ARTSblog

Adriane Fink

Social Media. We know we need it. But are we really getting the most out of our Facebook accounts and Twitter feeds?

Corporations across the country are paying close attention to the online craze and have discovered that using social media to partner with nonprofits allows them to reach the broadest possible audience in a cost-effective way. The results show a stunning use of creativity benefiting the nonprofit world. Let me share a few statistics with you.

With over 500 million active users, one in every 13 people on earth now uses Facebook. Over 50 percent log in every day. 48 percent of 18-34 year olds check Facebook when they wake up, and 28 percent do so before getting out of bed. Not to be left behind, Twitter has also rapidly expanded, with over 200 million registered accounts and 155 million tweets per day. Read the rest of this entry »

Rich Mintz

At the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention, I had the pleasure of listening to Camille Schenkkan of Arts for LA giving an unusually lucid and helpful introductory summary to online tools for donor development and management.

I think those of us who work in online fundraising for a living — especially those of us who mostly work with large organizations, the kind that have a dozen or more people in the marketing department, and technical staff to handle the donor database, and so forth — sometimes forget how mystifying all of this stuff is to a lot of people.

If you’re doing three jobs at once, in an environment where there’s never any extra money lying around, with a board of directors (or a major donor, city council, etc.) breathing down your neck — sound familiar? — what you want is not a bunch of platitudes about the “next generation” and the “new normal.” You want someone to tell you the dozen or so things you need to know, and the half-dozen or so things you should try to do this month or this quarter. Read the rest of this entry »

Tim Mikulski

Although I successfully avoided using Twitter for a while after it was first introduced to the world. I figured that I didn’t need another time suck added to my life beyond Gmail and Facebook.

While that is still probably true, I also discovered a better use of Twitter than just reading the crazy Tweets of Kanye West. It actually helps me do my job.

When I moved over to become arts education program manager at Americans for the Arts, I brought along our weekly newsletter, Arts Watch, with me to the new position.

I already had too many Google News alerts and also have a Post-It with 12 search phrases that I use each week to collect information that goes into that publication.

What I didn’t realize is that Twitter can be used in a way that I would never have thought of until a friend of a coworker mentioned it to me – it’s a news gathering system.

By “following” other arts and arts education organizations, practitioners, managers, etc., you end up having information delivered to your feed throughout the day.     Read the rest of this entry »

Catherine Brandt

The good people at Hyundai have generously offered to help Americans for the Arts in curing our nation’s Crampomitosis problem. Never heard of it?

Here’s how Hyundai describes the condition:

“Millions of compact car drivers are fighting against leg-buckling Crampomitosis, caused by a chronic lack of leg room. These choice-starved people have knees riddled with teeth marks, toes pointing in impossible directions, and seemingly no choice when it comes to a comfortable car to drive.”

Still wondering what in the world Crampomitosis has to do with Americans for the Arts? Let me explain. Clearly, Crampomitosis isn’t really a medical condition. It’s actually Hyundai’s way of giving back. Read the rest of this entry »

Justin Knabb

Last week at a concert, I experienced former Joy Division bassist Peter Hook rock out his rendition of the band’s first album, Unknown Pleasures. In the venue, I was engulfed by a wave of crowd-induced glowing light, but nary a raised lighter, swaying with the rhythm, was to be found. Instead, the artificial phosphorescence of cell phone light illuminated scores of busy fingers, filming, texting, tweeting away, while the band played on. And then a thought occurred to me: Is the unprecedented rate  of rapidly advancing technology and information actually hindering – not enhancing – our enjoyment of and appreciation for the arts?

A few days after the concert, I found my concerns were reflected by columnist Geoff Pevere of the Toronto Star, who is writing a series of articles that examine this phenomenon. Pevere highlights work by Dr. Gary Small, a neuroscientist at UCLA, who posits “the current explosion of digital technology not only is changing the way we live and communicate but is rapidly and profoundly altering our brains. Many of us are developing neural circuitry that is customized for rapid and incisive spurts of directed concentration.”

There is little doubt that the progression of technology has vastly improved our listening and viewing experiences with the arts. From the construction of an elaborate museum which researches and displays world-class art and artifacts, to the increasing array of chemicals that compose the perfect brushstroke, to the bone-rattling sound system which allowed me to not only hear – but feel – Hook’s performance. Not to mention the innumerable positive effects new technology and social media have had for the arts advocacy and marketing fields. But I’m talking about in-person, literal engagement with an art form. Read the rest of this entry »

Let me begin this post by saying: If you’re an arts marketer but aren’t on Twitter, get an account before next year’s conference in Louisville. I promise you that you will have a richer conference experience because of it. Seriously.

