Lots to cover Session split in two: I’ll start off with some review and overview and some news and trends Ed will talk more narrowly and specifically about his experiences at the ArtsCenter Time for q&a at the end
Two things I won’t do and it goes almost directly against the description of this session. I won’t tell you how Social media sell tickets – It doesn’t. A combination of production, price, place and promotion (the four p’s of marketing) sell tickets. Social media is one part of your marketing and communications mix. It’s an important part, but it’s really about engaging audiences rather then “selling tickets”. We’ll talk more about that as we go along.
I’m also not going to tell you how social media is going to sell tickets to hipsters and young folks. I’ll talk more about that now, but you shouldn’t expect to know how to get 20-somethings to your events when we’re done here. Social media can’t do that. More later.
I’m assuming most people have at least a passing knowledge of social media and most of the more popular tools. Who has a personal Facebook profile? Who is an administrator for a Facebook Page? Who is on Twitter? Anyone a complete newbie?
Basic review… Social media isn’t a fad. The tools may change, but the concept is here to stay. The number of people utilizing social media is growing incredibly fast, as we will see. Social media is about engaging patrons – listening, responding, communicating, and building relationships. Word of Mouth!
More review… Patrons Engaged Through Social Media Like you more Pay more attention to you Spend more on you Talk about you more Recommend you to others Cost less to acquire Stick with you longer
More review… It’s not all about marketing, it’s about communication Creation of Art Networking Feedback Crowd Sourcing Customer Service Fundraising Friendraising Issues and Advocacy Human Resources
As of March, 2010 most media destinations are social – Three-quarters are frequent users of social media Watching TV is still number one, but followed very closely by Facebook Interestingly, Social media games are as popular as reading print newspapers – another sign that print news media is dying.
Social destinations become more important when these especially social-savvy users are looking for information about a potential purchase. Search engines are the No. 1 starting point for information about products and services, but blogs, user-generated content and social networks were more likely to be used frequently for purchase advice than traditional sources such as magazines, television and newspapers. This shows how important word-of mouth still is. The difference is that word-of-mouth is now happening via social networking sites. The days of relying on one source for information – the local newspaper, the local TV station, are over.
Listen, Engage and Respond Blogs, review sites like Yelp, Facebook and Twitter are increasingly vital to people making purchasing decisions. Setting up listening posts (Google Alerts, Twitter Searches) communicating with bloggers and “influencers” and creating opportunities for fans to give reviews on Facebook is vital for engaging inclined participants. Remember, people are already talking, you might as well listen, engage and participate.
64% of Twitter’s users are aged 35 or older. 61% of Facebooks’s users are aged 35 or older. However, 18- to 34-year-olds spend the most time on the site per week, at 8.5 hours out of 22.4 spent online vs. 4.6 hours out of 21.5 hours among users ages 55 and older. New studies show that Gen Y’s use of social media will only increase as they get older. Today’s digital natives are your patrons of tomorrow.
A few observations: The average social network user is 37 years old. The average Facebook user is 38 years old. The average Twitter user is 39 years old. LinkedIn, with its business focus, has a predictably high average user age; 44.
This is a common question. The assumption is usually that only young people are social media sites, or that by using social media you can instantly engage youth. This is simply not true. Ask any college student and you’ll see that they are not on Twitter. My 62 year old mother is more active on Facebook than some friends my own age. Ultimately, the answer to how to engage young people depends on what you mean by young, and how you want to engage them. Really, engaging young people has little to do with being on Facebook. One of my favorite quotes comes from Jordan Roth, a Broadway producer. It’s all about product, price, place and promotion – Thanks Chad Bauman Director of Marketing at Arena Stage
As many of you have probably seen, the NEA recently released a report: Arts Participation Audience 2.0: How Technology Influences Arts Participation The study shows that technology provides a way for people to interact with arts and culture outside of the traditional venue, but it does not replace attending the physical arts or event space. The study cited three main conclusions: Technology is not going to be the downfall of the arts More than half of U.S. adults (approx 118 million) participated in the arts through electronic and digital media. Technology provides a new outlet for people to experience the arts For many Americans—primarily older Americans, rural residents, and racial/ethnic minority groups— electronic media is the only way they participate in arts events. Participation in the arts through electronic & digital media spurs participation Media-based arts participation appears to encourage—rather than replace—other types of arts participation. Adults who reported viewing or listening to the arts through electronic media showed higher rates of live arts attendance, personal performances and arts creation, even after statistically controlling for various demographic characteristics. The study found that “people who engage with art through media technologies attend live performances or arts exhibits at two to three times the rate of non-media arts participants.” Lots of articles and commentary about this report, so keep looking for new information and opinions.
