Resources
Internet Marketing
Explore industry trends and emerging issues, learn best practices, and prepare to develop or improve the use of the internet as a strategic tool in your organization’s marketing plan.
Mobile App Vendor Selection Research Report
In the fall of 2010, The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance commissioned Groupofminds to research mobile app development firms in an effort to identify mobile app vendors making significant strides in apps for arts and culture. Now that the research is complete, they have generously released the report to the arts and cultural community, so that all arts and cultural groups seeking information on mobile app vendor options can benefit.
Here are a few key trends and recommendations listed in the report:
- In general, the majority of apps that have been created for arts and cultural events so far are small, relatively unsophisticated event
listings, using simple left-to-right iPhone navigation functionality.
- We also saw a lack of creative expression in many apps—most had simple capabilities (like event search) but no real personality, fun factor, or anything that made the use of the information in the app unique to a mobile phone (i.e. the same content searches could be accomplished on the website and the mobile phone, with no real benefit to using the phone over the website).
- The bar for engaging with the arts though a mobile phone is quite low, with easy success if originality is a factor in the app design.
- While considering the creation of new arts and cultural apps, designers should identify functionality that makes excellent use of the phone’s capabilities, and that can’t be repeated using other data channels.
Check out the report to find thoughts on what makes a successful app for those of you looking to develop your own. To download the report and read more, click here.
Online Social Networking Guide
In April 2009, 45% of all Americans showed interest in social networking sites. The rise in popularity of sites like Facebook and Twitter make it imperative for arts organizations to harness the power of online social networking and online marketing tools.
This Online Social Networking Guide, compiled by The Arkansas Arts Council, will:
- Provide you with information about the current climate of social networking and what this means for your nonprofit organization
- Take you through the basic language and changing demographics of some of the most influential online sites
- Provide guidelines on how best to use social networking to meet the goals of your organization
- Keep you up to date with the latest changes in online networking
Click here to download the guide.
Writers’ Theatre on Audience Engagement
Kate Lipuma, Executive Director of Writers’ Theatre, shared the recent successes and challenges they’ve had with audience engagement at an AEE roundtable. Check out her presentation to learn more about Writers’ positioning, customer service and social media strategies.
Social Networking Behavoir of Broadway Audiences
This recent blog post on theSITUATION: Broadway’s Digital Journal examines the habits of social network users and how they behave off of social network sites. Based on data gathered from a survey given online to Broadway ticket buyers and by tracking website users. Read more here.
Online Tactics & Success: An Examination of the Obama for American New Media Campaign
We all know there’s a lot to learn from the Obama campaign! Examining the tools and strategies used, as well as the people driving the campaign, this report provides some great ideas for any organization looking to boost their online presence and overall communication with audiences. Be sure to check out our other resources from the open forum “Obama’s E-marketing Strategies and What They Can do for the Arts.”
National Summit on Arts Journalism
The National Summit on Arts Journalism presented 5 new models for arts journalism. For more information, visit Diacritical, Douglas McLennan’s Blog on ArtsJournal.
Watch the recorded National Summit on Arts Journalism: http://www.youtube.com/artsj09
Obama’s E-marketing Strategies and What They Can do for the Arts
Michael Organ and Pete Giangreco share the strategies that made the Obama campaign’s online presence so successful.
We want your feedback! If you attended the September 15th Open Forum, then please fill out this short online survey (http://tiny.cc/OpenForumSurvey)
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View more clips from the September 15th Open Forum on Vimeo.
View the presentation by Michael and Pete here:
And here are some of the tools suggested by Pete and Michael:
QuantCast
Compete.com
Google Adwords
Open Secrets
Using these tools or similar ones? Share your successes (or failures) on the AEE forums.
Blog Etiquette
Is your organization receiving some good (or bad) reviews on blogs and you’re not sure how to respond? Amanda Ameer gives some advice in the article “The Post Institute” on her blog Life’s a Pitch.
Beth Kanter: Social Media and Listening
Beth Kanter travels around the world to teach nonprofits about integrating social media into their communications plans. Check out her blog, beth.typepad.com, which includes advice from Kanter, as well as many guest bloggers. We especially recommend the sections on social media, listening, and arts & technology.
Erin West recommends
Questions about building a website? Learn to successfully communicate your ideas online with the help of Erin West (www.popartsmarketing.com), director of arts marketing at POP and past AEE presenter. She recommends Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug (www.sensible.com) for information on website usability and Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.
View Erin’s 2008 Learning Circle presentations: