A presentation I am giving today to the International Society for the Performing Arts in Toronto.

1. Rethinking Digital and
Social Marketing for
the Arts
by Sean Howard
ISPA Conference, June 14, 2011

2. New Title:
The Five Hardest
Questions I’ve Ever
Been Asked

3. Let’s start with each of you.

5. Now you must be the Director of Social Media as well?!

6. Go ahead, say it again little man...

7. Question #1
Why Social?

8. #1 #2 #1
Canadians spend more time online than any other
country in the world.

9. 68% of online Canadians used social media
in 2010.

10. Social Media
Blogs
The number of Canadians using social media
grew by 13% last year and is still climbing.

11. And it’s not just the young ‘uns.

12. Because your audience is there.
So why social? And they are spending more
time there than ever before.
And social media is one of the
few mediums left where it is
free to participate in most
channels.
So what are we waiting for!?

13. Don’t shoot the
messenger!

14. Question #2
What should we do in social?

15. No one knows.

16. Ready. Fire. Aim.

17. Ready. Fire. Aim.
Social Media Policy
http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php
Rights Negotiations
Knowing your constraints
Presence and Tools
Creating your online presence
Staffing to monitor and respond

18. Ready. Fire. Aim.
Learn as you go
Anyone who says they have the answers doesn’t
Start Small
Again, knowing your constraints - time, staffing, etc.
Fail Fast
Know your audience
Try new things
Pay attention to the stats

19. Ready. Fire. Aim.
Measure. Measure. Measure.
Pay attention to what is working and where
Adjust Your Course
Based on the stats and what is working (feedback)
Ask For Input
Sometimes we can just ask people what they like

20. Get Fans
Engage Fans
Rinse and Repeat

21. Get Fans
Ghetto contests for the win!

24. Get Fans
Coupons and discounts

25. How many of your offer discounts on your
Facebook page?

26. Hopefully all of you said yes.

27. Engage Fans
Content. Content. Content.
Interviews, sneak peeks, behind the scenes,
promotional videos, slideshows, ask the artist,
attend a rehearsal, rehearsal videos, guest
bloggers/writers, archival material, pre-concert
talks, travelogues, and more.

28. What content can you create that will drive
engagement?

29. Remember that there are a lot of you!
What social campaign or content has impressed
your colleagues?

30. Jennifer Green Sue Edworthy
http://soundstreams.ca/ http://sueedworthy.ca/
@sueedworthy
I asked two of my favourites!

31. “Don’t be precise. Get stuff
out there. [...] And don’t focus
on what you can’t do. Make a
list of all your restrictions. 30
seconds. No equity. And then
find a way to curate an
Jennifer Green
http://soundstreams.ca/ experience online within those
constraints.”

32. “Don’t be precise. Get stuff
out there. [...] And don’t focus
on what you can’t do. Make a
list of all your restrictions. 30
seconds. No equity. And then
find a way to curate an
Jennifer Green
http://soundstreams.ca/ experience online within those
constraints.”
http://www.youtube.com/user/TarragonTheatre#p/u/4/Ayq8RArjbxg

33. “Don’t be precise. Get stuff
out there. [...] And don’t focus
on what you can’t do. Make a
list of all your restrictions. 30
seconds. No equity. And then
find a way to curate an
Jennifer Green
http://soundstreams.ca/ experience online within those
constraints.”
http://www.youtube.com/user/TarragonTheatre#p/u/4/Ayq8RArjbxg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0RijO_wMzo

34. “what we need to remember
is that every time someone
clicks like or RTs you, even if
it’s to win something, your
product just expanded by a
percentage of that person’s
Sue Edworthy followers”
http://sueedworthy.ca/
@sueedworthy

35. “what we need to remember
is that every time someone
clicks like or RTs you, even if
it’s to win something, your
product just expanded by a
percentage of that person’s
Sue Edworthy followers”
http://sueedworthy.ca/
@sueedworthy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOUBDjZMWx4

