“Art is too important not to share.”
– Romero Britto
A fundamental principle of proprietorship is to have a strong marketing strategy with organic reach, influence, and a target audience. As individual producers or small organizations in Arts and Culture, your marketing reach is greatly impacted by audience engagement with other cultural producers. CEO and founder John Hall of Influence & Co., a prominent marketing firm, speaks to the integral role of strategic marketing partnerships, particularly for small business. Hall sates that it is imperative in 2019 to ackowldege the need for “new tactics that build mutually beneficial relationships with media partners and shared audiences…allows you to reach and quickly build trust with new audiences through a greater focus on actual value to those readers — not just to your own brand.”
Take a quick analysis of your marketing reach. Who are your media partners? Who is your target audience? Where and when do you show up online? How can you increase your reach and reach parallel audiences?
BC’s Guide to Arts and Culture is an umbrella brand that garners interest in the cultural sector in BC at large. Our expertise in BC’s creative economy, and our marketing niche benefits all of our partners. By appearing alongside many other cultural producers in your region, as well as to a large, targeted social media audience, you are diversifying your streams of visibility.
We’re always seeking out current research and strategies for marketing in the arts. For 2019 here’s our latest tips for our partners and participants:
Even if you don’t love it, embrace Social Media.
Having a prominent social media presence is essential in 2019 with over 3 and a half billion active social media users, who on average possessed 5.54 social media accounts. Social media is a powerful, free marketing vehicle, however, it does require a time investment and a bit of know how. By consistently engaging with your target audience on a daily or weekly basis, you’re guaranteed to improve brand awareness. In addition, finding social media partners can boost your visibility and create diversity in your audience. Start looking for influential social media users in your area or field of work and strike up a virtual conversation.
Contribute to Local Blogs and Media Publications
Whether you’re appearing on a local podcast, or contributing an article to a community centred blog, you are creating valuable content that isn’t just about your brand. Creating content to publish on blogs or through other media outlets engages your audience in an authentic relationship with your expertise, and knowledge increasing the value perception of what you are producing. Since nearly 90% of consumers consider authenticity to be a primary factor in brands they support, your engagement in a wider range of media platforms will ensure you are viewed as a legitimate stakeholder in your area. Partnering with Art-BC.com and other local, smaller scale publications can help reinforce that authenticity that your customers view as a must!
Be Active Within Your Community
Actively participating in your community can help create name recognition in powerful and memorable ways. Think about creating a pop-up event and partner with other local organizations. A Cultural Crawl can become an annual way to draw hundreds of your target audience into your midst alongside other culturally influential brands. When people within your marketing network see your investment in the community, they are going to be that much more willing to be invested in you and your business.
Leverage Multiple Streams of Content Marketing
The universality and ubiquity of mobile technology has popularized media platforms like YouTube, ‘stories’, live action footage, and all kinds of audio and video streaming. According to Forbes, Podcasts and videos allow people to hyper target, and this can be a great way to introduce yourself to the perfect customer. Whether you start your own podcast or reach out to a local arts and culture podcaster, this method could be a great way to network with other creatives and make connections with your target base.
Utilize Repetition in Your Marketing
Repetition is an essential component of learning and mastery, and it is a key tool in marketing. The average instagram picture is viewed for seconds – it may take several platforms and avenues, along with authentic reinforcements to sell someone on your brand and product. Messages are more effective when repeated, and your unique brand deserves to be seen, and you deserve to get paid. Simply put, “frequency breeds familiarity, and familiarity breed trust” (Jeffry Pilcher, The Financial Brand).
Your participation alone with BC’s Guide to Arts & Culture and Art-BC.com provides you with 4 tried-and-true streams of visibility. We print over 75k guides bi-annually that are distributed in over 600 venues, have over 10k subscribers for our monthly newsletter that features our wonderful community partners, and over 35k followers on our multiple social media platforms, over 2,000 monthly visitors, helping local investors in arts and culture create long and thriving careers in the creative industry. For additional details on our reach and visibility visit our MEDIA KIT, or talk to our team about advertising in the print, online, and on our social media channels.
