Promoting your show

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Social media is a free and popular way to promote your show. There are a lot of platforms to use, such as X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, TikTok etc. Each platform has a different style and features, and it is important to consider this when using multiple platforms. You can tag us on each of these to increase the reach of your posts. It is important that any content you post makes it clear your show(s) is/are part of the festival.

Our social media handles:

@LeicsComedyFest

@KidsComedyFest

These are the same across Facebook, X and Instagram. ​

Due to the number of events at the festival, we are unable to post about individual shows from our social media accounts. We can however reshare content which you create yourselves. We will only share posts that are explicitly about the festival, so make sure we're tagged and you have referenced the festival. Scroll down the page to see the type of posts we share on social media. 

Our general rule of thumb is that we will: 

- Retweet posts that we are tagged in on X (formerly known as Twitter)

- Reshare posts & stories we are tagged in on Instagram 

- Reshare posts that we are tagged in in our Facebook stories 

- Accept co-creator requests for posts on Instagram that make it clear that the show is a part of the festival. Please include our logo on anything visual and tag us in the post. 

You can buy some advertising space on the Festival website and Festival brochures. For more information, get in touch by emailing info@bigdifferencecompany.co.uk for our rate card.  

We recommend you create posters for your festival shows and send them directly to your venue or promoter. They will be able to put them up around the city and start to generate an interest in your show. Make sure you have a conversation with your venue or promoter about this when you first get in touch - it's important you both understand each other's expectations. We suggest A3 posters as a standard size.

Flyers are typically a tool that people have used to promote their shows, however over the past few years we have found that they have become less effective and the majority of them end up being put in the recycling and/or bins! We suggest doing your bit to save the environment and not printing flyers. It's worth noting that the opportunities for street distribution in Leicester are not like Edinburgh; whilst loads of people visit festival shows, there are not loads of people hanging around on the street/in street cafes/bars waiting to go and see shows.

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Of course, you may disagree and we do provide wristbands to all acts and promoters which act as street flyering licenses which enable you to flyer in the city centre. It is essential that you wear these if you plan to flyer otherwise you could be personally liable for a £1,000 fine. We politely ask that any flyering is done actively, such as exit-flyering or flyering in the street, rather than passively leaving flyers on tables at venues.

Please do not send any posters or flyers to the Big Difference Company office as we do not have the capacity to distribute them.

Our 2024 Marketing Guide is free and available for anyone who is participating in Leicester Comedy Festival and The UK Kids' Comedy Festival. It contains useful tips for promoting your show including:

• How to create a strategy for marketing your show
• Tips for using different social media platforms
• Links to assets that we've created for the festival performers 
• Key dates for the next few months 
• Design
• Guidance around using flyers and posters