Interested in volunteering at the AGO? Please take a peek at the discussion board!”
This missive went out to the Art Gallery of Ontario’s fledgling Facebook group – all 34 members – in July of 2007. The result: a resounding silence, but also a valuable lesson on how not to use social media. “Why did we even post that?” says Sue Boyle, the AGO’s co-ordinator of community relations. “We quickly realized that marketing messages weren’t what the public wanted to hear.”Much has changed about the AGO’s strategy, which now includes buzzing Twitter posts, a blog, YouTube videos that go into the bowels of the gallery and podcasts. Oh, and about 10,000 Facebook fans.
Illustration by Bryan Gee / The Globe and Mail— Bryan Gee / The Globe and Mail
Other arts groups are also getting the message. Social media are a boon when it comes to expanding audiences – if you get it right. Users want the full Monty – intimacy, conversation, all the bells and whistles of “rich media.” Fail to deliver, and they won’t hesitate to give you the dreaded “unfollow” treatment.In theory, arty types would seem to have a natural advantage when it comes to social media: They’re storytellers by nature and bursting with creativity. But anecdotally, at least, they’ve done their fair share of hapless flailing, says social-media expert Mitch Joel, president of Twist Image and the author of Six Pixels of Separation. “I’m always shocked at how hesitant and slow these groups are,” he says.
The hardest part, really, is the maintenance of it. — Mitch Joel, Twist Image
Most organizations still can’t resist slipping in a ticket offer or an opening-night reminder, and some continue to dole out a heavy dose of advertising. Positive reviews are gleefully repeated, positive comments are widely disseminated, and “great offers” abound. Commercial organizations such as Mirvish Productions and rival Dancap Productions are some of the most obvious culprits, employing more “push marketing” than many of their not-for-profit counterparts. But Joel argues that is the wrong approach.
“You don’t build a community because you have a festival coming up. You build a community. And then when you have your festival coming up, there’s a community there to help you. Everybody does it sort of backward,” he says.
The arts community does have a growing sense that it’s important to weave social webs. Recent research by the Society of London Theatres (SOLT) in Britain reported that social media helped 65 per cent of people surveyed decide to go to the theatre, and choose what to see, while 41 per cent of U.K. theatregoers are Facebook users.
I ended up doing a lot of the social media off hours, at home, on weekends. That's how much it grew. — Ling Chan, Vancouver Opera
Virtually every Canadian arts organization, large or small, now has some social media presence and is starting to channel its audiences through a variety of venues, all relying more on conversation than pushiness. But a continuing dialogue requires time and resources. Tweeting every third day just isn’t going to cut it, Joel says. “People sort of fall into that ‘get me one of those’ strategy,” he says. “The hardest part, really, is the maintenance of it.”
Vancouver Opera has been one of the more successful Canadian arts outfits online. Its Facebook and Twitter accounts hum with regular activity, and are quirky and revealing. One factor that contributes to its success? They have a dedicated employee to manage them.
Ling Chan joined Vancouver Opera in the fall of 2007 as an assistant to the managing director but soon had the company’s social networking tasks added to her duties.
“As I was going along, that was [taking up] the bigger chunk of time,” she says. “I ended up doing a lot of the social media off hours, at home, on weekends. That's how much it grew.”
