Social Media as a Viable Tool in the Theatrical Arts

Recently I did about 35 job interviews for positions back in the states. They were for various positions in companies from Artistic Director to Community Outreach to Teaching Positions at Universities. One common question was asked in all the interviews. "Do you have experience in using social media and the inter-web in promoting theatre?"
This is the first time I had been asked this question sooooo many times in interviews. But it makes me think about how the landscape of theatrical advertising and outreach is changing in our modern era. In the "olden days" all one had was the three basics: 1) word of mouth 2) print 3) radio and tv

Now, we have so many more ways of reaching an audience. We can reach them through mailing lists, twitter, facebook, pinterest, klout, flashmobs, viral videos, street art, as well as any of the traditional methods. It's great because we can reach such a more diverse audience then we ever could before. Our reach can be global in 2 seconds by making a youtube ad, for example. But, when the human attention span is getting shorter and shorter; which is the best method of getting a hold of new audience members and more importantly... keeping them?

Marketing is an essential part of the theatrical arts. If tickets aren't sold- then the show can't go on. I went back in my mind and started thinking about past campaigns I had worked on and seen in Hong Kong and why they worked.