The Lowry breaks new ground, selling tickets on Facebook
The Lowry continues to develop its strategic approach towards social media and their latest development now enables its Facebook followers to book tickets directly via the social network site.
The Lowry is the only* arts organisation to provide this unique feature, enabling its communities to buy tickets directly via Facebook. For the current financial year, Facebook has been the number one referring site to www.thelowry.com following a strategic approach to social media presented as part of The Lowry’s overall digital marketing plan. Fans of The Lowry’s Facebook page have also increased by 85% in the last financial year as a result of this strategy.
With the rise of Facebook as an essential marketing tool for organisations, The Lowry worked with Web Advertising to embed their events programme within the social network site. Whilst the tactics serving this strategy focussed on more than sales, the importance of social media as a driver to the website led The Lowry and developers Web Advertising to look at integrating the booking process so that visitors to Facebook could book tickets directly from there.
Robert Martin, The Lowry’s Digital Marketing Manager commented: “We have worked hard to make sure that social media supports The Lowry in all of its functions, not just commercial ones. We use Twitter and Facebook in different ways to spread information about events, our community programme, insider gossip (“Willem Dafoe is eating soup in the canteen”) and, crucially, as a listening platform. Recently when we saw Facebook take over Google as The Lowry’s top referring site, we asked our developers Web Advertising in Leith to look into ways in which we might make it easier for people to book tickets directly. And they’ve done it! Now, you can book tickets right from our Facebook page for all Lowry events.”
Andrew Adamson of Web Advertising says: “Live performances and ticket inventory taken from the Box office system into the Web Advertising CMS (Content Management System) now allows the website to share that information with Facebook users. The Facebook Events Page is a web application that runs in the context of Facebook. The application retrieves the current event information from the website via an exposed web service. The event information is kept short to keep the loading time down with users encouraged to click a link to the website for more information or to book the event, thus helping to drive more ticket sales through The Lowry website.”
The Lowry’s strategic approach to social media has paid dividends in the past, with groups forming on Facebook under their own volition following engagement with the organisation and, according to Robert, booking tickets via Facebook the natural next step.
Robert Martin concludes “We wouldn’t want Facebook to become just about sales – that would ignore all of our efforts to create a community. But we do want to make sure we service that community with functionality that enables them to interact with us as easily as possible. “
Like www.facebook.com/TheLowrySalford to see the Events functionality in action.
The Lowry Information & Box Office
Telephone 0843 2086005
www.thelowry.com The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays M50 3AZ
Twitter @The_Lowry
Facebook www.facebook.com/TheLowrySalford
Media enquiries:
Michelle Bowey, Head of Media Relations, The Lowry Tel: 0161 876 2037 or email: michelle@thelowry.com
Pictures:
For high resolution images, please go to The Lowry’s image library www.thelowryimages.com
Notes to Editors:
The Lowry celebrated its 10th anniversary on 28 April 2010 and has spent 10 years delighting, engaging and challenging both local and national audiences with the very best in visual art and performance. The Lowry Centre Trust is a not-for-profit charitable organisation and registered charity (no. 1053962). All income supports our world-class Theatres and Galleries programme, the care and display of the LS Lowry Collection and our life-changing Community and Education work. The Lowry’s Chief Executive, Julia Fawcett (www.thelowry.com/juliafawcett) was awarded an OBE for services to the Arts in the Queen’s 2010 New Year Honours list.
*From researching some other major arts venues such as The Barbican, National Theatre, Wales Millennium Centre etc, we believe that The Lowry is the only arts organisation to sell its theatre tickets directly via Facebook.
Posted on Tuesday, 26 July 2011 under News