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ABSTRACT
In recent years, social media has become an increasingly important part of the marketing
strategies for many Broadway productions. Yet, many Broadway marketing teams do not take
complete advantage of their social media channels, instead relying on traditional marketing
methods to attract audiences. Hamilton: An American Musical is a recent Broadway production
that has used an innovative social media marketing strategy to attract diverse audiences and
create a dedicated fanbase. By analyzing the strategy across Hamilton’s Instagram, Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok, I determine what made its social media so successful and how
other Broadway shows can learn from its strategy. The innovative social media tactics used by
Hamilton and other shows like it have allowed Broadway to grow the theatre community,
attracting younger and more racially and ethnically diverse audiences. These new audiences are
the future of theatre and have growing power to dictate Broadway’s future.
INTRODUCTION
Today, social media has become one of the most prevalent marketing tools for many
businesses, often overtaking the use of traditional marketing tools and techniques. Many
industries have been quick to adopt social media as a major player in their marketing strategies.
However, the performing arts industry as a whole has been slow to catch on to the changing
marketing trends. In recent years, the theatre industry has slowly begun to increase its social
media presence, begging the question—what does this mean for the future of Broadway?
According to Broadway social media manager Christopher Ketner, “for Broadway specifically,
social media has really taken off and been incredible to help support shows and reach an
audience beyond the traditional ticket buyer, and bringing a brand new audience to Broadway
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shows” (Russo 2). Social media usage can have numerous positive impacts on the theatre
industry including the ability to target specific market segments, reach populations that are not
exposed to more traditional marketing materials, and produce content that has the opportunity to
go viral (Craft 58). Social media also allows fans to have frequent interaction with the
production, creating a word-of-mouth buzz that drives ticket sales (Birkner 22). In my thesis, I
will explore how the increased prevalence of social media has impacted the marketing strategies
for the theatre industry and how new technology has allowed it to target a younger and more
ethnically diverse market.
In the modern age, audiences have more access to Broadway and theatre than they ever
had before. “With digitally streaming cast albums, YouTube vlogs, bootlegs, and press
interviews, people living thousands of miles away are able to now participate in the Broadway
experience that used to be exclusive” (Engstrom 2). This has connected new populations to the
industry that have not previously been included. Additionally, as the majority of Broadway
tickets are now purchased online, engaging fans directly online has become more important than
ever (Birkner 22).
Figure 1- Method of ticket purchase for Broadway ticket buyers during 2018-2019 season. The Broadway League, 2019.
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As our world becomes more digital, the benefits offered to Broadway productions by
having a robust social media presence include increased exposure and direct communication with
fans. While social media still makes up only a small percentage of many productions’ advertising
budget, many managers recognize it as a valuable tool in a time when a quarter of Broadway
audiences are under 25 (Lunden 1).
According to a report published by the Broadway League, in the 2018-2019 season, more
Broadway ticket holders under the age of 34 got their information about Broadway productions
from social media than any other platform. Notably, for audience members aged 35-49, their
number one source of Broadway news was Facebook as well. This means that the majority of
Broadway ticket buyers are now looking to social media as their number one source of
information when researching Broadway productions (figure 2). This makes it more important
Figure 2- Where Broadway audiences reported getting their information about
theatre during the 2018-2019 season. The Broadway League, 2019.
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than ever for productions to have a meaningful presence on social media. As Charles Flateman,
vice president of marketing at the Schubert Organization puts it, “[Broadway] was print-focused
for a long time. Now… we’re seeing more social media, so the way we’re communicating has
become more focused, but is just as aggressive, or more aggressive, in getting our message out
than we’ve ever been” (Birkner 22).
In order to demonstrate the ways that social media marketing can help productions reach
new, more diverse audiences, I will conduct a study on the social media techniques of Hamilton:
An American Musical leading up to and throughout its Broadway run. By studying its marketing
tactics, I will extrapolate how social media’s “proper use and management may be uniquely
suited to reach ticket buyers and event promoters using the power of ‘online word-of-mouth,’”
and how the success achieved by Hamilton can be replicated by similar Broadway productions
(Rothschild 101).
