Organizations often take the easy way out and measure what’s easy to count, such as visitor numbers for their Web sites. But those numbers won’t tell you what those visitors did with the information or content they found. According to the authors of the guide, “you’re ultimately trying to move an audience; therefore, getting feedback from the right source is crucial for a good evaluation.” The authors tell us to be specific when identifying the audience. Simply the “general public” or “young people” (a particular favorite among managers that jump in with social media efforts) is not acceptable. Narrow...
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The communications environment is in constant flux, which means that many things might change on the way to your goal. A typical communications plan looks ahead 12-18 months, which is a much shorter time frame than the five or ten year goal. However, a five or ten year goal informs your communications plan. The plan itself is more defined by your objectives. The authors of the guide see objectives as a series of benchmarks with a shorter time frame on the way to your goal, or as they write: “a few intermediate objectives that progressively lead to your goal.”...
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Even if you are evaluating tactical efforts, you will still need to define your goal. You ultimately are concerned about how well your message is disseminated, or you ultimately have a Facebook presence, for a strategic, overarching goal. Furthermore, the tired “raising awareness of your organization” is not acceptable. The authors ask: “why do I want people to know about my organization?” Behavior change is the ultimate behavioral goal and as the authors write: “when people start behaving differently, you have reached your goal.” The question is: what is the change your organization is trying to achieve over five...
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We have already determined that we’re evaluating social media efforts. But the question remains whether you are measuring a strategic initiative or a tactical effort. A strategic initiative might include aiming for behavior change (e.g. new communities to participate in classical music; one-time ticket buyers to return); a repositioning effort (e.g. going from an organization that purely presents performances to an organization that stands in the middle of the community); or brand awareness (e.g. earning the reputation of an innovative arts organization; earning the reputation of an arts organization for the community). A tactical effort might include evaluating how...
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This week, Drew McManus’ Take A Friend To the Orchestra 2010 kicked off on his Web site Adaptistration. I was invited to write a guest contribution this year and was immediately inspired by a book I was reading: Joseph Jaffe’s Flip the Funnel: How to Use Existing Customers to Gain New Ones. So, head over to Adaptistration and read my contribution: Flip the Funnel: moving from today’s toward tomorrow’s customer experience. Don’t forget to leave a comment to let us know your thoughts!
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The March/April issue of Symphony Magazine takes a look at social media and how orchestras around the country are using it. I was flattered to be contacted due to the Orchestras and Social Media Survey that was published around the article deadline. The main point I was trying to get across was that orchestras are in a unique position to be adept at social media, but currently they are not quite using the tools strategically. I hope that it came across that way. The article had a myriad of interesting examples and creative ideas. The New York Philharmonic’s photo...
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It’s not an exercise in vanity. It’s an exercise in learning. I started a Facebook Fan Page for this blog and I have roughly two objectives: to learn more about Facebook in terms of options, best practices and measuring, and to learn more about who is exactly reading this blog (and reading it enough to become a fan on Facebook). Beth Kanter’s Facebook Fan Page was the inspiration behind it all. Beth wrote a post on Facebook metrics, benchmarks and experiments last month (which I guess was inspired by a link I posted on her fan page!), that really...
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The whole world is watching Vancouver right now. Let’s hope the world also takes some time to check out the Vancouver Opera, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. When I published the findings from my Orchestras and Social Media Survey, no orchestra had indicated they had dedicated personnel for social media. Just a short while later, I came across Ling Chan, social media manager at the Vancouver Opera. Naturally, I was intrigued to find someone in a dedicated social media position at a classical music organization. Ling was gracious enough to answer a couple of questions during...
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I started my third course in the Integrated Marketing Certificate program today with Doug Dome’s “Managing Integrated Marketing Communications.” Coincidentally, I went on a field trip to Doug’s company Dome Communications somewhere in 2003 or 2004 when I was studying marketing communications at Columbia College. A lot has happened since, including Dome Communications being bought by Hill & Knowlton, but most importantly the manifestation of the shift in the media and marketing environment (which is why I went back to school in the first place). Two things in this first class sparked my memory of previous blog posts. Doug...
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The Philadelphia Orchestra’s new marketing slogan “Unexpect Yourself” has come under fire throughout the media and blogosphere. Karen Heller of the Philadelphia Inquirer blasts the campaign. Although, I don’t agree that this is “the dumbing down of music that elevates the soul,” the latter part of that phrase is itself an expected and tired marketing phrase, I do remain very confused about the campaign and the accompanying micro site. I can’t seem to find the answer to “what’s in it for me?” The only actions you can take are buying tickets (but why would I?), signing up for the...
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When I started writing this, I discovered Google’s Ten Things. You’ll see some of it in the following post. Data Google’s business is data. Google’s mission is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” But Google doesn’t do that to be nice. It makes them money. Tons of money. John Battelle, author of The Search, calls search a “Database of Intentions,” which he defines as the “total of all queries that pour into search engines daily.” Through these queries, Google knows what’s on people’s mind; they know what people want, and that’s powerful stuff....
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