Americans for the Arts

Let’s test something out. I want you to look at your organization’s Facebook and Instagram posts for the last 30 days. Then, count how many times you’re asking patrons to buy tickets or donate. I also want you to take a look at how many times “We’re so excited…” appears.

If you’re currently grimacing as these numbers increase, it’s time to rethink how you’re talking with your current and future patrons.

The digital landscape is crowded, and with human attention spans coming in at 8.25 seconds (yes, that’s shorter than the attention span of a goldfish), arts marketers need to create content that not only stands out but also helps them connect with their audiences.

84% of U.S. consumers believe good marketing can impact their purchasing decisions. But this doesn’t just apply to your paid campaigns—you must have an authentic, consistent, and ongoing conversation with your fans to make them truly feel part of your community.

This starts by having a consistent social media voice, being authentic and benefits-driven, and creating shareable content that invites audiences into your inner circle.

Find Your Social Media Voice 

Do you sound like an inconsistent robot on social? One minute you’re trying to be casual, and the next you’re using genre-specific jargon that makes eyes glaze over and hearts sink?

This could be a symptom of your organization lacking a defined social media voice. Your voice helps tell your organization’s story and should remain consistent across all platforms. It will also help your audiences build trust with your brand.

If it doesn’t already exist, develop your organization’s brand persona. You’ll answer a series of questions, including, “What are our values? What sets us apart from others? What type of reputation do we want?” etc. When you answer these questions, you’ll develop a list of adjectives that will work as solidified guidelines to guide your social voice, no matter how many people are contributing to or editing the content.

Pro tip: As you’re developing your guidelines, start paying attention to brands and other arts organizations on social. What do you like about their copy? What don’t you like? This will help you better understand your own preferences.

Be Authentic and Benefits-Driven

It sounds simple, but this is something that many companies tend to struggle with on a daily basis. According to Cohn & Wolfe’s Authentic Brand study, consumers across the board value brands that are authentic. On the flip side, 71% of consumers have unfollowed a brand on social because they were embarrassed, and 41% admitted to unfollowing brands who don’t share relevant information.

Ouch. And you thought critics were a tough crowd!

Authenticity occurs when there’s a relevant conversation between fans and the organization. It amplifies shared values and demonstrates an understanding of not only the events in their genre but also what’s going on in the outside world.

Your fans can tell in an instant when you’ve slapped something together for National Doughnut Day or forgot to post something for International Museum Day. And don’t get me started on using phrases like “YOLO” or “on fleek” in the wrong context.

They can also tell when you’re not putting them first. It’s crucial to make your fans the central focus of your copy and content. If you do one thing from this blog post, stop including ,“We’re so excited about our upcoming season.” As a user, I don’t care that you’re excited—what will get me jazzed about upcoming programming?

We’re so excited to announce

You’ll love what we have in store for you this season.

Find That Social Sweet Spot 

By now you may be saying, “Who has the time to create fun content? I have a bottom line to worry about!” I understand that time and resources are limited. That’s why we at Capacity Interactive have created the Social Content Calendar for Arts Marketers. We’ve identified national and arts-related holidays to help you create a social sweet spot, connecting the outside world to your organization.

The holidays are outlined, you have ideas to spark inspiration in the descriptions, as well as tools to help you create content with limited resources. Plus, a new version is released every four months. What’s next? Taking the first steps to make this a consistent reality.

Level 1: Choose 1-2 national holidays per month, and share content from other organizations, influencers, or ask your staff members to participate. On International Dog Day, share a post from Pickles the Dog—a French bulldog with a fine arts problem. You can also ask your team members to submit photos with their pets, just like we did on National Pet Day.

Level 2: Choose 2-3 birthdays per quarter from artists in your genre and share fun facts about them. You can use tools like Canva or Easel.ly to turn your facts into visual assets since we know Facebook posts with images see 2.3X more engagement than those without images.

Level 3: Choose 3 arts-related or national holidays per month that you will create original content for. Please don’t stop reading—it’s doable! Check out these posts from The National Ballet of Canada, Houston Symphony, The Academy of Natural Sciences, and Cincinnati Ballet.

The National Ballet of Canada—International Women’s Day 

Houston Symphony—National Relaxation Day 

The Academy of Natural Sciences—May the 4th Be With You 

Cincinnati Ballet—Pride Month

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How are you making an effort to form authentic connections with audiences? Let us know in the comments section.