Leveraging Facebook to Engage Audiences With Traditional Theatre

The theatre troupe Phoe Chit Thabin is one of Myanmar's most culturally significant groups. As Facebook remains the country's most widely used digital platform, this study examines how the troupe can improve its Facebook marketing strategy to increase audience awareness and engagement. A survey of 100 Yangon-based followers (aged 18–54) shows that audience awareness of the troupe's posts is moderate (≈2.89), and engagement is neutral to low (≈2.67). However, audiences enjoy the current content (≈3.25) and want to see more of it (≈3.38), especially traditional performances and full theatre shows. All key variables, such as awareness, engagement, content liking, and preferences, are strongly correlated. Based on audience engagement theory, the findings indicate that viewers respond more to content that matches their interests. Traditional cultural performances generate the highest engagement and are the most desired. The study concludes that focusing on preferred content can strengthen Phoe Chit Thabin's social media strategy and turn passive followers into active supporters.