The Internet is one of the most effective marketing tools available to you. Your website is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week promotion machine.
A great website allows you to interface with your customers and potential customers. You can use your site to inform your audience of events, sell tickets and merchandise, even provide a virtual community that allows your patrons to interact with you and each other.
You can also use the Internet to conduct research on your audience — directly, through polling, or indirectly, by capturing information on how they navigate your site.
Your Website Enables You to:
| | » | Build awareness of the organization. |
| » | Help with new audience development. |
| » | Position the organization in the community. |
| » | Promote and market 24 hours a day, seven days a week. |
| » | Answer questions from current and potential patrons which frees up staff. |
| » | Provide another means for customers to contact you. |
| » | Can be updated quickly with changes in programs, schedules, activities. |
| » | Save money on postage, mailings, brochures. |
Arts marketing on the Internet complements other marketing activities. Include website address in other promotional pieces/advertising.
Tips for Effective Arts Website Management
| | » | Define goals: What is the purpose of the website? What do we want people to do when they are there? |
| » | Respond to inquiries within 24 hours. Unanswered e-mail turns off a potential patron, ticket buyer, or donor. |
| » | Use the website to build an e-mail list: Generate leads for e-mail marketing by placing a prominent link to join your newsletter list. |
| » | Keep navigation simple and intuitive: Use labels, such as "calendar," "buy tickets," "children's concert series." Avoid acronyms. |
| » | Use graphics and streaming media intelligently: Keep graphics simple. Web images should be kept to a minimum. Remember, not everyone has high-speed Internet access. |
| » | Measure and analyze site traffic: Use web tracking software that gives more than "hits" information. This will help "fine tune" the website. |
| » | Keep site updated: Outdated information will discourage the audience. The press will check the website for current information. |
| » | Put basic information up front: Address, directions, parking information in a prominent location on website. |
| » | Test site with your patrons: Ask a few to "buy a ticket" or "check on next week's concert" to learn about the ease/difficulty of using the site. |
| » | Market the site - don't just say it exists: Selling tickets online represents a strong reason to visit the site. |
To Pro Bono or Not to Pro Bono your Website?
| | » | Website should be professionally produced. |
| » | Pro bono work is the first to be eliminated during economic downturns or when staff is reduced. |
| » | Website should be under your control. |
| » | Website needs constant care and maintenance. |
E-mail Marketing for the Arts
| | » | E-mail marketing can outperform many of the traditional marketing tactics. |
| » | Most arts organizations don't exploit the interactive potential and don't involve the patron. |
Why E-mail Works for the Arts
| | » | E-mail comes in 2 flavors: spam (not requested & unwanted) and opt-in (requested & wanted). |
| » | Opt-in e-mail works because arts feeds a passion and can develop loyalty to a specific organization. |
| » | Most successful when offers are connected to the recipients' needs and interests. |
Tips for Effective E-mail Marketing
| | » | Make the collection of e-mail names the #1 objective of your website. Most important goal: "Sign up" link for your e-mail newsletter. |
| » | Always collect demographic and preference information along with the e-mail address. Consumers are willing to give personal data in return for the promise of special offers and information not available to others. |
| » | Segment lists and make all of your offers targeted. The more closely the offer matches their needs, the better the response rate will be. |
| » | Include a "call to action" with e-mail marketing. Ask e-mail recipients to click on a link to do something ("click here to purchase tickets online"). |
| » | Offer HTML, AOL, and text formats. HTML is the most common form that means e-mail includes text formatting and pictures. Invest in the correct software. |
| » | Favor quality vs quantity. Send a targeted message that responds to their needs and offers them something that they otherwise could not get. |
| » | Prepare destination web page. "Click here to buy tickets" should send them to your web page where they can order tickets. |
| » | Integrate e-mail list development into offline marketing efforts. Develop a consistent and rich database of information about your patrons. |
| » | Measure, Measure, Measure. Track the results of your e-mail marketing efforts. |
| » | Test your way to success. E-mail marketing provides the ability to change and modify your offerings. |
Resources
| » | Arts & Business Council of Chicago held a full-day E-Commerce Seminar in September 2006 to share e-marketing best practices from its multi-year E-Commerce Incubator to the arts community. |