Presentation by Erin West, POP!

1. Looking Ahead: Social Media &
Mobile Marketing
CWAEN Internet Marketing Learning Circle
November 14, 2008
Erin West, VP of Arts Marketing

2. How will arts organizations capitalize on
social media to capture the
attention of young audiences and
develop new relationships?

3. Trend Watch: Social Networking

4. “Given the current trend in the field for arts
organizations to market the “artistic experience”
coupled with contemporary audiences’ desire for
greater interactivity, social networking technology
has great potential to assist arts organizations in
deepening their audience’s experience by providing
more avenues for engaging with the art, the
artists, the organization, and each other.”
‐ Technology in the Arts blog

5. Social Networking Defined
A social network service focuses on the
building and verifying of online social
networks for communities of people who
share interests and activities, or who are
interested in exploring the interests and
activities of others, and which necessitates
the use of software.

6. Social Networking Defined
Primarily web based
Provide ways for users to interact
Typically contain directories of some
categories (such as former classmates),
means to connect with friends (usually
with self‐description pages), and
recommender systems linked to trust.

7. Example Sites
• MySpace
• Facebook
• LastFM
• Ningg – customized networks
• Twitter
• Yelp
• YouTube

11. Facebook U.S. Geographic Distribution

12. MySpace U.S. Geographic Distribution

13. Facebook Applications
Applicants let users do things such as compare
favorite songs or political views, track stocks, share
bookmarks or movie recommendations, showcase
favorite eBay finds and so on.
Since May 2007, account for 37% of Facebook’s
growth.
Applications are highly engaging; capturing more
time per session than any other activity on the site.

14. Social Networking Principles
• Get creative
• Start conversations
• Reinforce relationships
• Cultivate semi‐public spaces

15. It’s all about Relationships

16. Example: Royal Opera House

23. Use Social Media to…
Build deeper connections with your patrons
Increase patron satisfaction
Attract new audiences
Tell your story
Fundraise

24. Creating a Social Media Strategy

25. Social Media Strategy
1. Internal Readiness
2. Listening
3. Planning
4. Listening
5. Leaping In
6. Measuring and Evaluation

27. Go Where Your Audience Is

28. Facebook Wall Close‐Up

29. Go Where Your Audience Is

30. Then bring them to you

31. Match Your Brand: Before

32. Match Your Brand: After

33. Match Your Brand Before

34. Match Your Brand: After

35. Lessons Learned
Must tie to organizational strategy
Invite conversation
Invite collaboration
Don’t underestimate the cost.
Dive in. Start small.
Don’t neglect your core audience.
There is no such thing as done.
Ask forgiveness, not permission.

36. www.wearemedia.org
share the love

37. Digital Downloads / Streaming
Increase brand awareness; provide expanded access to
artistic product; generate new revenue stream
Solution
Deliver DRM‐free content online; place content in
single shopping cart; manage content via CMS
Solution; possible distribution through third‐party
vendor

39. Trend Watch: Mobile Marketing

40. Mobile is shaping the social
media landscape
In the U.S. alone, text messaging has increased
by more than 350% since last year.
This means that text messages per month now
exceed mobile phone calls per month (per
individual) in the U.S.
The 13–17 age range dominates the text
messaging market.
Source: The Nielsen Corporation, October 2008

41. Text‐Message Usage by Country
Test‐Message Usage Amongst
Wireless Subscribers (in past 30 days)
Russia 88%
Switzerland 85%
Italy 78%
Spain 76%
United Kingdom 76%
China 72%
France 71%
India 63%
Germany 60%
Brazil 60%
United States 53%
Canada 53%
Source: The Nielsen Corporation, October 2008

42. Use Mobile to:
Raise awareness
Provide a product
Be an instrument for research
Be cost‐effective, fast, and provide results
As a fundraising tool
Encourage action
Be creative

43. Organization:
Macmillan Cancer Support
Objective:
Provide an alternative route
to collect donations for those
not willing to donate online.
Mobile Technology: As a fundraising channel.
Results: SMS donations was the most successful
mechanism through this campaign with 59% of donations
being made through text.
Source: Mobile Marketing Association, 2006

44. Organization: Adidas UK
Objective: Create a highly innovative
application that would enhance the event
experience for runners and spectators.
Mobile Technology: Adidas Run Tracker,
an application that allowed spectators to
track their friends running in the marathon, in real time.
Results: 4,320 people used the application on the day.
Source: Mobile Marketing Association, 2008

49. Mobile Ticketing
Expand channels for purchasing tickets;
position your organization as a forward‐
looking; connect with younger audience.
Solution
Create an alternate purchase path optimized
for mobile devices; utilize SMS to drive ticket
sales to mobile channel.

59. http://mobile.seattleopera.org

60. Trend Watch: Video Kiosk

66. Results
Fall 2007
• 1,090 messages sent Sept 2007 – Nov 2007
• 17% opted in for eNewsletter
• 17% allowed video use for promotion
• These video messages were sent to another
1,390 email addresses besides visitors
• Over 3,652 visitors came to the website to
watch the video messages

67. Next Generation Website

68. Discussion
• How are you using social media?
• What are your next steps?

69. Thank You!
Erin West
VP of Arts Marketing
erin.west@pop.us
206.272.2253