Client: Boston.com for The Boston Globe

Project: Article profiling The Huntington Theatre Company, and theatre’s foray into social media marketing

Social media have revolutionized they way companies and consumers interact. But with platforms that are continually evolving, there are plenty of organizations that are struggling to keep up, among them a handful of theater companies.

One among these few is the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston. The Huntington is working to take full advantage of the options available to it, not only operating a Facebook page, but also Twitter and YouTube accounts, a blog, and a free podcast series.

“We’re trying a whole bunch of different methods right now in hopes of retaining new audiences, but also giving our audiences different ways to interact with us,” said Rebecca Curtiss, the Huntington’s communications manager. “We know that everyone consumes information differently.”

The Huntington is careful to distinguish between its various platforms, not wanting to turn any one into a simple newsfeed for the another.

“At first, it was about trying to find a balance,” said Thom Dunn, Web and new media manager for the Huntington.

But the objective is the same: to inform and to create a dialogue between the company and the audience.

“[We want to] tell people more about who the Huntington is and what we do and why they should care about us, to be entertaining, to be informative about theater as an art form, and to give people a place to talk to us about the experiences they’re having with our work,” said Curtiss.

Added Dunn: “I think one big step is using it as a platform for people to respond, and we like to engage that.”

And through blog commentary, Facebook updates, and Twitter posts, the Huntington is embracing this platform. Whether linking to recent reviews, behind-the-scenes looks at shows, posting upcoming events, or just chatting with audience members, the Huntington is clearly engaging people in a way that wasn’t feasible as recently as five years ago.

“We talk about theater being a conversation at the Huntington a lot. I think that it was much more of a one-way conversation when we weren’t using social media,” Curtiss said, “and now we’re really actively soliciting commentary from our audiences.”

The Huntington approaches this in a variety of ways, including posting photos and videos about daily life at the theater, as well as reviews, events, and other links.

“You want to generate content and do things that are making people talk you want to encourage people to talk about your show,” said Dunn.

And the audience is ready to talk back. With 2,886 “likes” on Facebook, and 1,542 followers on Twitter, it’s clear that audiences are ready to tune in.

Since starting to become more active in social media, “the response, overwhelmingly, has been great,” Curtiss said. “We’re getting a lot of really wonderful feedback.”

Helene Mayer, a season subscriber and patron of the Huntington, said she found the theater’s Facebook page through its website. “It’s really nice to hear about events and read what other people are writing,” she said. “It makes me feel so much more involved in the Huntington than I have been before.”

And as many fans of theater know, the sense of experiencing something as a community is a part of the draw.

“I think is a benefit of what theater does is the interaction; the communal part of it,” said Dunn. “I think this social media stuff really enhances that because you want that communal feeling- but that’s only for two hours. And this brings it beyond those two hours.”

The company continues to experiment with what works and what doesn’t for maintaining and expanding audiences. Recently, the Huntington held a contest on its Facebook page for free tickets to a performance. The winner ended up being a first-time audience member at the Huntington, demonstrating that there is a way to draw in new audience members and creating a fan base.

“It’s a constant evolution,” said Curtiss.

With the level of success and response the Huntington is seeing with its efforts in new media, it’s hard to understand why other theaters aren’t jumping on the same bandwagon.

“People don’t realize it can actually be a tool for your benefit,” said Dunn.

While some theaters may simply be underestimating the value of new media, others may simply not have the means.

“I think in nonprofits sometimes a lot of people are wearing a lot of different hats and trying to accomplish a lot of different objectives all at the same time,” said Curtiss. “So I don’t think it’s an aversion to social media, I think it’s about resources.”

However, for some audience members, age may come into play.

“I think there is a resistance sometimes because it’s unfamiliar to them,” said Dunn. “And I think for a lot of people, the satisfaction, the craft of it, is diluted by computers.”

Meanwhile, a young workforce that has grown up using these tools may have the upper hand.

“The emerging workforce is prime for landing jobs in this field because the technology changes so quickly,” said Curtiss. “[It’s] the generation that really knows how to utilize this media best and effectively and has the style of the media really engrained in their bones because you’ve grown up with it.”

The future of new media is unclear, largely because of the vast extent of the possibilities.

“Embrace the technology,” said Dunn. “People need to be more forward-thinking and think about, ‘How do we embrace that?’ and ‘How does it become a part of the show?'”