How to Grow Your Audience at Your Arts Organization with Parasocial Relationships [with examples]

Parasocial relationships?(PSRs) has been floating around our minds this year, and we wanted to give you the name for this psychological phenomenon, help you understand it, and give examples of how you can leverage it better to build your audience.

Good news!?This isn't a major project you must add to your to-do list.

It's likely already built into your marketing strategy. It may even be happening naturally without your knowledge.

• Artists at your organization are likely already working with you on content creation and posting about their craft and life on their personal accounts.
• If your CEO or senior management is active on social media, they are likely building parasocial relationships, too.

What are Parasocial Relationships?

PSRs are one-sided emotional bonds that people develop with media figures—whether they’re actors, dancers, musicians, CEOs, podcast hosts, or even fictional characters.

These relationships, although not usually reciprocal, can lead to deeper engagement, loyalty, and even increased support for arts organizations.

In other words, someone feels like they know and have a friendship with someone they've likely never met in person or is only an acquaintance.

Why PSRs Matter

By showcasing the real people behind the performances, you deepen those emotional ties and give audiences reasons to keep coming back. These relationships can lead to more ticket sales, donations, and a stronger sense of community around your organization. (Parasocial relationships with musicians.?and How the COVID-19 pandemic shifted follower connections).

A Case Study from the Pandemic — BTS and Naill Horan.

Arts organizations can take a cue from musicians and celebrities who blur the lines between their personal and professional lives to build strong fan relationships. During the pandemic, for example, artists like BTS and Niall Horan strengthened parasocial bonds with their audiences through virtual concerts. BTS earned $71M from concerts and merch sales. Similarly, Niall Horan raised $2.5M through a charity live-streamed concert. (Parasocial relationships with musicians. and How the COVID-19 pandemic shifted follower connections).

Factors that Lead to Strong PSRs

According to a study by Kurtin and colleagues (2019), four factors significantly contribute to building strong PSRs.

1. Frequent Exposure and Relationship Strength: The more people are exposed to their favorite musicians (through social media, music consumption, etc.), the stronger the parasocial relationship becomes. This exposure is linked to increased loyalty, meaning people are more likely to prioritize listening to their favorite musicians and feel a connection.
2. But not too much exposure However, the more people are exposed to the musician, the less attractive they might find them over time. This suggests that overexposure might lead to a decrease in loyalty, though the study also notes that fans who feel a strong connection still find their relationship important.
3. Authenticity Matters Authenticity was a key factor in enhancing parasocial relationships. Fans who perceive their favorite musicians as "real" or "genuine" are more likely to form stronger emotional bonds.
4. Social Media Influence Social media plays a crucial role in fostering these relationships, providing fans with a sense of intimacy and "realness" with musicians. Musicians who engage authentically on platforms like Instagram and X (Twitter) can strengthen their parasocial relationships, leading to increased fan loyalty and possibly driving higher revenue through digital engagement, live streams, or music sales.

A Few Case Studies from Celebs

Dax Shepard (@daxshepard)

Dax Shepard, an actor and host of the Armchair Expert?podcast, masters authenticity, making listeners feel like they're friends with him and co-host Monica. He openly shares his struggles with mental health and addiction while offering his "armchair expert" opinions on various topics. During Armchair Anonymous?episodes, his genuine enjoyment of fans' stories about taboo subjects shows how deeply listeners have developed parasocial relationships with him.

Social Media Posts

• Ted Segers (Non Alcoholic) Brew (this one's an ad) - you'll notice Dax and Ted are up front about their addiction "what else would you expect from 60+ years of combined alcoholism?"
• Surfing for the First Time - is relatable by admitting that he thought he "didn't look cool."

Katy Perry (@katyperry)

Katy Perry is mentioned as a prime example of a musician who uses social media and live streaming to strengthen parasocial relationships. In 2017, Perry conducted a four-day livestream event called Katy Perry Live: Witness World Wide, where she allowed fans to see intimate moments of her life, including dinner parties, rehearsals, and even a therapy session.

This livestream garnered over 49 million views, demonstrating how Perry’s openness and authenticity attracted millions of viewers and reinforced parasocial bonds.

Social Media Posts

• Behind the scenes clip of throwing a football around in a costume and heels.
• "Because every woman can put make up on in the car"

We have 19 more examples from artists and arts organizations on our NEWideas blog, along with some ideas for transferring parasocial relationships to email and in person. Click here for the full post.

How You Can Apply Parasocial Relationships to Your Arts Organization

To build stronger parasocial relationships at your arts organizations, you'll need two things.

Authenticity This word has been thrown around for almost two decades as one of the keys to success on social media, but rarely does anyone take the time to define this or give examples.

Authentic, genuine, bona fide means being actually and exactly what is claimed. It implies being fully trustworthy as according with fact. (Merriam-Webster.com)

To build parasocial relationships or fans, you must be personal and willing to let people see everything, even your flaws (McDonald’s calls this “flawsome.”)

Support from Leadership, Artists, and Staff

Although there's an excellent chance that they're already telling personal stories and giving intimate glimpses into their lives, you'll need to get full buy-in from leadership, artists, and even staff.

If you've ever managed or curated social media before, and we don't mean slapping a picture or video on your personal page, you know that creating basic content is time-consuming and sometimes frustrating.

If artists and staff are posting their own personal narratives for everyone to see, which in turn helps increase ticket sales and the organization, pay a stipend for their time or at least give a financial stake in your success.

We found 19 great examples on Instagram from artists and arts organizations. Click here to see them in our full post.

Sources:?

Kurtin, K. S., O’Brien, N., Roy, D., & Dam, L. (2019). Parasocial relationships with musicians. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 8(2), 30-50.

Bougatef, S. (2021). How the COVID-19 pandemic shifted follower connections through virtual events and engagement: A study of parasocial relationships between music artists and followers. Master’s thesis, Syracuse University.