information 28. Input from fans
11. Use of videos
12. Use of photos
13. Use of links
A. Hausmann, L. Poellmann
Table 4 Case study analysis of Bayerische Staatsoper (Category “Promotion and communication”)

Category Item Number Commentaries/explanations

Promotion and 1. Posts on wall 79 During the period analyzed, 79 posts were posted by the BSO and by fans.
communication 2. Ratio of posts by BSO to posts by fans 42:37 53 % of all posts were posted by the BSO and 47 % by fans of the BSO.
3. ⦸ Updates per day 1.3 On average, the BSO posted 1.3 posts per day.
Using social media for arts marketing

4. Comments on BSO posts
5. Ratio of BSO posts to comments
6. Ratio of external posts to comments
7. Initiation of interaction
8. Target specific information/relevance
of content for fans
9. Posts with information on performances
10. Posts with background information
11. Use of videos
12. Use of photos
13. Use of links
375 The BSO posts lead to 375 comments.
The vast majority of these comments
were confirmatory and grateful.
1:9 On average, one BSO post led to 9 comments.
1:1.4 On average, one external post (e.g. from fans) led to 1.4 comments.
Yes In several cases a post by the BSO initiated a lively discussion between the BSO and
their fans but also between fans.
Yes The BSO predominantly gives information about performances and special events like,
for example, costume sales. The high rate of “likes” (see item 22) seems
to prove that the information given is relevant for the fans and visitors of the BSO profile.
21 About 50 % of the BSO posts include performance announcements.
18 About 43 % of the BSO posts document activities of the BSO and give background
information (e.g. photos from rehearsals). Only 7 % of all posts deal with other content (e.g.
like surveys).
7 17 % of all BSO posts are linked to a video (in most cases to the BSO YouTube channel).
13 31 % of all BSO posts are illustrated by one or several photos.
13 31 % of all BSO posts refer to a website (in most cases to the BSO website).
153

Table 5 Case study analysis of Bayerische Staatsoper (Categories “Word of mouth” and “Market research and innovation management”)
Category Item
Word of mouth 14. Availability of exclusive
information
15. Stories with a “buzz factor”
16. Fans talking about the BSO
17. Use of share function
18. ⦸ Use of share function per 5
BSO post
Market research and 19. Demographic information
innovation management
20. Insights on how information Yes
is spread
21. Number of fans who have
already been at the BSO
22. Number of “likes”
23. ⦸ People who “like” a post
24. Getting “Like” Source
Information
25. Number of explicit “thank
you” posts by fans
26. Number of complaints
27. Collection of primary data
28. Input from fans
154
Number Commentaries/explanations
Yes The BSO offers exclusive information like e.g. backstage insights or last-minute information. Also,
recommendations from fans are exclusively for other fans or visitors of the BSO wall.
Yes For example, the making of a live streaming event was documented and discussed during several days.
532 532 fans of the BSO were talking about the BSO on Facebook (equates to 8 % of all fans).
209 During the period of exploration, the BSO fans used the share function 209 times.
On average, every BSO post was shared 5 times.
Yes Facebook enables the BSO to collect demographic information about their fans. This information
includes, for example, the fans’ countries of origin, their native language, gender and age.
Facebook offers insights on how people spread information about the BSO (e.g. through creating a story
or page like) and create viral effects.
2,191 2,191 of the BSO fans declared that they have already been at the BSO.
2,147 During the period analyzed, 2,147 like statements have been made by fans of the BSO.
51 On average, 51 people “liked” a post on the wall of the BSO.
Yes The BSO can see where the “like” happened (e.g. on the page itself, via a “like box” from an external site,
mobile device or from research results).
14 38 % of all fan posts explicitly expressed gratitude and satisfaction with the BSO and its services.
12 3.2 % of comments were complaints (e.g. about technical problems with live streaming).
Yes The BSO repeatedly used the wall for small-scale surveys on specific topics (e.g. on the importance of
the new social network Google+).
Yes Some fans expressively wished for and/or proposed new services (e.g. a video online archive or trailers
for background interviews).
A. Hausmann, L. Poellmann
Table 6 Case study analysis of Bayerische Staatsoper (Category “Reputation management”)
Category Item
Reputation 29. Statements by experts
management
30. Affirmation by non-experts
(i.e. other users)
31. Demonstration of reliability
32. ⦸ Response to user queries
33. ⦸ Response to complaints
Using social media for arts marketing
Number Commentaries/explanations
Yes Experts confirmed the quality of the BSO by posts or comments (e.g. the world famous singer Rolando Villazon
posted on the wall).
Yes The large number of “likes” and the impressive number of complimentary comments by fans (see category “market
research and innovation management”) support confidence in the BSO and its services.
Yes For example, information from “behind the scenes” of the BSO (e.g. via video clip) helps to demonstrate the quality
of the production work and the sincerity of BSO staff members.
0.94 The BSO gave an answer to almost all queries by fans.
0.92 The BSO reacted to almost all complaints by fans.
155
156 A. Hausmann, L. Poellmann