APPROACH SUMMARY
In approaching this complex topic, I decided that it would be best to analyze the social
media strategy of one production that opened on Broadway within the past 10 years and that had
a successful or unique use of social media. I chose to use Hamilton as a case study as it is
arguably the most successful new musical to premiere within the past 10 years, and it has the
largest online following of the productions currently on Broadway. After deciding to study
Hamilton, I completed an in-depth survey of each of its social media accounts across Instagram,
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok as well as the accounts of important people associated
with the production (current and former cast members, members of the creative team, etc). I
surveyed each of Hamilton’s social media accounts by exploring the posts on each of the
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accounts since the time they were created to observe trends across each platform. I then chose to
use recent examples in my analysis of each platform in order to provide the most up to date
information about Hamilton’s social media strategy. I choose which personal accounts to survey
by searching online blogs and articles to see which cast members’ social media accounts people
were discussing. The people most discussed were Lin Manuel Miranda, Daveed Diggs, Phillipa
Soo, Amber Ardolino, Leslie Odom Jr., Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and
Anthony Ramos. Since a major measure of success for social media marketing is buzz generated
by the content, I then did a deep dive on what people were saying about Hamilton and its social
media across the internet: ranging from blogs to newspaper articles dated between 2015 (when
the show opened on Broadway) and March 2022. I took comprehensive notes on each of the
articles I read and compared them to one another to identify trends. I also analyzed the social
media content from other shows currently running on Broadway in order to point out areas that
made Hamilton’s strategy unique. I surveyed the accounts of each show currently running on
Broadway (as of March 2022) by scrolling through the accounts to identify consistencies and
compared those to the trends I identified across Hamilton’s accounts. Additionally, I read several
scholarly articles and studies on the success and use of social media marketing in the
entertainment and Broadway industry to see what other scholars are saying about the topic.
Finally, I used the annual report published by the Broadway League on the demographics of
Broadway audiences to determine what impact, if any, social media has had on the types of
people who purchase Broadway tickets.
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BROADWAY AUDIENCES AND ADVERTISING STRATEGY
The history of Broadway audiences can be summed up by this quote from Elizabeth
Craft: “The ‘Great White Way’ nickname has been sadly homonymic. The average Broadway
attendee is a female, middle-aged, highly educated, and affluent tourist… Audiences are severely
limited by high ticket prices (now over $100 apiece for the best seats) and by accessibility to the
theatres, even when shows go on tour” (Craft 53). The Broadway industry has been one that is
historically stagnant in terms of the types of people that make up audiences. According to the
Broadway League who conducts an annual study of Broadway audiences, the average age of
Broadway ticket buyers has remained between 40 and 45 years old for the past two decades
(Broadway League 5). The same study found that Broadway audiences are very largely
Caucasian, with 74% to 80.6% of ticket holders being Caucasian from 1998-2019 (id at 22).
Additionally, theatre-goers are consistently more affluent than the average American, with 44%
of audience members reporting an annual income of $150,000 or more (compared to 11% of the
United States population in the same category) (id at 29).
While the demographics of Broadway audiences have remained relatively stagnant
(figure 3), many producers are beginning to recognize the importance of attracting new
Figure 3- The average age of Broadway ticket holders 1998-2019
The Broadway League, 2019.
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audiences to the theatre as this population ages and the costs of bringing a production to
Broadway become more and more expensive. In discussing this importance, “Kyle A. Thomas
writes that the survival of any art form — but especially one as fleeting and ephemeral as theater
— is dependent upon introducing new generations to that form through the mediums they
understand best” (Lewis 4). Since the creation of social media platforms, the medium best
understood by more and more of the population has become social media.
It may seem as if social media marketing is no longer new, having been around since the
early days of social media beginning in 2006, when Facebook expanded its platform to allow
users worldwide to make pages. However, in the theatre industry, this is a trend that is just
starting to be understood as the future of marketing. Many Broadway shows still do not take
advantage of social media, instead choosing to rely on more traditional marketing forms like
print, TV, and radio. With a few notable exceptions, most Broadway shows post infrequently to
their channels and fail to develop a strategy specific to social media. Why is this?
Getting a production to Broadway is extremely expensive and requires significant
investment from a large number of producers. Additionally, this investment is decidedly risky,
with only 20% of productions recouping their initial investment (Davenport 1). This leads to
producers being wary of making investments in newer, unproven, or risky marketing trends or
techniques. Christine Birkner states “In the past, Broadway shows primarily were promoted via
posters plastered throughout the New York metropolitan area; theater reviews in local and
national media; and print ads in tourist brochures, in Playbill, the magazine given to Broadway
theatergoers, and in local newspapers including The New York Times” (Birkner 21). These tried-
and-true methods of marketing have been staples of the Broadway advertising strategy, and it is
only within recent years that producers have been unable to ignore the growing power of social
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media marketing and willing to invest in these new channels. Sara Fitzpartrick, SpotCo’s director
of interactive services, stated that she has seen an uptick in the interest of producers in online and
social media advertising as its effectiveness has become better proven (Craft 57).
