NAMP: TimeLine’s Return on Investment
I’m excited to be able to share some of what TimeLine Theatre has been able to do using Return-On-Investment measurements. Through an AEE Learning Circle with Philippe Ravanas in 2007, and a generous implementation grant from the Chicago Community Trust, we have been able to build a solid foundation and start creating effective tools to measure ROI.
Over the next few blog posts I will share portions of a presentation I gave at the recent National Arts Marketing Project Conference about how TimeLine has been using ROI. I was thrilled at the response I have gotten (in fact I’ve been asked to give it again at another NAMP-sponsored workshop in Minneapolis in April, maybe I’ll see some of you there), and I hope you find this useful in jump-starting your efforts.
Asking the Right Questions: Using Research to Build Audiences
The final session of our Learning Circle: “Asking the Right Questions: Using Research to Build Audiences” just finished so, before I sat down to write this article, I thought I’d review some other AEE blogs just to see if anything was relevant. The first one I found was a November 11 posting from Northlight Theatre’s Marketing Director Chad Peterson, blogging from the National Arts Management Project Conference held in Rhode Island. I got more than I bargained for. It is an affirmation that many of the same business issues Circle participants identified are shared, for better or for worse, with other arts organizations across the nation.
“Return on Engagement” Series: Engage…and be nice
One-sided conversations are painful in real life. Why should they be any different online? After you have done a good deal of listening, research and strategy, add your own voice to the conversation.
There are about as many ways to engage as there are social sites on the internet, but it helps to start simple. Here are some basics:
Open Forum Takeaways
Most of the comments I’ve heard so far from last Tuesday’s open forum with Pete Giangreco and Michael Organ have something to do with trying to keep up as they threw out so many great tips, stats and smart ideas. So, I thought I’d follow up with my own notes to see if they help fill in some blanks. And, I hope you’ll post whatever you caught that I missed. Between us, we should be able to build a solid record of the whole session!
The presentation slides are posted here, so I won’t try to recap those in any detail. But my notes do pull out a few points that I know I’ll continue to think about.
- When Michael Organ explained that Obama supporters had created and joined 35,000 different groups on the mybarackobama site, he said something like, “we had 2 million people create profiles on this site—and they did so for 35,000 different reasons.” This said more to me than anything else about the power of sharing control. We spend a lot of time trying to “create a community” on our websites, but letting the community create their own structure seems smarter—and maybe easier?
- “Did you ever see an Obama internet ad which asked for a donation?” Organ assured us we never did. Through testing, he says, they discovered that you get people in the door (aka, to your website) through emails about issues and events that matter to them. THEN they’re ready to see the ask for a donation. When you send the right email messages, you’re telling people why they should support you. When they get to the website, you’re giving them the way to do it.
- “Complacent people don’t act.” That comment—accompanied by the Sarah Palin slide—sure raised the bar for email content. We don’t all have the equivalent “urgency, anger, fear and special moments” but it’s a good reminder to try to send email messages that will jolt the complacent reader into action!
- “The Internet is a direct response medium.” I know people hated those Obama splash pages with the sign up forms, but this was a good reminder to make sure links go directly to relevant information. And I don’t think linking to a sign-up page is such a bad idea for arts organizations! With a click-thru option, of course.
- Sharing content control. Here’s that idea, again. Is there anyone who attended this session who still feels too timid to allow patrons to post reviews of their shows on your own website? Go for it!
These are just some of the thoughts that stand out to me. I encourage you to leave me comments with your own thoughts. In the meantime, please poke around the slide show from the presentation and stay tuned over the coming days as we post video of Pete and Michael and check in with our "fish."
“Return on Engagement” Series: Listen
Engaging an audience with an incredible stage performance is one thing, but these days audience engagement extends beyond your theater or performance space to the online world as well. Your website, social media profiles, and how you interact with online communities all play valuable roles in creating a successful online presence that works for your organization. In upcoming posts I'll discuss best practices for building a successful online presence and engaging communities that represent the needs of your organization or business. The techniques outlined in this series will help you improve your website, make valuable connections, drive traffic, and see a tangible return on engagement. As always, I welcome comments, thoughts, criticism, and suggestions on the topics discussed.
Blog Topics Under Consideration:
Which customer service issue is most interesting?
Registered members can vote on upcoming blog topics.
Register Now!Past Blog Articles
NAMP: TimeLine’s Return on Investment
Will Rogers’ Round-Up: Fa-la-la-la-la and all that
Asking the Right Questions: Using Research to Build Audiences
NAMP: Takeaways from a Marketing Director
NAMP: Stretching your collateral budget
NAMP: Email Done Right
NAMP: The Pricing Institute Preconference - sales and discount analysis
Pricing Insights with the Pricing Institute
“Return on Engagement” Series: Engage…and be nice
To Broaden or Deepen?- Blog Archive
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Data Management Diversifying Audiences Grants Internet Marketing NAMP Psychographics Research Return on Investment