situated in the south of Germany (Munich), stages almost 350 performances per year
and is conducted by the renowned music director Kent Nagano. To narrow down
further the scope of the analysis, it was decided that the analysis should be restricted
to one social media application and that this one should be Facebook (as it is the
application used most by both German theaters and German social media users; see
findings in section 3).
The authors regarded the BSO as an ideal case for their intended study. The BSO is
not only discussed in literature and social media forums (e.g. Wach and Lachermeier
2011) but can also be characterized as an early adopter and heavy user of social
media: It uses YouTube since April 2009 (298,274 visits until February 5, 2012),
Facebook and Twitter since November 2009 (2,543 Follower on February 5, 2012)
and provides its own blog since May 2010. Furthermore, compared to other German
public theaters the BSO has one of the highest numbers of fans on Facebook and is
almost every day active on this application.

5.1 Data collection

All four categories and 33 items of the conceptual framework (see Table 3) were
included in our case study with the BSO. The case study was undertaken between
December 21, 2011 and January 21, 2012 and included an online search of all
messages posted by the BSO or its fans during this time. The hereby identified 79
posts form the database for our analysis, the findings of which are presented in
Tables 4, 5 and 6. The methodology used was as follows: In a first step we extracted
all information that was posted on the BSO Facebook fan page during the period
analyzed. After that we interpreted and structured the information according to the
four categories and 33 items. This means, for example, that we analyzed whether a
fan comment was an expression of gratitude or a complaint (items 25 and 26). The
results were finally summarized in tables and conclusions were drawn.

5.2 Data analysis

It was the purpose of this case study to explore how one of the leading German
theaters in social media uses its profile on Facebook to support its marketing
activities. With regard to this purpose, the following can be proposed from the
findings outlined in Tables 4, 5 and 6:

1. With regard to the category “promotion and communication” it can be said that
the BSO shows high activity on Facebook and posts on average 1.3 times a day
(see items 1 and 3). These posts are predominantly used to promote perform-
ances, to give background information and to encourage interaction with fans
(see items 7 to 10). A little more than half of all posts were written by the BSO
(53 %) and almost every other by fans (47 %). The 42 posts by the theater
generated in total 375 comments, i.e. on average 9 comments per post (see items
4 and 5). This all clearly indicates that the wall is not used as a one-to-many
channel but rather functions as a many-to-many communication platform.
Additionally, 48 % of the BSO posts were illustrated with visual media such as
videos and photos (see items 11 and 12). As discussed in section 3, this helps
Using social media for arts marketing 157

materializing the otherwise intangible goods of the BSO (i.e. the performances
and other services).
2. Analysis of the second category (“word of mouth”) indicates that Facebook helps
to spread information and to encourage word of mouth: 8 % of all BSO fans are
talking about the BSO on Facebook (item 16). During the period analyzed every
post was, on average, shared 5 times by the BSO fans with their friends (see
items 17 and 18). By using the share function on Facebook, which is comparable
to Twitter’s “retweet” function, people who are not BSO fans see nevertheless
posts by the BSO on their news stream. To stimulate possible viral effects among
fans and friends, the BSO offers exclusive information and appealing stories
which are likely to create “buzz” (see items 14 and 15).
3. With regard to the category “market research and innovation management” it can
be stated that the BSO as operator of a Facebook fan page can gather and
evaluate various relevant information (for example, on the demographic structure
of fans or how people talk about the organization on Facebook; see item 19).
Furthermore, with a detailed analysis of what fans like (see item 27) or what they
complain about (see item 26), the theater understands more about the strengths of
specific products and possible weaknesses in the service chain. During our
analysis, we found that the information posted by the BSO were, on average,
“liked” by 51 fans and 38 % of all fan posts were expressively complimentary or
even grateful (see items 23 and 25); only 12 complaints were made (see item 26).
The BSO also used its Facebook profile repeatedly for innovation management
during the period analyzed (see item 27).
4. The findings in the category “reputation management” indicate that the operators
of the BSO fan page make considerable effort to react to almost every question
asked and every complaint made (see items 32 and 33); both is good in terms of
reputation management. As has been discussed in section 4, social media can
help to built or rebuilt trust. In the case of the BSO, various posts by experts (e.g.
singers, theater professionals) commented on and confirmed the quality of the
theater (see item 29). The BSO also gives specific background and insider
information on the quality of work “behind the scenes” to demonstrate its
reliability (see item 31). Finally, the large number of “like” statements (more
than 2,000 in the period analyzed) and the numerous complimentary comments
by fans encourage trust in the quality of the BSO and its services (see items 30
and 25).

