Fans of the Fort Worth Opera are engaged daily with opera news, performance photos, and event invitations on Facebook and Twitter, but what really sets the Fort Worth Opera apart is not how they’re bringing opera to social media: it’s how they’re bringing social media to the opera.
Fort Worth Opera has “Opera Shots” and other promotional events sprinkled throughout the year to build excitement for the month-long opera festival. This year, Fort Worth Opera invited social media enthusiasts as VIPs to these events. The social media VIPs were selected based on their interest in opera, Fort Worth, entertainment, or combination of the three, who are active on Twitter and Facebook. Fort Worth Opera has created specific hashtags around each event in addition to encouraging the more generic #opera hashtag.
With campaign posters reading “TAP THAT”, it’s no surprise that Fort Worth Opera is targeting a younger audience. What’s noteworthy is their execution. Fort Worth Opera is hosting a social media viewing of Lysistrata, a smart choice to appeal to a younger crowd since the show is primarily about sex, tonight (May 24, 2012) at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. They are encouraging guests to not only tweet live with the hashtag #FWOFest12, but also to take and share photos of the performance, a radical movement that other theaters struggle with. By bringing social media to the opera, Fort Worth Opera ensures that their guests will promote opera on social media, creating buzz around the younger, social media-savvy crowd to introduce them to a type of entertainment they might not yet appreciate.
Well played, Fort Worth Opera, well played.
Follow Anchor’s Tweets (@anchormd) tonight on Twitter for the scoop on #Lysistrata!
“Like” Fort Worth Opera on Facebook & follow @FortWorthOpera on Twitter!