This is also due in part to “traditional marketing methods… dwindling in usefulness due
to cost, expansive product choice, dispersed populations, myriad media outlets, and consumer
resistance to advertising” (Rothschild 109). It is clear to many Broadway professionals that it is
becoming increasingly important to have a social media presence, yet few productions have been
able to develop a truly impactful social media strategy to date. However, it is a puzzle that
marketing professionals in the industry are determined to solve. According to a survey conducted
of marketing teams in entertainment venues across the United States, 100% reported that they
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anticipated spending more of their budget on new media (such as social media) in the upcoming
years than previous years (figure 4).
Even as many producers commit to having social media make up a larger portion of their
marketing plans moving forward, many are still unsure what this looks like. As Elizabeth Craft
puts it “Broadway advertisers agree that the days of relying solely or even primarily on print
marketing and reviews are over, and that the relationship between the media of the Internet and
live theatre is still being negotiated” (Craft 64). However, there have been a few Broadway
productions within recent years that have been able to capture the social media craze and use it to
their advantage. One such production is Hamilton whose social media strategy is the focus of this
paper.
Figure 4- Anticipated use of advertising channels in upcoming years as reported by
theatre marketing professionals.
Rothschild, 2019.
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H AMI LTON OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND
Hamilton is arguably one of the most popular and successful shows on Broadway in the
modern era. Interest in the musical has expanded beyond the boundaries of Broadway-lovers to
the mainstream, and has begun a major pop culture phenomenon seemingly beloved by all.
Hamilton’s prevalence makes it the ideal subject for a case study about its use of social media
marketing—not only did the marketing team use innovative social media techniques to attract
and engage fans, the large amount of buzz about the musical makes it discoverable which aspects
of the strategy people were responsive to.
Before getting into the specifics of Hamilton’s social media strategy and why it was
successful, it is important to understand the other factors that contributed to the musical’s major
success. To begin with, Hamilton is very much a product of its time: created during the Obama
era, the musical captures the optimism and excitement felt by many people, especially people of
color, from seeing a black man hold the highest office in the U.S. government for the first time.
This sentiment took on a new meaning by the time Hamilton opened on Broadway on August 6,
2015, less than two months after Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign. The famous
line from the show “Immigrants— we get the job done!” became a rallying cry against the
Trump campaign’s xenophobic rhetoric. Hamilton has never shied away from its political
message, and it premiered on Broadway at an opportune time when audiences were eager to hear
and embrace it. When creating the musical’s social media strategy, Hamilton’s marketing team
chose to lean into this aspect of the show. In an interview with Drury University about the
show’s social media marketing strategy, Mike Karns, the social media manager of Hamilton,
stated “We’ve made it a goal to share not only… interesting stuff from the history, but also tie us
into the larger conversation that is happening out in the world.” (Bell 2).
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Another key aspect of Hamilton’s success was its unique content. While Hamilton was
far from the first to take historical figures or events and place them in a musical, it was the first
to do this with an entirely diverse cast and modern rap and hip-hop music. When Hamilton
opened on Broadway in 2015, it was one of the first Broadway shows to feature an almost
entirely non-white cast and was the first to use a diverse cast to play historically white figures.
This drew attention from people across the globe. “Not only is this to be applauded from a
diversity perspective, but it also helped with the marketing. People were interested to see
historical figures played against type” (Jurberg 4). Hamilton also captured the public’s attention
with its use of popular music styles. The use of hip hop and rap songs in a musical was still
relatively new on Broadway, and these styles made the historical story relevant to modern and
younger audiences (Jurberg 3). While the modern and rap-style music is frequently a topic of
conversation when discussing Hamilton’s extreme success, it is important to note that Hamilton
is not the first musical to be written in this style. Creator Lin Manuel Miranda’s first musical In
the Heights that opened on Broadway in 2008 features a remarkably similar score full of hip-hop
and rap-inspired songs, yet it did not reach the level of massive success and hype that Hamilton
has experienced. In the Heights closed after three years on Broadway, while Hamilton has
already run for seven years and shows no signs of closing soon. So while Hamilton’s music has
widespread appeal, its success cannot be attributed to that alone.
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
How was Hamilton able to build such a strong fanbase? While the musical itself inspires
many, these fans would not be able to share their love for the musical or bring others into the
group without Hamilton’s strong social media strategy across all platforms. For Hamilton and
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other musicals like it, “social media is how most of these fans found out about the show and how
they really dug their roots into the ‘fandom.’ Shows like [Hamilton] target young audiences not
only with relatable content in the shows themselves, but with content on social media—blog and
social media posts, sharing fan content, actors and actresses interacting with their fans” (Jones
2). This perfectly encapsulates the strategy developed by Hamilton’s marketing team for their
social media channels. Hamilton uses a variety of content across its Instagram, Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube and, most recently, TikTok accounts to engage and grow a young and diverse
audience of fans.