Why? Twitter brings people together. It’s such a powerful, real-time communication tool that naturally facilitates dialogue. One of my favorite experiences at this conference is actually meeting people in person that I follow on Twitter. In a way, I actually feel more of an affinity towards them because of the fact that I’ve read their tweets! We’re not just tweeting back and forth and never engaging in conversation in real life; if anything, Twitter is an online tool that actually facilitates face-to-face communication at events like conferences.

Twitter’s also a great way to experience other parts of the conference, like other sessions or roundtables that you’re not able to attend. It’s pretty easy to take a general snapshot of how attendees are feeling just by monitoring what’s going on with the event hashtag (which is #NAMPC10 for this conference). If there’s a strong reaction, positive or negative, to something that’s said in a session, you will know about it. You’ll know what funny quotes are said, valuable insights are shared and random observations are made. Thanks to Twitter, I know I’m not the only one who was confused by the cricket chirp ringtone in one of the sessions! Read the rest of this entry »

Ron Evans

I’m really enjoying the blog salon discussion by so many smart folks here on ARTSBlog. Technology in the Arts’ David Dombrosky and I both decided to pick up the banner of discussing citizen reviewers and trusting online commentary. In his recent post, he talks about the need to educate citizen reviewers so they know how to write an intelligent review. And in my recent post, I talk about training people to trust what people are reviewing right now.

I thought this was a cool way to attack the problem, and people seemed to dig the perspectives via the comments they left. So I emailed David and asked is he wanted to join my on Skype and talk about these two ways of attacking the problem on a deeper level. You can listen in on the recorded convo below:

Ian David Moss (fellow ARTSBlog writer) also chimed in with some thoughts on how he and his friend Daniel Reid had considered some of these issues when it comes to some of the big “vote for your arts group to get a grant” challenges that are happening all over the place. Based on these conversations, I decided to take a crack at a simple rating system, let’s call the “scale of trustiness” (or SOT — let’s bring the great word SOT back from its original meaning!) that you can store in your head when you’re reading an online review for an arts event. You won’t need to remember any number of points or anything — it’s enough that you just consider a particular review on the SOT scale, and if you’re weighing two shows to go to, perhaps each review’s SOT score can help you decide what to attend. Read the rest of this entry »

Amelia Northrup

Reading over the blog entries this week, particularly David Dombrosky’s entry on the rise of the citizen critic and Ron Evans’ post on online reviews, I was reminded of an experience I had a few years ago when our local paper cut its classical music and dance critic.  I had a meeting with many of the marketing directors in the city, who were understandably upset about the firing and convinced that their success was inextricably linked with newspaper coverage.

Many of these people had been in marketing for 30 years. When they first started out in the business, the primary marketing channels were TV, radio, and newspaper (and maybe billboard, telemarketing, or fax.) When a new medium was introduced, it might take a while to master, but that was fine.  The learning curve was viewed as an investment because you knew that medium would still be around in five years.

Compare that to now.  We have new, “must-have” technology platforms coming out nearly every 6 months to a year.  Today, we are being pushed toward mobile apps for phones and iPads, geolocation social media like Foursquare, and more.  We are not sure if these technologies will still be popular in three months, let alone five yea Read the rest of this entry »

David Dombrosky

Earlier in this blog salon, Mary Trudel advocated connecting with audiences via mobile technology.  CTIA, the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry, recently revealed that mobile phone market penetration in the United States reached 93% for the nation’s total population in June 2010.  With usage numbers like that, there is no doubt that arts organizations should be investing in mobile engagement.

The dilemma lies in whether to invest in a mobile website or a mobile application.  If your organization’s budget allows you to invest in both, then you need not read any further.  Congrats!  However, if your organization’s budget dictates that you choose between investing in a mobile website or a mobile app, then here are some things to consider. Read the rest of this entry »

This blog originally appeared on BrianSolis.com. Click here to visit the original post.

For decades brands basked in the glory of control, control over consumers’ perceptions, impressions and ultimately decisions and ensuing experiences. Or better said, business leaders enjoyed a semblance of control. While businesses concentrated resources on distancing the connections between customers, influencers and representatives, a new democracy was materializing. This movement would inevitably render these faceless actions not only defunct, but also perilous.

Fueled by the socialization of media, content and connections served as the foundation for this new democracy and “we the people” ensured that our voices were heard. Social Media would forever change the balance of power within markets, placing the fate and stature of brands in the words and actions of consumers and the people and groups that influence their decisions. Brands didn’t just “lose” control of defining impressions, businesses lost the ability to govern shared experiences.

