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Marketing Toolkit

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on arts and culture in a major way. Organizations have closed their doors, concerts and events have been postponed or cancelled, and everyone has hunkered down at home for more than 12 months. The impact of this has been devastating on arts organizations and their employees as well as the general public.

As we wait for everyone to get their doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and the world gets moving again, this is a good time for organizations to examine their arts marketing. It may seem counter-productive, since most organizations have no events to market at this time. It is wise to develop strategies to keep organizations visible, so that when the world re-opens the public will want to return.

This Marketing Toolkit is designed as a resource to provide information on a variety of marketing strategies and techniques. Click the dropdowns below to learn more.

Social media has grown in popularity over the years. With the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing, it has become even more important. Use of social media has become the way we all stay connected.

Setting up a Facebook page for your organization is easy and it is free. Having a Facebook page gives you many opportunities to stay in touch with your audience. By asking people to “like” and “follow” your page you can quickly build up an online audience. On your page you can post events, share photos, share videos, stream live content, and do fundraising. For details about using Facebook click here.

Facebook has a paid advertising feature that works really well if you want to go beyond the options that are available for free. Facebook’s Ad Manager is a valuable tool that enables you to create impactful ads at a very low cost. To learn how to use Facebook’s Ad Manager click here.

Instagram is one of social media’s most popular apps, with over 1 billion people using this each month for sharing photos. Instagram has individual accounts and business accounts. Both are very easy to set up and to use. Click here to read more about how to do this.

Do you know who your target audience is? Who comes to your events? Learning about your target audience will help you to do a better job of connecting with them.

Who are the people who do not currently come to your events? How can you reach them and invite them to become a part of your audience? These questions are a part of audience development. To be a thriving arts organization, you need to know the answers to these questions.

You also need to be clear about your organization itself – its mission and goals and the environment in which it exists. Doing a SWOT analysis is a great way to understand your organization and redefine your mission. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Click here for a video that shows how to conduct a SWOT analysis. Here are several more examples that can guide you: click here, and click here.

Virtual content on a website or on social media should be engaging, eye-catching and fun. A first impression that is appealing will make your social media something that readers want to engage with and return to often. Your content should reflect your organization and its personality.

Photo images are an important part of a good social marketing plan. Eye catching photos can enhance an email, a news release, or social media post. An image that tells a story will draw a reader in and make him/her want to look further.

For information on creating and using images click here.

For ideas on creating a reopening post, or more information on how to create engaging social media posts, see the following articles: 

Are you a lover of the arts? Do you believe in supporting local arts organizations and activities in rural Pennsylvania? If so, we’d love to have you as a member.

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