Instagram
Instagram is one of the platforms Hamilton uses most frequently to engage with fans,
especially in the height of its popularity. Its account (@hamiltionmusical) stands at 1.7 million
followers and over 2,100 posts as of March 2022. This follower count is significantly higher than
any other show running on Broadway. The show with the next highest follower count as of
March 2022 is Dear Evan Hansen with 504,000 followers, less than half the amount of Hamilton
(“Broadway Social Stats” 1). What has Hamilton been able to do that other productions have not
to create such a gap in engagement?
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One of the key pillars of Hamilton’s Instagram
strategy is the sharing of user-generated content. Rather
than using their channel to push out marketing
materials to Instagram users, the social media team
uses the page to create a community of fans and give
them a place where they can come to share their love
for the musical. The willingness of Hamilton to share
artwork and other content created by fans caused “the
fanbase…to spread online, dubbing themselves
“Faniltons” and creating even more hashtags. In 2017,
#Hamilween started with fans dressing up as their
favorite Hamilton characters for Halloween” (Jurberg
6). This idea started by fans was picked up by the
official account, which each year reposts favorite
Hamilton-inspired costumes under the hashtag
“#Hamilween.” (Figure 5) It is not just on Halloween
where Hamilton will engage with its Instagram followers in this way. The account will
frequently share photos of fan’s pets wearing Hamilton paraphernalia, fan art shared by other
creators, or photos to celebrate holidays or milestones in fan’s lives (figures 6-8).
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Figure 6- Example of user generated content to
celebrate a lighthearted holiday.
Hamilton [@hamiltonmusical]. Post for World
Baking Day. Instagram, 17 May 2021,
https://www.instagram.com/p/CO-
2bx7FOol/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Figure 7- Example of fan art shared to the account.
Hamilton [@hamiltonmusical]. Embroidery Post.
Instagram, 2 July
2021, https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ1QBGAh7C4/
?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Figure 8- Example of celebrating milestones in
fans' lives.
Hamilton [@hamiltonmusical]. Graduation
Post. Instagram, 13 June 2021,
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQE_MxYlyH
M/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
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Hamilton has also utilized Instagram to champion different social justice causes, not only
through its main page, but through an additional account created by the brand specifically for this
purpose in February 2021 (@ham4progress). While this account has considerably less
engagement than its main page with only 20,100 followers and 303 posts, it still represents an
important piece of Hamilton’s marketing strategy. In its conception, Hamilton was meant to be a
show that makes a political statement and aligns itself with many modern social justice
movements. Creating an Instagram account dedicated to this cause allows Hamilton to stay
current in the ever changing political landscape of the United States. For example, in 2020 after
the death of George Floyd and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, Hamilton
posted on its main account several Instagram stories (found under the “BLM” highlight on its
page) and posts stating its support of the movement, providing resources for its followers to learn
more, and encouraging fans to take action.
Figure 9- Example of story under "BLM"
highlight calling fans to action.
Hamilton [@hamiltonmusical]. “BLM” Story
Highlight. Instagram.
Figure 10- Example of post drawing connections between
social justice issue and Hamilton.
Hamilton [@hamiltonmusical]. Rachel Cargle Post.
Instagram, 29 June 2020,
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCCAZ6EhTpJ/?igshid=Y
mMyMTA2M2Y=
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By connecting the Black Lives Matter movement to the content in the show, this strategy
works to keep the musical and its message current, keeping audiences engaged even though the
show premiered in 2017. Additionally, by aligning itself to a cause that is very important to
many people of color, a key demographic for Hamilton, these people are more likely to have
feelings of goodwill toward the show. According to a study conducted by the University of
Washington in St. Louis and Vrity, 60% of individuals surveyed indicated that they have
purchased products or goods from a brand because it aligns with values they believe in (Savat 4).
By authentically sharing information surrounding causes that the Hamilton team cares about,
people who care about those same causes are more likely to purchase tickets.
Facebook
Overall, Hamilton’s Facebook strategy is fairly similar to its Instagram. The majority of
the posts on its Facebook page are also posted to its Instagram, with the exception of a few
updates of where the touring casts are performing that do not make it to the Instagram page.
Unlike Hamilton’s other social media channels, its engagement is fairly similar to other
Broadway pages on Facebook. As of March 2022, the Hamilton page has a little over 1 million
likes, less than The Cursed Child (1.2 million), The Lion King (2.7 million), The Phantom of the
Opera (1.3 million), and Wicked (1.2 million) (“Broadway Social Stats” 1). The popularity of
these shows on Facebook over Hamilton is likely due to the demographics of their target
audiences. Each of these shows are Broadway mainstays whose audience mostly consists of the
average theatre-goer (affluent, middle-aged, white women) and tourists. According to Hootsuite,
a brand management tool for social media, Facebook is the most popular social media platform
for people aged 35-44, the very demographic targeted by each of these shows (Beveridge 5).
