It may be a surprise to PRs and marketeers in the hospitality, travel and FMCG industries that theatre is only now embracing influencers on the same scale as our colleagues in other sectors. You might be asking, ‘why has it taken so long for us to figure this out?’ The answer is timing. 

The 2010s saw the era of the YouTuber, original influencers popular for promoting lifestyle brands and destinations. The late 2010s saw a lull in the YouTube age as consumer behaviours changed in favour of short-form videos, and from the ashes rose TikTok. As TikTok boomed, and content creators found overnight success in the digital space, the 2020s began our current era of short-form video influencers but also brought the biggest challenge the theatre and live arts industry was yet to face.

In many ways, the theatre industry is still recovering from the damage caused by lockdown, and it will be one of the last to fully bounce back. Whilst other industries continued operation and adapted to the new age of influencers as they flourished, the arts industry was left behind and it’s taken longer for our sector to catch up. With large institutions in particular, it feels like the default still lies in traditional press, and the value of influencers is yet to be fully unlocked.

Historically, the theatre criticism world has lacked diversity and the range of viewpoints we would see across traditional media did not reflect the diversity of theatregoing audiences. For many theatre bloggers, this world has been gatekept, but the door has been opened for smaller arts bloggers and we’ve begun to see review quotes from them lighting up the marquees of the West End. And therein lies another reason theatre has clung to traditional media, no other sector splashes its stars over its posters, newsletters and buildings in the way arts and entertainment does. Now, by welcoming influencers into the theatre criticism space, we are allowing for a more diverse viewpoint on the work we see onstage.

There is an element of what mainstream media has to cover, it feels obligatory that major broadsheets cover the National Theatre, for example, and you can argue that’s because the majority of their audience want that, but influencers aren’t bound by those rules. They can curate what they want to promote and can be much more specialist genres or themes of theatre - musical theatre being a big one - and have their own unique brand for their content reflected in their audience demographic.

Once, a major broadsheet could make or break the future of a show; now, even shows less well-received take on a life of their own in the online space thanks to the loyal fanbases nurtured by influencers. The perspective that theatre should always be challenging is shifting, and instead, influencers are promoting theatre as entertaining as well as challenging. The value they bring to the theatre discourse transcends just critiquing a show but encourages a more accessible attitude to theatre, that you’re allowed to love it even if the critics don’t.

We have to see the way that influencers and the press work slightly differently. Influencers are their own bosses and decide how, when and what they cover, and their key relationship is with their own audience. This allows for more freedom to cover theatre off the beaten track, but also means the relationship building with influencers is even more vital. It’s crucial to have a detailed understanding of their audience, their content and what makes them tick. Mass pitching will never be the answer. It is a more delicate ecosystem, which can be easily brought down if not approached meaningfully. It’s all about intention.

Whilst we are seeing more arts PRs enthusiastic about influencers' potential, there’s still hesitation from some institutions. The stigma is that influencers only exist on TikTok and only reach Gen Z. True, Gen Z is an online generation,b ut the assumption that influencers are only for shows aimed at a younger demographic is a limiting one. Influencers have existed long before TikTok and will exist after it dies down. Arts PRs need to widen their scope to include a broader set of community influencers sharing the interests of audience members. From fans of 80s rock to greek mythology to sci-fi and gaming influencers, the niches should not be overlooked.

The success of an influencer campaign won’t always lie in the reach a campaign has, but rather the resonance individual pieces of content have with the audiences we seek out a connection with. What’s successful is bespoke, impactful and resonates with the fan. A small creator, with an audience of 200 people engaging with their content meaningfully has more impact than a creator with 100,000 followers who aren’t always actively listening. Large content creators have followers, micro-influencers have community. For us, it’s about finding the right voice who speaks directly to the community we want to engage with.

Though we’re in a promising era led by influencer content, we still need to look forward and anticipate the next challenges we’re going to face. The key is not only staying ahead of the curb but supporting journalists and influencers in the transition as new platforms and technologies emerge. If we’re to survive a future with more barriers to arts media, it will be through working together.