6 Conclusions, managerial implications and outlook

The main conclusion from our research is that social media is a topic of considerable
relevance for performing arts organizations. The data from our two internet-based
studies with all 144 German public theaters clearly indicate that the use of social
media by performing arts organizations is rapidly growing and that the majority of
theaters use at least one application (with Facebook being the most popular one).
With regard to our conceptual framework and the case study research, our second
main conclusion is that social media effectively supports the marketing of performing
arts organizations. As has been drawn from the body of marketing research and was
158 A. Hausmann, L. Poellmann

confirmed by the case study with the Bayerische Staatsoper (BSO), social media can
support the marketing of performing arts organizations with regard to promotion and
communication (e.g. Eyrich et al. 2008; Mangold and Faulds 2009), stimulation of
word of mouth (e.g. Miller and Lammas 2010; Trusov et al. 2009), market research
and innovation management (e.g. Poynter 2010; Hettler 2010) as well as reputation
management (e.g. Jansen et al. 2009; Hettler 2010).
With regard to the managerial implications of our research, the following can be
recommend to performing arts organizations:

1. Promotion and Communication: In order to use Facebook for promotion and

communication purposes, consistent activity is necessary. Facebook posts are
very brief pieces of information that appear on a user’s news stream only for a
short time. This makes daily activity essential and sufficient relevant information
that can be posted. A well balanced mix of illustrated announcements and
background information should be published. The necessity of collecting new
information and daily publishing emphasizes the need of (sufficient) human
resources for the successful use of social media.
2. Word of Mouth: The more fans an institution has on Facebook, the larger is the
potential for electronic word of mouth. All fans should have the opportunity of
using the share function to spread information. To stimulate the forwarding of
posts, “breaking news” and exclusive information (e.g. backstage photos, inter-
views, special price offers) must be given. To strengthen the relationship between
theaters and the recipients of their wall posts, upcoming projects should be staged
as a story that develops over several days. Theaters especially, can use this
principle of storytelling in the context of premieres of new plays and special
events.
3. Market Research and Innovation Management: Facebook offers arts organiza-
tions plenty of information about their Facebook fans (however, this information
depends on the individual Facebook settings of a user). Beyond that, Facebook
can be used for market research by using surveys to collect information on
products and services. A survey can be made accessible by a link (unique
URL) to an “external” questionnaire. Alternatively, questions can be posted on
the wall (like the BSO did). In order to identify new ideas and to support the
innovation management process of a performing arts organization, comments of
fans should be analyzed. Motivation of fans to suggest good ideas can even be
stimulated through, for example, rewards and public recognition.
4. Reputation Management: The findings of the case study have clarified that a
dialogue with target groups can happen quickly and easily on Facebook. The
exchange of short messages on a Facebook wall instead of formal letters or
emails allows for fast reactions to questions and complaints. Another advantage
is that other fans can see the efforts an institution invests in dealing with fan
concerns. However, a disadvantage is that other users may notice if there are no
follow up answers made to posts. This could evoke other fan comments and
eventually lead to a discussion on the wall. Because of this, an arts organization
should continuously monitor the comments of fans and react to them if necessary.
Furthermore, the organization should keep contact with experts and discuss with
them on the wall in order to increase reputation and trust. This can be supported
Using social media for arts marketing 159

by documenting and explaining the work “behind the scenes” (e.g. rehearsals,
stage building).

All in all, this paper laid ground for a first understanding of how social media
is used by performing arts organizations and how it can support their marketing.
However, as our investigation on the second research question represents a single
case study, the findings from this study cannot be generalized. Because of this,
further research is necessary to validate the results of this part of our empirical
study in similar organizations elsewhere in Germany as well as in other countries
(such as, for example, the UK or the U.S.). Another possible direction for future
research could be to investigate user perspectives on the marketing impact of
social media in the performing arts. With regard to the comparably high engage-
ment of German theaters on Twitter and the comparably low use of Twitter by
German social media users (see section 3), it would be especially interesting to
explore whether arts users engage more heavily in Twitter than the average social
media user in Germany.

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