The other day, cultural organisations across the UK received generous grants as part of the £1.57 billion Cultural Recovery Fund. If you were one of the fortunate venues, festivals and more that secured funding, you’ll have a detailed roadmap of what to do next.
Whilst the core operational aspects of your business should be prioritised, you shouldn’t neglect your marketing activities. Maintaining a clear voice in these ever-changing times is more important than ever.
Whether your organisation is able to operate under the current guidelines or not, you should be laying the foundation for a communications strategy. One that restores consumer confidence, drives footfall and sells tickets when the time is right.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of our best resources on everything from social media strategy to real-life case studies of running live events during the pandemic.
1. Back to Business
The challenges of many industries have been well documented throughout the pandemic, but none more than the Live Events sector. Social distancing restrictions and a ban on large indoor gatherings has decimated an industry that, as you’ll know, contributes millions to the UK economy.
Greenwich Comedy Festival was a shining success story amidst these dark times, and E1MA were proud to play a part in it. In this article you can learn how we devised and executed a digital strategy that presented the festival as a safe, secure way to enjoy comedy. Through our efforts, the festival fully sold out in advance and put much-needed smiles on people’s faces.
You can also read about how we drove online bookings with pop-up restaurant Karma Cans, and our part in the re-opening of the UK’s No.1 social gaming experience – Platform.
2. E1MA’s Top 5 Tips for Marketing Venues
This may have been written just before the pandemic tightened its grip on the UK, but the tips inside are still relevant today. Your organisation can’t do much about the government’s social distancing guidelines. Instead, this guide focuses on what you can do to make your venue more appealing to potential customers.
Using our work with Phase, Platform and Noisily Festival as examples, we outline how to use photography to produce thumb-stopping social media feeds. We also emphasise the importance of consistent branding across your channels, and why micro-influencers are the best promotional vehicles you’ve never heard of.
Now more than ever, customers will be checking out your socials and websites before visiting. Make sure they’re in tip-top condition with this guide.
3. How to Sell Tickets to Your Event (Part 1 & Part 2)
This is technically two articles, but we have so much to say on the topic that we split it into two. Many cultural organisations are struggling financially. Whilst grants like the Cultural Recovery Fund temporarily alleviate these woes, ultimately your business will live or die based on how many patrons you can get through the door.
As we predicted in our ‘What’s Next For Music Venues’ piece, advance tickets are becoming increasingly important. These guides demonstrate how to harness the power of social media to drive ticket sales.
Part 1 focuses on organic, non-paid social. Using our clients We Are FSTVL and ByDay ByNight as examples, our goal is to gently nudge customers down the purchasing funnel towards conversion. We stress the importance of consistent posting and using an array of different content types to grab fans’ attention. Chatbots can be used to provide information and event updates directly. Website link best practices ensure the fans click-through to the ticket site.
Part 2 is all about paid social. Social media advertising can deliver incredible results if you know what you’re doing. We run through segmenting your target audience and establishing objectives to ensure your communications are seen by the right people at the right time.
The importance of creativity in advertising cannot be understated. Through our work with Platform we illustrate the power of eye-catching visuals and how to write copy that converts.
Finally, we explain techniques such as A/B testing and why you should be continually monitoring the performance of your campaign.
For more digital marketing insights, check out the rest of our blog. If you would like to find out how E1MA can transform your business, contact us for more information.