Now moving on to some major updates from Facebook and Twitter
Average user: Logs in daily Spends 55 minutes Has 130 friends “ Likes” 7 Pages per month Stats: More than 3.5bn pieces of content shared each week Has 500 million users – doubled from one year ago More than 700,000 local businesses have active Pages Tops Google in referring traffic Users who access Facebook through mobile devices are almost 50% more active than those who don’t. Also, in general, people who come to your website through Facebook spend more time on your website than visitors from other referrers.
It’s important to post at least once a day. There doesn’t seem to be a big change in engagement for organizations that post more than once a day, but there is a marked difference between those organizations that post monthly or weekly and those posting at least daily. Remember to engage people through questions. More engagement means more fans…
Open Graph Facebook has created a platform that allows sites and apps to share information about users in order to tailor offers, features and services to each one’s interests and tastes — even if that individual has never visited the site before. When you’re signed on to Facebook, participating websites like CNN.com will display information, goods and services tailored specifically to your interests — without requiring you to sign in at that website or provide it with any information. Mark Zuckerberg said "We're building toward a web where the default is social. Every application and product will be redesigned from the ground up to use a person's real identity and friends.” Mark called the shift "the most transformative thing we've ever done for the web." This is an exciting development that will make Facebook more powerful and your internet experience more personalized, but it’s also part of the reason for the privacy concerns.
When signed on to Facebook, some website will begin to display information, suggestions and recommendations personalized to you without you signing into that site. This allows you to be connected not only to your friends and interests while on Facebook, but across the web. "The Web is at a really important turning point right now," Zuckerberg said. "Up until recently, the default on the Web has been that most things aren't social and most things don't use your real identity." In the future everything is personalized!
Makes using a like button consistent across Facebook. Websites can now add “like buttons” to their websites, blog posts, articles, events and more. This allows more instant personification and connection to Facebook. People have already been “liking” things for a while. Now you can “like” a page without being on Facebook. Facebook seems to think, any they are probably right, that people are more liberal with “liking” than with “fanning”. The more people like, the more interactions and connections are created. See Open Graph above. Adding a like box is very simple and instantly connects your blog or website to Facebook and instantly personalizes it by showing you friends who have also like that particular website or blog. Reports from some blog developers has suggested a 50% increase in referral traffic from these new like buttons.
If I like a blog post on NCTC’s blog, that information is instantly sent to my profile and into my friends newsfeed. Example above
A good deal of confusion about the different types of pages Community Pages are built around topics, causes or experiences. Official Pages are maintained by authorized representatives of a business, brand, celebrity, or organization. Groups allow you to communicate directly with other people on Facebook about a specific subject – though not “official pages”. Profiles are for individuals, not businesses What are community pages? Next Slide
So have you made the change from a group to a page? If you haven’t you should. It’s a bit confusing, but this chart breaks it down pretty easily. Pages can’t do Mass Messaging, Can’t have Membership Restrictions, Can’t send event messages. But Groups do have a place in your Social Media tool box. Remember this later when we talk about the Brooklyn Museum.
Have you made the change? Having both (or more) is confusing Your organization isn’t a person and I don’t want to friend it Groups see much, MUCH less engagement You are limited to the number of Groups you can join Groups are good for sub-committees, ad-hoc groups and planning teams, not for engaging inclined participants…and the can be private. Some organizations still have groups and profiles and pages and it’s just confusing for folks. Decide what you want and get rid of the rest. Hint: You want a page!
It’s always been fairly easy to add tabs to your page, but businesses are really starting to take advantage of these applications. Review Tabs Allow people to review your business or performances As I’ve said before, people are already talking about your brand, so you might as well open yourself up to engaging in that conversation. Welcome Tabs Allow the default landing page for people visiting your Page to be a special customized page. This page could be a simple welcome message, a discount offer, a contest, or anything you can think of. Email Tabs Capture email addresses via your Facebook pages by asking people to sign-up for your newsletter. Make this the default page to increase visibility. Static Images It’s fairly simple to add a static image to your Page. Use this application to create a more dynamic wall image or change your image for each show or campaign. Polls and Vote Tabs These applications allow you to ask questions, get feedback and engage your “fans”. Applications for Anything Else You Can Think Of Artists Season Campaigns Contests
When people arrive at your page for the first time where should they arrive? What should they see. Starbucks takes you to a promotion first thing. Consider setting up a welcome page for first time visitors.
