• by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, November 21, 2011

I’m not afraid to admit that when I was in New York two weeks ago I saw Spider-Man on Broadway and I loved it. Yup, the troubled show that went through endless previews, cast injuries and so-so reviews is a good one, after all.

And one of the first things I did after leaving the theater was — surprise, surprise — tweet about the show and the star, Reeve Carney.

Both responded to me on Twitter.

As a Broadway fan, I was stoked when they wrote back. As a media reporter, I was impressed by the response from both, including from the show’s official Twitter account asking me what was my favorite Spidey moment.

Engagement, indeed.

Consumers and fans like it a lot when a brand they admire interacts with them. That sort of back-and-forth communication on social channels can engender more good will, word-of-mouth, and deeper engagement with the brand. It did for me, because I then checked out some videos from the show, searching YouTube for official videos and any behind-the-scenes clips. Then I visited the show’s site  and watched some of the stars answer fan mail in an online video.

All along, I kept thinking, “This is a smart strategy” especially because the musical encountered countless setbacks early on. When that happens, it can be easy to shirk away from interactions and to protect your brand with silence. The show has done the opposite and is now playing to packed houses. I reached out to Damian Bazadona, president of Situation Interactive, the agency that handles the show’s social media, to learn about the official social media and online video strategy.

“Our team uses social media to engage, connect and listen to our patrons at all touch points to ensure they have an incredible experience with the show,” he said in an email exchange. “Our communication as a brand – both in words and actions – aims to make every engagement with our patrons at all touch points as fun and memorable as possible. It’s not easy but it’s a commitment from the producers of the show to deliver a high-caliber experience consumers expect from the Spider-Man brand. I think their commitment to these values of putting the consumer’s experience front and center in the marketing strategy is showing in the way we communicate with our fans and the box office results.”

Video too is a core part of the experience and the show’s producers posted new videos each week  during the previews earlier in the year, and will also be posting weekly videos  on the official YouTube channel, Facebook and the Web site starting again this week.

To date, the show has generated more than 500,000 views on YouTube for its official videos, Bazadona said.

The biggest benefit of video is it can help sell tickets. “We direct people we talk with in social media to our videos to help convert them into ticket buyers,” he said.