36. “what we need to remember
is that every time someone
clicks like or RTs you, even if
it’s to win something, your
product just expanded by a
percentage of that person’s
Sue Edworthy followers”
http://sueedworthy.ca/
@sueedworthy
http://vancouveropera.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html

37. Learning to
create content
online that
your followers
value and
want to share

38. Question #3
How do we make something go viral?

39. We don’t.

40. Unless you enjoy putting all your money on the
long shot to win

41. It’s much safer to create content and experiences
that people enjoy and want to share.

42. But what does it mean to share something?

43. 70
62.5
55
47.5
40
The jury is still out on whether the amount of
face to face interactions is holding steady or
declining.

44. 150
122.5
95
67.5
40
What we do know is that there is a significant
increase in online social interactions

45. Seen as a percentage of online transactions, the
face to face interactions are indeed shrinking.

46. In a world dominated
by digital interactions,
what we share online
defines us.

47. Have you ever really, really enjoyed something?
Something LOL funny
but something stopped you from sharing it with
your friends?
Most of us have had this experience.

48. We choose what we share more carefully than
we may think.

49. http://bit.ly/jxjo7A
http://bit.ly/kJibvJ
Here are some I didn’t share with certain friends.

50. Which is why what we
share has to say
something positive
about us – that we
belong to the same
social group and like
the same things as our
peers.

51. What does the
?
content you
produce say
about the person
who shares it?

52. Question #4
What can I do if I have no budget to speak of?

53. The basics on a budget
Editorial Calendar
Management Tools
Online Presence
Measurement Tools

54. The Online Presence
1 or 2 SM spaces My Website Tumblr Blog

55. Management Tools
1 or 2 SM spaces My Website Tumblr Blog

56. The Editorial Calendar
Single calendar of content ideas
across online spaces
1 or 2 SM spaces My Website Tumblr Blog

57. Single calendar of content ideas
across online spaces
1 or 2 SM spaces My Website Tumblr Blog

58. Single calendar of content ideas
across online spaces
Free
Free.
Optional
Free theme for $50
1 or 2 SM spaces My Website Tumblr Blog
$19 a
month Free

59. Question #5
My question(s) to each of you...

60. Put yourself in the
shoes of a hypothetical
“friend of a friend” of
the organization.
Someone who doesn’t
know you.
And then visit all of
your properties online.

61. Use soft eyes. As if you were seeing a new work.

62. Which spaces were you easily able to find?
How many are there to find?
Does what you saw capture the scope of the
work you do?
Does it portray the quality and passion of the
work you do?

63. How would you best display the scope, quality
and passion that drives your organization online?
It’s a trick question in written form.
Try sketching the answer.

64. Whether as a mood board of your online presence

65. or a chart of all your online activities...

66. What is the spine of
your work and your
organization?

67. http://personas.media.mit.edu/personasWeb.html

68. The 2010 Canada Digital Year in Review, Comscore, March 8, 2011
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/
2011/2010_Canada_Digital_Year_in_Review
Canada Social Media Marketing, eMarketer, November 2010
http://www.emarketer.com/Report.aspx?code=emarketer_2000734
The COLOPHON
The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp, Simon & Schuster
http://www.amazon.ca/Creative-Habit-Learn-Use-Life/dp/0743235274/
ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308023592&sr=8-1

69. http://www.flickr.com/photos/peer_gynt/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lou/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brettarthur/
The COLOPHON
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alancleaver/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenpoff/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bombeador/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/helico/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/graphistolage/

70. http://www.flickr.com/photos/graphistolage/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/collylogic/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/crystaleagle/
The COLOPHON
http://www.flickr.com/photos/derek_b/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/halasi_zsolt/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalink/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/megadem/

71. The COLOPHON
VP of Digital Communications
Thornley Fallis Toronto
Twitter: @passitalong
Tumblr: seanhoward.ca