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While Facebook might not be the platform where Hamilton has the most unique strategy,
there is one aspect of the platform that they take advantage of more than other Broadway
productions—Facebook Live. When Facebook first launched this feature in 2015, “Hamilton
immediately took advantage of this, and has had cast members go live for 30 minute periods for
real-time Q+As. They advertise in advance who the cast member is, and when they will be live,
and encourage fans to hop on, ask questions in the comments and watch them get answered.”
(DiLuglio 11). Since Facebook was the first social media platform to launch a live function, this
provided fans with a unique and exciting opportunity to see inside the show and the cast in a way
they never had before. This also gave the social media team the opportunity to receive valuable
feedback from their audience, as “by consistently engaging with your audience, you can not only
engender feelings of goodwill within your audience, you can know in real time how people are
reacting to what is currently on stage and what you've announced as upcoming” (Freeman 1).
These live streams also worked to enable fans to get to know the cast members and production
team as real people, not just the characters they play in Hamilton. This allowed followers to feel
like they knew the cast members and become invested in their lives, making them excited to tune
in for any new live streams or content featuring the cast members.
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Twitter
Like its Instagram account, Hamilton’s Twitter account (@HamiltonMusical) has
significantly more followers and engagement than all other Broadway productions. As of March
2022, Hamilton’s Twitter has almost 1.1 million followers while Dear Evan Hansen, the
production with the next highest follower account, only has 193,000 followers (“Broadway
Social Stats” 1). What is Hamilton doing on Twitter that every other show is not? Let's compare
recent tweets from the Dear Evan Hansen account and the Hamilton one (figures 11-12).
Figure 11- Tweet relating Bridgerton Netflix series to
Dear Evan Hansen
Dear Evan Hansen [@DearEvanHansen]. “Evan Hansen
and Lady Whistledown…”. Twitter, 25 March 2022,
https://twitter.com/DearEvanHansen/status/1507463379
266711554?cxt=HHwWhMDRkZz9yuspAAAA
Figure 12- Tweet relating Bridgerton Netflix series to Hamilton
Hamilton [@HamiltonMusical]. “You see it right?”. Twitter, 28 March
2022,
https://mobile.twitter.com/HamiltonMusical/status/1508530169945939973
?cxt=HHwWioCzic6MsO8pAAAA
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Although both tweets address the same topic—relating a popular TV show to the
Broadway production—they do it in very different ways. Dear Evan Hansen’s tweet feels like a
piece of marketing from the way that the copy is written to the graphic used. It is simply trying to
push a message out to its audience rather than engaging in a conversation with them. The tweet
from Hamilton, on the other hand, seems more like a real interaction between two people rather
than marketing. By choosing to reply to something tweeted by a fan, the social media team is
able to address the actual interests of the musical’s fanbase and add to the conversation already
happening while reminding people about their show.
While the Hamilton Twitter account is frequently used to interact with fans and share
content, the place where Hamilton’s social media strategy really shines on Twitter is on creator
Lin Manuel Miranda’s personal Twitter account (@Lin_Manuel). Since first beginning to write
the musical in 2011, Miranda shared his process on Twitter with his fans (“Hamilton Hype: 4
Social Media Marketing Lessons From the Latest Broadway Hit” 2). Miranda was able to
“leverage Twitter as the most widely available way for followers to touch the secret world of
Hamilton and feel included. Miranda used Twitter to connect a broad cross-section of people
who love rap, history and theater by soliciting fan art and poetry. He responded to questions one
on one and treated his followers like pals” (Murray 1). Miranda’s interactions with fans were key
in keeping fans connected to the musical. Miranda used Twitter to share tidbits about his life and
other interests in addition to information about Hamilton. When he does tweet about the show,
he shares backstage videos, information about his creative process, or other information
Hamilton fans are unlikely to see anywhere else (Carson 5). This keeps fans interested and
coming back for more, regardless of whether they have seen the show yet. When on social
media, people are looking to connect with other people, not to be served advertisements from
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brands. By positioning himself as a person behind the Hamilton brand, Miranda humanizes the
show and makes his followers feel as if they are an important piece of the show and this process.
This is even clearer when comparing the follow count and engagement across both Twitter
accounts: the brand account has 1 million followers while Miranda’s personal account has 3.6
million followers as of March 2022. By focusing the Twitter strategy around Miranda’s
celebrity, Hamilton has captured “the force of personality, the passion and the engagement with a
real person that drive people to interaction on social media. There is a personal touch that comes
with social media that is clearly connected to a real person. There’s also naturally a more human
interaction to this ethereal medium when it’s attached to a person” (Peranzo 4).
