Social media for theatres and cinemas: a practical guide for 2026

Every post for a theatre or cinema has a deadline: a performance date or a screening time. Social media works best when it turns interest into a booking for a particular night, and reminds regulars what is coming before it sells out.

Facebook reaches local audiences, groups and older theatregoers, and suits events and listings. Instagram suits production photos, rehearsal stories and short trailers. TikTok suits backstage life, quick reactions from the bar after a show and the people who make it happen. A Google Business Profile is where people check showtimes, parking and reviews; Google says you can publish updates, offers and events, with event posts carrying a title and start and end dates and times.

Source: Google Business Profile Help: Create & manage posts on your Business Profile, checked 15 October 2026

Plan around your programme. A theatre with a three-week run needs a different rhythm from a cinema with new releases every Friday, but both need clear dates, times and a booking link in every post.

• Monday: this week's shows or screenings, with dates, times and full prices.
• Tuesday: a person. An actor, the projectionist, the box office team, a volunteer usher.
• Wednesday: behind the scenes. A set build, a costume fitting, a 35mm print arriving.
• Thursday: what is coming next month, with the on-sale date.
• Friday: tonight and this weekend, with any last seats.
• Stories through the week: rehearsal moments, a full house, the bar before curtain up.
• For every run: an on-sale post, an opening-night post and a last-chance post.

Most of what appears on your stage or screen belongs to someone else. In the UK, section 182 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 says a performer's rights are infringed by anyone who, without consent, makes a recording of the whole or any substantial part of a qualifying performance directly from the live performance, or broadcasts it live. The script, music and choreography carry their own copyright too.

If you stage licensed work, read the licence. Concord Theatricals' UK help centre says written permission must be obtained for all recording requests, whatever the purpose, that some titles include video permissions in the licence application, that additional fees may apply and that not all titles are available for recording. Other licensors set their own terms, so ask your licensing contact before posting any clip.

Cinemas should use the trailers, stills and posters that distributors supply, not footage filmed from the screen. YouTube's help centre says that recording something from the TV or cinema does not mean you own the rights to upload it. The BBFC says all feature films, short films and trailers shown theatrically must be submitted to it, unless the local authority has given permission, so include the rating when you post listings.

• Get every cast and crew member's written consent before filming rehearsals or performances.
• Use photos from a booked photo call rather than phone shots from the stalls.
• Ask audiences not to film during the show, and do not repost their clips of the performance.
• Keep distributor marketing materials within the dates and terms the distributor gives you.

Sources: legislation.gov.uk: Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 182 (consent to record live performances), checked 15 October 2026; Concord Theatricals UK help: Can I videotape my production?, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Common copyright myths, checked 15 October 2026; BBFC: Do I need a BBFC age rating?, checked 15 October 2026

Your own promotional videos need cleared music as well. Meta's music guidelines say commercial or non-personal use of music is prohibited unless you have the appropriate licence, and that restrictions also apply to live videos. TikTok says businesses should use its Commercial Music Library, which it describes as pre-cleared and free for businesses, for all commercial activity. PRS for Music says UK law requires permission to use music in public, including at live events and as background music in videos.

• Do not put a song from the show over a promo unless the licence allows it.
• Use the Commercial Music Library on TikTok and licensed or original music elsewhere.
• A short spoken line from the director or a cast member often works better than music.

Sources: Meta: Music Guidelines, checked 15 October 2026; TikTok Ads help: Commercial Music Library, checked 15 October 2026; PRS for Music: Get a music licence, checked 15 October 2026

Booking fees are the classic hidden charge. The CMA's guidance on the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 says a social media post can be an invitation to purchase, that the total price should normally include mandatory charges, and that per-transaction charges belong in the total price even in early-stage advertising. It says hiding fees until later in the purchase, known as drip pricing, is illegal, and that businesses can be fined up to 10% of turnover or £300,000, whichever is greater. A 'from' price is allowed if it includes all mandatory charges.

• Post the price people will pay, including any booking fee charged on every order.
• Show optional extras, such as programmes or interval drinks, separately.
• Say which seats or screenings the 'from' price applies to.
• Update or delete posts when concessions or offers change.

Source: CMA: Providing clear and accurate information about prices (summary), checked 15 October 2026

Quote press reviews accurately and in context, and credit the publication. For audience reviews, ask everyone the same way, for example in the post-show email. Google's policy says merchants must not offer incentives for reviews, discourage negative reviews or ask only happy customers, and the US FTC's rule bans fake reviews and incentives conditioned on a particular sentiment. Reply to complaints about seats, sound or queues politely and move the details to a private message.

Disclosure: this guide is published by Zolyp, an AI social media manager. Zolyp plans a calendar around your content pillars, writes and designs each post, and schedules it to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads. You start in review-everything mode, so nothing goes live without your approval. You can plan a whole run on the Calendar, but Zolyp does not check licence terms or ticket prices, so confirm both before you approve a post. Plans start at $29/mo. Everything in this guide works just as well done by hand.

• Week 1: list the month's shows, screenings and on-sale dates.
• Week 2: book a photo call or collect distributor assets for what is coming.
• Week 3: film one backstage or front-of-house clip with consent from everyone in it.
• Week 4: compare posts with bookings for each show, and repeat what sold seats.

Sources: Maps User Generated Content Policy: Prohibited & restricted content, checked 15 October 2026; FTC final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (August 2024), checked 15 October 2026