ART
Sell tickets on facebook – Not exactly, but it’s coming soon. In the meantime set up a graphic page that’s nice to look at and will like to your ticket system.
Almost no theatres have review tabs set up. Blumenthal was the only theatre in the area that I could find. You should! Let people comment! Most likely they will say good things! You do need to encourage people to review though.
Twitter now has 75m user accounts, but only around 15m are active users on a regular basis. It’s still a fair increase from the estimated 6-10m global users from a few months ago. Towards the end of last year, the average number of tweets per day was over 27.3 million. The average number of tweets per hour was around 1.3m. At the current rate, Twitter will process almost 10bn tweets in a single year.
According to a recent study – 87% of respondents had heard of Twitter, compared to 88% who had heard of Facebook. (Note that the survey population was 12 and up, including a representative portion of seniors). Twitter Sucks at Converting Awareness to Usage Known by 87%, just 7% of Americans use Twitter. Compare that ratio to Facebook, where 88% have heard of it, and 41% have a profile. Twitter users are 3 times more likely to follow brands than Facebook users. Twitter may be smaller than Facebook, but 49% of monthly Twitter users follow brands or companies, compared to just 16% of social network users overall. Brand Interaction is a Major Part of Life on Twitter In addition to following brands, Twitter users research and engage with companies. 42% learn about products and services via Twitter. 41% provide opinions about products/services. 19% seek customer support.
This may be due to Twitter’s functional similarity to text messaging, as several studies have shown Black Americans use the mobile Web at rates roughly double that to non-Hispanic Whites. Twitter's short format - 140 characters or less per message - lends itself to mobile phone use, and African-American adults are the most active users of the mobile Web.
There’s a lot you can do with Twitter. It’s not just what people had for breakfast. Connect, deepen relationships, provide customer service, get feedback and more. "It's a democratization of art," says Jill Colvin, head of marketing and communication at the Sydney Festival. "Audiences can talk directly to artists and each other. And companies can answer their questions and share ideas with people who are passionate about the arts. Festivals are talking to other festivals around the world and orchestras and dance companies, and audiences are listening in. It's a very exciting time for the arts."
“ Foursquare is a cross between a friend-finder, a social city-guide and a game that rewards you for doing interesting things. We aim to build things to not only help you keep up with the places your friends go, but that encourage you to discover new places and challenge you to explore your neighborhood in new ways.” Basically a location-based social network. Users check in to a location and their friends know where they are. Think of it as a social network where your status update is not what you're doing, but where you are. Still fairly new, about 2 million users mostly 20-something bar hoppers.
So, when you arrive at a new location you check-in using your phone. You can see who else is at that location. You can leave tips for people about the venue - “1/2 price wines on Wednesdays” You can also see specials for that and other local venues – “Since you are in the area, stop by Shane’s coffee shop for a free coffee” Your check-ins can be linked to Twitter and or Facebook so more people know what fun thing you are doing – Each check-in therefore creates a tweet or status update creating more word of mouth. FourSquare also awards the title of Mayor to the person who checks in most often to a site. Virtual Badges for some achievements
Brooklyn Museum puts a number of these tools together to create a socially networked museum membership. What do you get? For $20 bucks Socialize at exclusive meetups during the Museum’s monthly Target First Saturdays Connections online with access to artist-created content on our 1stfans Twitter Art Feed, Facebook page, blog and more.
Developing relationships both virtually and face-to-face and selling memberships to boot!
They are using FourSquare as part of the membership – Mayor specials – Mayors get a free membership and former mayors are recognized They have created their own badges! They promote what people are saying and tips that visitors leave. They also connect with the local community by promoting other local businesses.
They give 1stFans access to a private Twitter account as a benefit of membership. They have a different staff member or contemporary artisits tweet each month.
They also utilize a Facebook group – This is a great example of an organization using a page and a group. The Brooklyn Museum page is the official page and it’s open to the public. The 1stFan group page is a private members only page. This gives the members a place to talk among themselves and limits the group to paying members.