This tweet (figure 6) post-show in 2019 is a perfect example of how he gives fans an
inside look into the production while still showcasing his personality. By telling his Twitter
followers something unique that happened during a performance, he makes these people feel as
if they were there actually experiencing it live. This also garners excitement for people to see the
show even if they already have because the performance could be different every time.
Figure 13- Example tweet from Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda [@Lin_Manuel]. “Hamilthought, Show #7…”.
Twitter, 16 January 2019,
https://twitter.com/lin_manuel/status/1085661164422361090?lang=en
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Another important thing to note when discussing Twitter’s role in Hamilton’s success is
that this was the main platform that countless celebrities took to after seeing the show to share
their pictures and praise. These posts had a massive influence on Hamilton ticket sales as these
celebrities have large built-in followings that listen closely to their recommendations and take
them seriously (YesBroadway 1). According to YesBroadway, a company that offers social
media marketing consulting for the Broadway industry:
The real magic happens in engaging non-theater influencers…[They] can introduce your
show to an entirely new audience via creative, genuine, and authentic content, giving you
direct access to potential ticket buyers in that hard-to-reach Under 40 demographic.
These types of influencers are often followed by people who have never even heard of
last year’s Best Musical winner, thus introducing your show to a huge untapped market
of new audience members. (YesBroadway 2)
While the sheer volume of celebrities sharing their praise for Hamilton may be difficult for other
Broadway shows to replicate, productions can focus efforts on engaging with influencers and
celebrities to capture the same kind of word-of-mouth advertising.
YouTube
Hamilton has been one of the only Broadway productions that has been able to make the
most of its YouTube page. While today, most, if not all, Broadway musicals have a YouTube
account, they are used very infrequently (only about one video every three or four months on
average). Hamilton, in contrast, posts much more frequently averaging at least one video per
month in recent years and as frequently as once per week when the show first opened on
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Broadway. This strategy has worked well for them, having over 622,000 subscribers as of March
2022.
In terms of content, the Hamilton social media team creates content that can be found
exclusively on its YouTube channel. In addition to the Original Broadway Cast Recordings of
the songs in the show, the channel features light-hearted content from the casts of Hamilton (the
Broadway, international, and touring companies) such as casual performances of songs from the
show, performances of other Broadway or pop songs, and the #Ham4Ham performances its
channel is most known for. Most importantly, its content took advantage of current events and
the things fans were actively talking about online:
For example, when Jonathan Groff (King George) was leaving the show, and a
new King came on board (Rory O’Malley), they held a coronation and shared
pictures on their social channels. When fans were celebrating the 20th anniversary
of Rent, they sang "Seasons of Love" in the same style as the original Rent cast to
conclude a show. The beauty of all this activity is that while it keeps the show top
of mind, it doesn’t feel like marketing. It feels like a group of artists sharing what
they love to do, and generously rewarding all their fans, not just ticket holders.
(Bramhandkar 3)
Not only does this keep the show top of mind, but these videos provide a public space for people
to share their love for theatre in a way that is accessible for all and is particularly attractive for
younger generations who consume much of their media online (Craft 65).
The most unique aspect of Hamilton’s YouTube strategy is the #Ham4Ham videos that
were posted once per week in the first two years of the show’s run and briefly revived during the
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quarantine period of 2020. The idea behind Ham4Ham is that every Wednesday the show would
offer the chance for fans to win tickets to Hamilton for ten dollars (the bill that features
Alexander Hamilton, hence the name “Ham4Ham”) and Lin Manuel Miranda would offer an
impromptu performance often featuring other cast members or well-known Broadway
performers outside the Richard Rodgers Theater before announcing the lottery winners. When
these performances first started, the videos were not shared by the official Hamilton accounts,
but rather by the fans who attended the show. When asked about this, Hamilton social media
manager Mike Karns said “You’ll notice that most of the #Ham4Ham videos were not created or
posted by us, and that was a very conscious choice. We wanted to get people to evangelize on
our behalf. It was a different perspective each time.” (Bell 4). This made the content feel organic
and like fans who stumbled across video footage of each Ham4Ham performance were
witnessing something special. Karns’s strategy proved to be successful as “too much
involvement from the marketing team would probably have been detrimental… since the
YouTube medium thrives on the perception of authenticity – a grassroots, of-the-people for-the-
people quality that… [is] essential for online audiences to respond” (Craft 58). Once word of
these performances spread, hundreds of people would come to the Richard Rodgers Theater
every Wednesday to see what would be performed that day, and many more tuned into the
livestream of the event on the Hamilton YouTube channel. The viral nature of these videos
spurred online word-of-mouth about the show and helped reach audiences missed by traditional
marketing methods, namely younger people and people of color (Craft 58).
