Marketing Technique for The Arts Industry
Digital marketing challenges companies in practically every industry. As new tactics increasingly overshadow the old, businesses must adapt their messages for large audiences. Of course, that only describes part of the challenge that faces modern marketers.
Brands must meet the needs of customers, so part of their job is positioning themselves for the right audiences. When properly executed, a marketing strategy will inspire trust, loyalty, and customers will become brand advocates, which spurs long-term growth.
Despite the low cost and increased effectiveness of digital strategies, many firms in the arts industry struggle with leveraging this opportunity and often seem trapped in conventional channels. Here, you will learn how to make digital marketing work for your art business.
Digital Marketing at Arts Organizations in the USA
For the most part, art-related firms lag behind those in other industries in terms of both investment and mobile readiness. In fact, a survey revealed that almost two-thirds of these companies do not have appropriate website budgets. Approximately the same percentage of organizations say that their subscription process is not optimized for mobile.
Additionally, the same survey showed further problems among arts organizations. For example, nearly half of them feel challenged by the need to create engaging content. At the same time, almost 60 percent of those surveyed spent less than five percent of their operating budget on the web and their social media presence.
These statistics offer important insights into the problems art businesses have with digital marketing. In short, the biggest problem they have is allocating sufficient funds. After that, 44 percent of the companies studied report having insufficient in-house digital marketing knowledge.
Online Presence
For the most part, online presence challenges arts businesses. Just as people who shop for clothes want to see how they fit and feel, art buyers want to have a personal experience with art. In many cases, if a customer cannot have a firsthand look at the artwork, they hesitate to buy.
In other words, the art market has good reasons to resist the transition to the digital business model. Even the antiques industry, history and tradition oriented at its core, faces similar challenges. Although an image of a painting can capture elegant brush strokes and vibrant colors as well as the wood texture of a piece of furniture, buyers still want to personally inspect items to assess their authenticity and condition.
Despite the natural resistance art customers have towards the online marketplace, it is still possible to build a successful business. When you do, you can expand your audience and reach new markets. Whether you are a new artist on the scene or an old family antiques business, you can get the attention that you deserve.
To begin with, you will need to launch a website that effectively presents you, your brand and your work. In effect, this will become a primary interface that people can use to contact you and learn about your projects and events. Of course, your site will also reflect the values that drive your brand.
For this reason, you must make sure that your website is mobile friendly. After all, the majority of Internet traffic comes from people using devices such as smartphones and tablets. If you ensure that all your content looks good on mobile screens, you create a good customer experience that forms a foundation for profitable relationships.
Killer Content
Make your mobile-first website work for you by creating and posting exceptional content. For instance, by using a variety of content formats such as video and infographics alongside your textual and graphic content, you can captivate your audience.
Of course, being in the art business, the visual aspect of your content might convey more about you than what you write. Much of that content might depend on the demographics you intend to reach. For example, young audiences might appreciate memes and humor more than older market segments.
As an expert in visuals, you might need to focus on the graphics and hire a third-party service or an in-house specialist to manage the technical aspects of your website. Another option, using freelancers, can minimize your expense without compromising quality.
Social Channels
The online world continues to center on the many social networks that now attract hundreds of millions of daily users. Knowing this, you should remember to create profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube for reaching out to your audience. You shouldn’t, however, disregard LinkedIn either, as it can help you connect with others in your industry and establish your brand.
Remember also that visual social networks such as Instagram naturally support businesses like yours. Whichever sites you choose to use, make sure that you become part of the community rather than merely pitching your brand.
Always interact with your followers on a personal level and make sure you express your appreciation for their support. Meanwhile, you should also consistently share interesting content with your followers, much of which comes from other users.
As part of your social media efforts, build a mailing list that you can use to develop sales. Also, encourage people to visit your website to give you additional chances to acquire leads and convert sales.
Although your arts business needs to develop healthy offline relationships, you should take your digital marketing opportunities seriously. While many arts businesses fail to capitalize on online opportunities, you can use them to create a competitive advantage that directly contributes to your bottom line.
