Introduction & Overview
For a vast majority of Americans, social media is an integral part of their lives: According to a April 2019 Pew Research Center study, the shares of adults who say they use Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Twitter are each largely the same as in 2016, with only Instagram showing an uptick in use during this time period. A Pew Research Study done in 2018 stated 64 percent of people between the ages of 50-64 use at least one social media platform. As might be expected, social media use increases as demographics trend younger: 78 percent of people ages 30-49 use at least one social media platform, while an eye-popping 88 percent of people between the ages of 18-29 are on social media.
For arts organizations, being able to reach a social media-savvy demographic—particularly this younger audience—is crucial to ongoing growth and promotion. A separate 2013 Pew Research Center study of 1,244 arts organizations that received funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) between 2006 and 2011 found "strong support for the notion that social media helps organizations reach new, broader audiences, and that it helps audiences feel more invested in arts organizations." Organizations surveyed found that social media use helped increase attendance and ticket sales; raised public awareness of the organization; and supported fundraising initiatives.
These outcomes coincide with CityMusic Cleveland's long-term goals as the nonprofit looks toward celebrating its 15th anniversary during the 2018-2019 season. In order to achieve these goals, the organization has determined that one facet of their strategy should involve developing a robust social media presence. Since its inception, CityMusic Cleveland has strived to provide a mix of innovative and traditional programming for Northeast Ohio audiences. That mission hasn't changed. However, methods and channels of communication—in particular when it comes to reaching potential event attendees—have evolved with technology. To ensure CityMusic Cleveland can continue to expand its footprint in the community and attract diverse audiences, it's vital that the organization stay abreast of innovative trends.
From 2017-2020, CityMusic Cleveland implemented a social media expansion using a combination of established best practices and strategies, as well as cutting-edge technology—including and especially video, live-streaming and photography—to promote concerts and events, and raise the organization's profile.
Specific action items included video interviews with orchestra members, guest performers and other special guests; video/streaming of orchestra practices; professional-grade video of previous concerts; and candid photos. Assets and approaches were tweaked during the season in response to audience reaction/engagement and the content of the concerts.
These elements were spread across and tailored to the three main platforms the organization intends to use (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), and leveraged in conjunction with thought leadership, and event preview and review coverage.
The knowledge gleaned from this social media expansion has been formalized into a written social media strategy encompassing Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. As with any social media strategy, this will be a detailed, shareable document elaborating on recommendations for content, and detailing what worked (and what didn't) during the initiative. This formal written strategy also includes a detailed, step-by-step blueprint for staff members to follow going forward. Social media is envisioned as a growing and integral aspect of the organization's operations and future strategies.
CityMusic Social Media Overview
CityMusic Cleveland actively uses three social media platforms—Facebook, Twitter and Instagram—in the course of promoting its concerts. We also use YouTube to upload concert videos and have used a Pinterest page in the past.
Within its social media strategy, CityMusic has prioritized Facebook. The built-in events functionality, abundance of community-specific groups, and ability to share content with friends and networks make it an effective way to spread the news about concerts. We use a combination of organic actions—posting content to pages, interacting with followers—and paid advertising for promotion of events. In between concerts, CityMusic posts links and videos of interest to followers, in the areas of music, art, dance and culture. This initiative has helped us grow our audience, and position the page as a go-to destination for quality, interesting content.
In 2017, CityMusic started increasing its usage of Instagram and Twitter for promotion, outreach and awareness-building. The strategy around the latter has been similar to that of Facebook, albeit with slightly more emphasis on promoting and amplifying local content and voices, since those are the type of quality followers we'd like to reach. Instagram growth is predicated more on photos and video, so we have emphasized footage from concerts, photos of performers (both live and headshots) and venues, and graphics created by the social media specialist to attract new followers.
YouTube has been used in the past to post and share premium videos from concerts, and there is a wealth of archival footage available to share. In addition to being useful for sharing videos, it's also a good place to archive footage, so it's easily accessible.
Pinterest is used to promote each concert series, mainly by posting some videos and information. It functions as a good, one-stop-shop place for listeners to sample music they will hear at CityMusic performances. Going forward, the organization is going to evaluate this platform to see if it's worth continuing to use it.
Google+ is something CityMusic has considered implementing and expanding. This will be addressed in a separate section.
Tone
Across all platforms, CityMusic has adopted a positive, friendly tone. We are enthusiastic about music—classical and other genres as well—and Northeast Ohio's vibrant cultural scene. We are proud of all our musicians, composers and conductors, and promote their talents. We are helpful when patrons have questions regarding our shows, and respond in a timely manner to online queries. We like sharing posts about things that make us smile or feel delighted, across multiple topics: the science of music, unique performers, historical facts.
At the same time, we are professional: Our orchestra and musicians are world-class, and we treat our concerts and performances with the linguistic respect they deserve. But we do so in a way that's not alienating to the audience: We speak with authority, but it's friendly, accessible and persuasive.
Frequency
Frequency varies from platform to platform. On Twitter, we post 1-2 times a week and also retweet other accounts, spread out over multiple hours. Instagram posts are roughly one per day, or at least 3 times a week. Facebook is anywhere from five or more posts, spread out over the week. . Posting frequency tends to increase around concert times in order to increase awareness and make sure our audience knows every last detail about our concerts.
The goal on every platform is not to overwhelm the audience; it's to share enough content so the page is populated and we stay relevant, but not so much that people become frustrated and unfollow.