TikTok
In more recent years, TikTok has become the newest social media phenomenon on which
every brand has been trying to capitalize. Hamilton has embraced this craze, and its account
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(@hamiltonmusical) stands at 1.7 million followers as of March 2022, posting an average of one
video each day. The unique way that Hamilton has been able to capitalize on TikTok is through
content created by its cast and crew, both videos made and posted on the official Hamilton
account and those posted on cast member’s personal pages. Its videos often consist of the cast
members backstage and in costume, participating in the latest TikTok dance trend, or showing
their backstage routine. By giving fans a glimpse behind the scenes and showing the actors as
ordinary people, Hamilton is able to form a bond between the cast members and the fans.
One example of the interaction cast members have with fans through TikTok is former
Hamilton cast member Amber Ardolino (@ambernicoleardolino). While acting in Hamilton, she
frequently posted TikToks of her backstage antics with other cast members, teaching cast
members trending dances, and other Hamilton-related content on her personal account. One
series of hers that became popular was where she would ask TikTok users what dance she should
perform on stage during “The Reynolds Pamphlet,” and she would perform whichever dance got
the most likes in the comments and post a video from the monitor backstage of her doing it. By
encouraging cast members to engage with fans on TikTok in these ways, Hamilton is able to
achieve its goal of “[giving] fans unprecedented access so that they felt as if they were in the
room where it happened,” as stated by social media manager Mike Karns (Bell 4).
POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANCE
While there are several key lessons that can be learned from Hamilton’s social media
strategy, why would other productions want to make the effort to follow in its footsteps? What
benefits can come from a production having a large social media following? For one, social
media provides productions with real time access to what fans are thinking and saying about the
Pontelandolfo 26
show rather than only relying on critics for tangible feedback. “In a social media-centric world
where conversations about brands are no longer controlled by corporate led PR campaigns, one
can see the importance of monitoring what consumers are saying about the brand as part of their
marketing mix” (Rothschild 110). This allows Broadway productions to guide and shape
conversations as they are happening.
A benefit that Hamilton experienced from the social media hype leading up to and during
its Broadway run was high demand for tickets. When Hamilton’s Broadway run was announced,
“it had over $27 million in pre-opening ticket sales. Six years of slow build-up and intermittent
snippets had worked to Miranda’s favor” (Jurberg 3). Building a following on social media when
a production is in its pre-Broadway phase can make or break ticket sales for the first few months
of a Broadway run. Additionally, building this early following can establish a basis for “young
audiences [to] easily find a ‘home’ with shows…[and] a gateway into the theatre world. Social
media makes it easy for young audiences to grow a passion for theatre, which is important for
such an attendance-reliable, participation-reliable art like theatre is” (Jones 2).
Another benefit Hamilton experienced from its robust social media strategy was the
engagement of populations outside of the average Broadway ticket buyer, namely younger
people and people of color. As social media manager Karns states, “Because Hamilton has
broken the confines of normal Broadway scope and audience, we’ve been able to build a really
diverse fanbase in terms of age, location, etc” (Ladd 2). Although these groups have historically
been underrepresented in Broadway audiences “new shows coming to Broadway have begun to
see the advantages of engaging with a wide audience on social media platforms, even those who
may not be a coveted potential ticket-buyer; by providing a digital space for fans to gather
around a show, theatre-makers extend the experience of the show beyond the walls of the
Pontelandolfo 27
physical theater” (Lewis 7). This gives the show a life outside of the individual performances and
introduces new populations to the industry.
As this chart (figure 14) illustrates, the number of Broadway audience members under the
age of 34 has been slowly but surely increasing since the 2009-2010 season. Since Hamilton
opened in the 2015-2016 season, there have also been significant jumps in the number of young
people coming to Broadway. Most notably, in the next season, the under 18 population increased
by 200,000, the 18-24 population increased by 250,000, and the 25-34 population increased by
190,000. This is a significant increase compared to past seasons. It is likely that by attracting
younger audiences through its social media efforts, Hamilton not only attracted this population to
its show, but to Broadway as a whole. As a result of social media efforts, a larger percentage of
young people are becoming invested in Broadway and the theatre industry.
Figure 14- Broadway admissions in millions by age group from 1997-2019.
The Broadway League, 2019.
