Ideas

Classics programming is at the heart and soul of what symphonies do. From Mozart to Mahler, symphonies breathe new life into these impactful pieces, carrying on centuries-old traditions of music, culture, and innovation.

That said, many symphonies have been challenged with year-over-year declines in classics attendance. While classics programming is the “raison d’être” for most symphonic organizations, pops programming (think Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™ in Concert) has become more of a draw for newer audiences.

Cut a print ad, create a video. Sound familiar? It’s not just a catch phrase we throw around - it’s critical for arts organizations to create compelling video content.

In fact, 90% of customers report that product videos help them make purchasing decisions and 64% are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video about it. If you think about it, the arts are the envy of most industries when it comes to video content - we have an embarrassment of riches at our disposal.

CI to Eye is a podcast for arts leaders who want to reach their full potential. Each episode is created to help you become better at your job so you can help the arts move forward.

Picture this: It’s a beautiful June morning. Your mind is clear of polar vortexes or snowfall up to your waist. You’re beginning a Facebook ad campaign for an upcoming artist coming to your organization. You’ve been provided a gorgeous video, paired it with quippy copy, and tied it together with a clever call-to-action. You click ‘Publish,’ and your campaign should be live soon. How satisfying! Check that off of your to-do list. But, soon you (or your digital marketing team) get this email:

From: Facebook Ads Team
Subject: Some of Your Ads are Disapproved

#%!$*!. All of your hard work, down the drain. What do you do now? Rebuild the post? Sue Facebook for censorship?

Take a deep breath. Facebook’s ad review process has become stricter within the last year. You’re not alone. We have all been frustrated by how often gorgeous ads are not going live.

Instagram Stories can have a lasting impact, far past their 24-hour time limit. If your organization has been sleeping on them, consider this: of the 400 million accounts using Instagram Stories, one-third of the most viewed stories come from businesses, and one in five Stories gets a direct message from its viewers. Additionally, one in three people from a survey of 10,000 Instagram users said they’ve become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Instagram Stories.

The Arts Industry Digital Marketing Benchmark Study is available for download and this sixth edition holds a ton of new data to help you market smarter. We rethought our approach to make sure we’re giving you the metrics and key performance indicators that can fuel conversation about growth and help you make informed decisions. It’s double the length of previous versions, since the data’s cut in a couple new ways. Here’s a guide to help you get the most out of it.

Let’s hop into our digital marketing time machines. The year is 2012, and the 92nd Street Y, in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, established #GivingTuesday. The power of social media was used to launch a movement of philanthropy in communities worldwide.

The road to social content bliss is often met with some challenges along the way. Whether you’re creating content from scratch or only have a small pool of artist-approved assets, you don’t have to put the brakes on creativity. That’s right. There are solutions ahead.

Arts marketers from two different organizations and genres discuss their social content challenges and how they found solutions to keep their content fresh and engaging. 

Let’s say you have twelve delicious donuts in a box. You bring them into a classroom of first-grade kids, frothing with glee after recess. You put the donuts on a table. Cake donuts. Glazed donuts. Different flavors. They smell good. They’re even still a bit warm.

You say, “Who wants a donut?”

What happens? All thirty kids come rushing to the table and start grabbing donuts in a fierce dustup of flying sugar, elbow jabs and colorful uses of the word booger. 

Hi, CI! is our monthly series featuring the best team we know - the Capacity Interactive team! You will learn more about the people who help arts organizations market smarter. This month, we’re featuring one of our Digital Marketing Analysts who’s a passionate and versatile dancer,  discovered digital marketing through a Peace and Conflict Studies major, and helps arts organizations create social content that connects with fans on a personal level.