Suddenly people enjoyed the freedom to publish their thoughts and the capacity to earn prominence in these fledgling social ecosystems. No longer was it an era of brands saying what they wished us to think; it was now clear that people were in control of their impressions and more importantly, how, where and when they shared them.

It’s no longer about what we say, it’s what they say about us now that counts. Read the rest of this entry »

David Dombrosky

In a world where we are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages every day, our society has grown hyper-aware (and hyper-wary) of advertising in all its mutated forms – from magazine ads to product placement in television shows, from celebrities dropping brand names during interviews to Facebook pages used solely to increase ticket sales.  When it comes to using social media, motivation is a key factor in forecasting whether an organization’s efforts will succeed or fail. 

With motivation, I’m talking about the “why” not the “what.”  Often we confuse the question “why are you using social media” with “what do you hope to achieve with social media.”  Our answers tend to revolve around increases in attendance, ticket sales, registrations, donations, etc.  Many of us mistakenly perceive our desired outcomes as the reasons motivating our social media participation.

I say “mistakenly,” but for some people there is no motivation for using social media beyond increasing the bottom line.  Now, I know it is counterintuitive for me to proclaim this in an arts marketing blog salon, but here goes.  Social media sites are not marketing tools, they are engagement tools.  (Wait!  Don’t call me a heretic yet.)  When social media sites are used with a motivation for engagement rather than self-promotion, they often lead to those desired marketing outcomes of increased sales and brand awareness. Read the rest of this entry »

Alison Schwartz

The countdown has begun! We are only 6 weeks away from the 2010 National Arts Marketing Project (NAMP) Conference: New Tech. New Tools. New Times. What better way to kick off a meeting about marketing, technology, and the new economic reality than with an online discussion with you and 12 top marketing practitioners and consultants in the field!  Join us on ARTSblog for a dialogue on the broad landscape of arts marketing, social media, and audience engagement.

From October 5-12, join us as we wrestle with and ponder on such questions as:

• How are you innovatively engaging new audiences?  How does technology play a role in these strategies?
• How are you responding the rise of the citizen critic and citizen curator?
• Our cities and towns across the country are diversifying.  How is this changing your audience and how you reach them?
• How is social media changing how you speak with your audience and what you say?
• How are you stretching your marketing dollars further? How are smaller budgets and changes in funding streams informing your decision making?

We hope you will visit us in the salon and take a moment to leave a comment, share an opinion, or ask a question.  Then come to San Jose, November 12-15 to continue the conversation in person at the NAMP Conference.

Alison Schwartz

I wonder what makes a product, a store, an experience, an artwork a HIT. I am particularly curious about how certain products make it big when they aren’t playing by the rules.

Why is Target a beloved low-price big box store when most big box retailers are demonized for displacing the business of mom-and-pop shops?

Why is In-N-Out Burger a revered fast-food chain when fast food is unhealthy?

How is Blue Man Group still selling out performances with anonymous performers who don’t talk? Without a celebrity to anchor the show (such as Tony winners Scarlett Johansson and Denzel Washington), why should anyone pay attention?

While I am no branding expert, here are a few possible answers. Read the rest of this entry »

Next Tues, April 13, is National Arts Advocacy Day, when more than 500 arts advocates will be going to Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. to talk to their government officials about the power of the arts and the need for arts education and arts funding. If you can’t join us in D.C. on April 13, please take the time to create a tweet that day featuring the hashtag #arts on your Twitter accounts and tell you friends to do the same.

Read the rest of this entry »

Brian Reich

We last discussed the key to an effective social media campaign. Here are some additional thoughts and resources from me to help you going forward.

When I wrote my book, Media Rules!, I set out to address this challenge faced by organizations and help shape the ways organizations can communicate with their audience, in the face of rapid innovation in technology and the massive social change we are currently (and it seems constantly) experiencing. The book offers a roadmap for helping organizations, including newspapers, to understand what the audience expects and how to use technology to meet those expectations. More than that, however, it highlights the other things that you need to take into account—how you staff and manage your team, how you support your partners, and how customer service has changed. These things are important to consider because executing on an effective new media strategy, whether it is online community based or something else, requires buy-in from all levels and close coordination among all the different elements of your organization.

Second, there are literally hundreds of books, articles and blog posts that offer interesting insights into the opportunities that exist for using web 2.0 technologies to support your work, and your communications. I try to look for articles that are not specific to one subject, so that you can take lessons and ideas from other sectors and apply them to your work. So that is what I have tried to do here—below is a list of recent articles that I have found particularly interesting and useful: Read the rest of this entry »