Pontelandolfo 28
As you can see from this analysis of audiences from the 2018-2019 Broadway season
(figure 15), people aged 18-34 make up a higher percentage of Broadway audiences than they do
the U.S. population. In particular, the 25-34 age group indexes the highest, meaning a large portion
of this population is coming to see Broadway shows. In order to fully capitalize on this trend,
Broadway audiences should continue to communicate with the groups in a way they understand
well— through social media.
Another group Hamilton was able to capture through its use of non-traditional marketing
efforts and social media was people of color. Broadway audiences have historically been very
white but, like younger populations, more people of color have been going to the theatre in
recent years. When asked about the increasing diversity of Broadway audiences, Tom
Greenwald, executive creative director of the Broadway advertising agency SpotCo, said “All
you have to do is go to the theatre on any given night during the last couple of years and you can
see it for yourself”(Craft 63-64). Greenwald noted that a similar trend to the increasingly diverse
Figure 15- Age group percentage for Broadway audiences, U.S. population, and
Audience/Census index for 2018-2019.
The Broadway League, 2019.
Pontelandolfo 29
audiences at In The Heights could also be seen at shows like The Color Purple and Raisin in the
Sun (Craft 63-64).
Overall, Broadway admissions of non-Caucasian groups has been increasing since the
2013-2014 season (figure 16). Between the 2014-2015 season to the 2015-2016 season,
Broadway attendance by people of color increased from 2.66 million to 3.02 million. This
dramatic increase over the course of one year, and further increases in the year since, show that
people of color are responsive when they are reached out to by the Broadway community and see
themselves both onstage and in marketing efforts targeted specifically towards them:
It has indeed been demonstrated that theatregoers who use the Web have more
opportunities to find information and, consequently, the performance that suits their taste.
Moreover, online communication has been demonstrated to be effective in both retaining
existing audiences and attracting ‘inexpert drama lovers', educating new audience
members by means of their active participation. (Besana et al 1-2)
Figure 16- Broadway admissions in millions by Non-Caucasian ethnic group from 2003-2019.
The Broadway League, 2019.
Pontelandolfo 30
Not only has the prevalence of social media marketing helped to encourage more diverse
audiences to purchase Broadway tickets, these audiences have had a growing impact on the types
of productions that earn a Broadway run. When looking at the shows that have opened on
Broadway since Hamilton, the majority are far from the classic Golden Age musical that defined
Broadway for so long. With productions like Dear Evan Hansen and Be More Chill centering
around the lives of high schoolers and A Strange Loop telling the story of minorities, it has
become clear that “the active social media practices of Lin-Manuel and dozens of other theater
professionals and fans alike demonstrate that audiences who had previously never been served
by Broadway can now dictate the course of its future” (Lewis 7). Broadway has begun to cater
more to these young, diverse audiences by prioritizing productions that they will enjoy and
purchase tickets to. This can be by dealing with more timely or serious subject matters that
confront today’s youth or featuring younger and more diverse headliners (Birkner 23). This
effect creates a feedback loop—as more young and non-white populations purchase tickets and
prove they are a valuable customer segment for Broadway, more productions will tell stories
targeted directly at these groups, and more stories will be on Broadway that resonate with these
audiences, leading them to purchase more tickets. This has been seen historically, as when
“musicals like The Color Purple as well as Rent and Avenue Q… pushed [for more diversity,
they brought] in younger audiences.” (Craft 53).
In addition to voting with their wallets by purchasing tickets, young audiences show their
support for the productions that resonate with them through posts on social media. In recent
years, producers have taken chances on shows that have massive support on social media despite
negative critical reception, showing how “young people have also become tastemakers in a
tangible way with the advent of social media, via Tumblr, YouTube, and Instagram… these
Pontelandolfo 31
consumers of the show later converted into sold-out, screaming audiences” (Evans 30). Not only
has this led to numerous tours and international productions of Hamilton but, more recently, Be
More Chill received a national tour “because of social media and the outcry for a tour and the
knowledge that each location would be met with the same outpouring of support from teens as is
seen on Broadway, a tour was just inevitable” (Jones 2).
While it is still too early to predict the full extent of how the invention of social media
will impact the Broadway industry, it is clear that productions can simply no longer ignore these
platforms if they want to be successful. As Broadway producer Ken Davenport puts it,
“tomorrow’s audience is going to demand an entirely different type of entertainment. Twenty-
year-olds today haven’t known a world without cell phones. With this kind of interactivity… the
shows they’re going to want to see in 10, 20 years are going to reflect that” (Birkner 22). The
ever-changing dynamic of the internet and social media in our society will continue to have an
impact on Broadway moving forward. Productions will have to put in effort to keep up with new
trends and fully incorporate them into their marketing strategy, or they may find themselves left
behind.
Pontelandolfo 32
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