Aoife Flynnloves music, art, theatre, culture, fashion,

food, the interweb. Consultant Arts marketeer & project manager

www.asquared.ietwitter.com/stranded_aoife

Aoife Flynnwww.asquared.ie

What I’ll be focusing on today…

•Some Do’s and Don’ts of online marketing

•Some Do’s and Don'ts of visual arts engagement

•Potential for new engagement using new media

What Good Marketing in the Visual Arts Looks Like

Key Marketing Rules

•Have a Plan – set targets, review progress, Track your appearances online•Converse – online engagement is two way •Customise - allow your visitors to personalise their interaction with you•“Be where your audience expects to find you”

Aoife Flynnwww.asquared.ie

• Know your audience demographics

• Understand your audience motivations

• Be targeted in your approach to that audience

• One size does not fit allThe holy grail of marketing is to be

able to make your visitor feel like you are talking directly to them – one to one.

Key Online Marketing Rules

• Have a plan– Even if it’s not a full scale strategy

• Set targets for each event/show/campaign

– Target referrals, increase in traffic, increase fb fans, or new visitors

• Measure your progress– Stats from your own site, facebook,

blog, checkins etc.

• Track your appearances online– Google Alert aka media monitoring

for the web

Aoife Flynnwww.asquared.ie

1. Plan, Target, and Track

Golden Rule of Online engagement? Conversations are two-way

• Resist broadcast only approach

Think of Online marketing as a “virtual front desk”

• Welcoming• Informal• Social• Informative

about event and about audience

• Interactive

Aoife Flynnwww.asquared.ie

2. Online Marketing: Dialogue v’s Monologue

People want to customise their experience online, and their experience of your organisation. Find ways to let them do this

• User Photographs• Commentability• User Recommendations• Personal Stories• Check-ins

If you do this successfully your visitor will become your best marketeer, and they work for free!

3. Personalised Content

Aoife Flynnwww.asquared.ie

• Not everywhere at once– Be strategic in your approach

• Know your audience– Check your main web traffic for

referral links– Ask them! SurveyMonkey, PollDaddy

• Assess your resources– Marketing not just the job of the

Marketing Dept. or interns!

• Select appropriate platforms– Know the rules of engagement for

each– To tweet or not to tweet? 188,000

active irish tweeters (via barryhand.ie)

Aoife Flynnwww.asquared.ie

4. “Be where your audience expects to find you” Dr. Ross Parry, Museums and New Media at the University of Leicester

1. Do Have a Page, not a personal profile

2. Claim your page name– www.facebook.com/username

3. Claim your “place” for checkins4. Check your Wikipedia entry5. Don’t “Flood the Stream”

– Time your posts– Check what’s working via insights

6. Do encourage fan interaction– Ask Questions, run competitions, tag

photos

Practical Facebook tips

Aoife Flynnwww.asquared.ie

1,8 million irish users (over 15)

Approx. 50% of population have accounts

45% male v’s 55% female

Over 50’s are fastest growing demographic

Key Online Marketing Rules

Aoife Flynnwww.asquared.ie

•Have a Plan – set targets, review progress, track

your appearances online

•Converse– online engagement is two way

•Customise– allow your visitors to personalise

their online interaction with you

•“Be where your audience expects to find you”

Encouraging Visual Arts Engagement – Some Quick Do’s and Don’ts

On & Offline…•Don’t have dense press releases/gallery info

– One Size doesn’t fit all

•Do find different ways to communicate to different audiences •Do provide complimentary programming•Don’t assume new online visitors have been to your space before

– Visitors don’t read website like a book, reiterate costs, times, dates

Aoife Flynnwww.asquared.ie

Opportunities for Engagement via new media

New Media allows you:•Direct access to your audience; even when they aren’t physically visiting •Ongoing Communication – not just at exhibition timesAllows them: •Enhanced access behind the scenes, •Enhanced access to Artists and their practiceInitiatives:•AskaCurator#•Visitor Photography

Aoife Flynnwww.asquared.ie

Full text and slideswww.asquared.ie/news.html

Thank you!