Last night, while I was searching for inspiration for this
post, I was also procrastinating on Facebook. So yes, this post is inspired by
our favorite useless pastime.
A post came across my News Feed from the Pittsburgh CLO:
Typically I would just glaze over this and keep scrolling,
but it stuck with me. It seemed incredibly vague to be coming from one of the
largest and best-known producing arts organizations in Pittsburgh. We had just
discussed the basic tenet of marketing as communicating a message, and here was
an example of a marketing effort seemingly devoid of any message. However, it
did grab my attention, kept my interest, created a desire for me to respond,
and I did indeed take action. I responded:
This morning, I saw that CLO had responded, and that a bunch
of posts took place around the same time I posted (and were probably all
approved at the same time). The full post contains roughly 3 topics: Smash, arts marketing, and the host of
this year’s Tony Awards. View the full post below:
(Yes, my Facebook is set to Pirate.)
I often feel as
though the ‘voice’ of the CLO Facebook account sounds too much like one person
and not the entire organization. However, I could be biased because I know that the person who runs the CLO
Facebook is a good friend of my former roommate, who is the first poster on
this conversation and who also works at the CLO. Nevertheless, while most of their posts are more structured
or at least clearly identify what type of discussion they are trying to
generate, this one seemed totally open. Similar to the Obama email subject line of
just a simple ‘Hey,’ this post feels personal and engaging to any reader.
However, because there is no message and the comments must be approved before
they appear, this example illustrates the problems that can arise out of
organizations engaging on social media, particularly after hours. While I
thought I was starting a general discussion of something that might vaguely be
relevant to the audience (as I’m sure was also the case in the post about the
Tonys), I felt left out when I saw the other discussions specific to Smash. This could be because I
personally know some of the other posters and don't watch Smash, but regardless of that, the
specificity of their comments directly relating to the show made me feel as
though I wasn’t actually a part of the organization’s social network. There was too great an assumption that followers knew that the post was about Smash and also watched the show, which was only exacerbated rather than rectified by the comments.
My final takeaway from this experience is that, when sending
a message through any marketing channel, make sure that the engagement stays
clear and specific. Have a message and make sure it is communicated for the
purpose of enhancing the audience’s experience of the organization. This can
prevent ‘takeovers’ by individuals who want to impose a particular
interpretation on others. Especially beware those people who know who is the
real Oz behind the curtain. Do not give them any reason to think their
discussions with you as a person are synonymous with your employer. Also, if
you choose to engage in social media outside of the office on behalf of your
organization, make sure you are also prepared to respond immediately to
anything that might arise, since most other users are more active in the
evening.
I took the poster up on her response to email her about her
thoughts on arts marketing. I specifically asked about the purpose or message
behind this post and how she views the spontaneous value of social media in the
overall marketing plan of the CLO. She promptly responded (via email):
“Hi
Katie,
Thanks
so much for following us and for your interest in Pittsburgh CLO. As our
social media moderator, I try to find a healthy balance of planned posts (we
also use Hootsuite) versus spontaneous. When “SMASH” premiered, I began posting
regularly during the show, given its content. I found that our followers
both on Facebook and Twitter responded favorably, so the posts continued. As
I’m sure you realize, the posts to an outside observer, or someone who doesn’t
watch the show, frankly won’t make any sense; but that’s a risk I’m willing to
take. If the worst case scenario is that they think “WHAT is Pittsburgh CLO
talking about?” at least that gets them thinking about Pittsburgh CLO,
right?
As
far as how I plan for the spontaneous interaction, I generally don’t
plan. I look at it this way – Is this something I, as a regular Facebook
user and arts lover, would be interested in talking about? I also pepper
our social media conversations with general Pittsburgh topics if the occasion
calls for it. For instance, during last year’s Pittsburgh Penguins playoff run,
I posted something like, “A musical version of tonight’s game would be
called….” Those posts achieved the most interaction of any posting thread in
our history.
I’m
here all day, so if you want to chat via phone, I’m more than happy to talk.”
What are your thoughts? Do you
think it’s a risk worth taking to respond to TV shows and other relevant media
on behalf of an organization? What about the actual execution of this post in
relation to the purpose behind it? Do you think it was the most successful
execution of delivering their desired message?
Using external content to your organization, from a TV show for example, sometimes is a great way of filling the gaps between your organization's content. It also allows your social media network to talk about the relevance of a related commercial part of your art-form. Of course, not every show about dance or singing deserves a discussion, especially on a week that an organization has good content in their own right.
ReplyDeleteMy sense is that social media is more about talking with people who want to connect with your organization. A successful social media page will meet people halfway (or further) and be willing to talk about other things besides what the organization is doing. If you always have an agenda that is about you then it ends up being less interesting and people are less engaged.
It is my sense that people on social media are good at using their own filters. You don't have to talk to everyone at the same time, it's OK, the people who aren't interested won't pay attention (just don't do this more than a certain amount.) The conversations the the CLO has about SMASH is a good example of this. If it were in my feed I would just scroll past. I would stay subscribed unless SMASH was mostly all what they talked about. So, yes, in this context it works (in my view at least).
