Being advertised at is easy to ignore. I barely glance at the right-hand side of Facebook now, and if you have tweeted about how amazing your product is, chances are I’ll have scrolled right on by. Twitter can be used as a marketing tool but you can’t treat it that way. The best Twitter campaigns will have your followers engaged without them even noticing... Below are the ones that stick in my mind, have you come across any other inspiring arts uses for Twitter?
Ask A Curator was a one day event that took place on September 1st 2010, in which members of the public could ask staff at art institutions all over the world a question on Twitter. Allowing yourself to be open to questions is an excellent way of engaging with your audience, be it customer service, letting people know a show is sold out, or when you’ll be available to work. On the other hand, why not ask your followers some questions? It could be a small bit of free market research for you. For example, “I’m doing a board report, can you help me and tweet me the most you have ever paid for a ticket and why?” to gauge how much to set ticket prices at. Don’t forget to follow this up and thank everyone for their help, either individually if you can or by just tweeting a note of thanks.
Such Tweet Sorrow was a project set up with help from the Channel 4 digital development fund that took place on Twitter last summer. Six actors from the RSC were set up with their own twitter accounts and for five weeks tweeted as their characters, giving a day-to-day account of their ‘lives’ which added up to the story of Romeo and Juliet. Be creative with your tweets; there are loads of twitter accounts out there that are set up just to tweet poetry or excerpts. Using your Twitter feed to post a picture of a piece you are working on, or to show us a behind the scenes shot of a set being put up could gain you some exposure. Your tweets can be your original art.
Twitter Competitions are a great way of engaging with your audience, and giving something back. Curzon Cinemas are currently asking for you to tweet your best Black Swan picture to win a goody bag. Think harder than just doing a ‘please re-tweet’ competition, as they for the most part annoy everyone involved and are terrifyingly close to spam. Try something that requires more participation: get followers to send in tag lines, pictures or ideas, and reward the best with prizes and recognition.
At the end of the last year the Big Arts Give, Save The Arts and I Value the Arts all gathered momentum on Twitter and have shown you can mobilise your followers into doing something in support of you. If you have a great cause, people will get behind it. It is as simple as that. Make sure you tell your followers about it!