It also boils down to the question: who is your audience and what do they like to hear about? With the CLO, it is easy to see why they would like SMASH and so the fit is good. In other markets (perhaps outside of Pittsburgh), I wouldn't venture to talk about sports as they did unless I knew the audience well enough. The Boston market has tremendous amounts of overlap between Red Sox fans and the BSO to my understanding. In Seattle I wouldn't mention sports while running a arts social media feed, ever, there is no overlap.
I think responding to TV and other media is great! I think it could get boring if every post was so specific to the organization - you can only tell people about your shows so often. Things external to the organization (but that are still relevant) add a nice variety to the Facebook feed, and I have come across a lot of great videos/articles about things unrelated to a certain organization on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the execution of the post, I think it is good that they saw a positive response to Smash, and they paid attention enough to use that information. I guess I feel a bit out of the loop because I do not watch Smash, however I do not find it frustrating since there are so many things out there and I cannot possibly keep up with them all!
It did get people talking though - which is great! They are not necessarily talking about CLO's next show, or that their last show was fantastic, but it is a community that can interact beyond those basic things.
If their desired message was to get people talking about Smash (or let's say, something besides CLO), or to say "What is the CLO talking about?", then I feel like facebook is the appropriate place for that. You certainly would not want to use e-mail, since people who do not understand it may never open another e-mail from you again. It is simple to skim over an irrelevant Facebook post, and to unlike the page if you find it annoying. However, for other channels, it could really create a bad feeling (feeling of wasted time, etc) or just a lot of confusion that a person might not be able to follow up on. Facebook at least offers the interaction and immediate feedback.
Thanks for your thoughts! I agree, interacting with your social network can, and should, go beyond just what is happening within your organization. And yes, it's a good thing that the CLO isn't ONLY responding to TV shows on their Facebook account, and that they focus on one program rather than all the many musical theater-centric shows on TV. I still think this specific post could have been more clearly identified as a response to a TV show, but her follow up to all of the topics was great. Also, she and I continued to have a great exchange over email about Smash and social media marketing in the arts. While I don't watch Smash, I now have the CLO Facebook account to keep me up-to-date on it.
ReplyDeleteI know hashtags aren't relevant for Facebook, but maybe one like #NBCSmash could really have helped on the original CLO post. Just a quick thought.
DeleteEveryone made a great point and I totally agree that the use of social media doesn't have to be exclusive for on-going events or program related. As a follower of many arts organizations' Facebook pages, I see many unrelated (to programs or activities of that specific organization) postings just to engage the audience. I think it is a great way to get more people involved. It is like what we do with our friends. In this case, the CLO is a friend of ours that shares the same values and interests with us. As we don't only talk about school related topics just because we met that people at school, the conversation with the audience doesn't necessarily have to be about specific events of the organization. Instead, I think it is ideal to deepen the relationship by getting to know each other better from diverse conversations or activities. By expanding shared understanding and mutual interest areas, arts organizations can both successfully engage audience more and increase loyalty through consistent efforts.
ReplyDeleteThe Penguins playoff thread is a great example to show how to expand the area interests especially in relation to the arts. It's not just about arts or program itself, but anything around you can be the subject to talk about and to give a linkage to the art. And, sometimes, open question seems very effective, leading a more valuable discussion and brining insights from the audience perspectives that the organizations couldn't ever imagined but enormously insightful helpful them.
Great points everyone! I think social media is a great way for organizations to keep their name out there, especially when they don't have a current performance to focus on. Even if the conversation isn't focused on the organization specifically, it keeps the Organization's name in the heads of the people following their feed/page. It is a great way for them to stay relevant and interesting in the day to day grind and, for its followers, to create the habit of checking in.
ReplyDeleteI am more judgmental than perhaps I ought to be, but when an arts organization engages in discourse around a television show I associate my opinion of that show with that organization. I think that Katie is correct that PSO could have done a better job clarifying that the post was about Smash, but once I knew that PSO was using its wall a Smash chat forum I had a lowered opinion of PSO as an organization since I think that Smash is a relatively low-quality show. I am certainly not saying that we should never discuss content not directly related to our organizations. You have all made many good points about the utility of building conversation regardless of the medium. However, be aware that what you choose to talk about can have a very real impact on how you are perceived by potential audiences.
ReplyDeleteI think if an art organization only post the information about the events of the organization, audience will soon get bored. Some organizations are using social media just like they use their website, and they forget they are using social media for integration. Responding to TV shows or other media makes the organization's account more like a real person but not just a "cold" organization and will attract more attention and then involve more respondent.
ReplyDeleteI add several arts organizations' accounts on my Chinese social media, and I can tell those accounts that sometimes post something hilarious or respond to hot TV shows has much more followers than those accounts only post the events calendars. When the former ones post something about their events, they also have much more respondents than those "cold" accounts.