Purpose of Social Media in the American Orchestra Field - Part 1 - Introduction

While Web 2.0 applications, also known as social media, have gained traction in arts marketing, researchers are still determining their functions as well as factors for success.  This paper will define what is presently happening among practitioners and then suggest strategies rooted in the stated objectives of American orchestras.  Participation and awareness of social media can be tracked via simple usage statistics.  However, more research is needed to determine how these factors translate into the bottom line of attendance and donations for non-profit arts organizations.  While the initial sections of this paper introduce quantitative findings of a specific survey focusing on American orchestras, a review of the relevant literature includes some of the techniques for Web 2.0 applications that are showing definitive, positive results.  To determine the definition of success in social media, the literature review findings are compared with the quantitative data collected through the survey.  These findings are discussed in the recommendations section of this paper.  

Media is an instrument of communication.  Examples of common media would be newspaper or radio.  The difference in social media is it is a social instrument of communication with a more direct connection with the intended audience.  Regular media is a one-way street where an individual can read a newspaper or listen to a report on television, but that individual has very limited ability to give thoughts on the matter.  Social media is a two-way street that gives the consumer the ability to communicate back to the organization.  Examples of Web 2.0 applications are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest, MySpace, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Bebo and other blog sites, MeetUp, Google+, Plaxo, Flixster, among many other sites that foster communication among participants.  Commonly mistaken for social media but not Web 2.0 applications are websites and e-blasts.  Websites and e-blasts are useful tools that can help link recipients to Web 2.0 applications but on their own they are only mechanisms that give information but do not receive it.  As defined above, if an information source only relays news in a one-way fashion, it is not social media.

The literature review provides information which addresses these issues and raises further questions requiring continued investigation as new technologies emerge, adapt, and change.  The literature addresses such questions as: What is success in Web 2.0 applications / social media as used by non-profit arts organizations?  Are arts organizations using Web 2.0 applications for the purpose of increasing participation or just to enhance awareness?  Is the primary goal awareness or participation?  How should social media translate into financial benefits for an arts non-profit organization?  What strategies are proven to show positive results for arts non-profit organizations?  Conversely, what are ineffective Web 2.0 practices?

These questions are important.  The answers will establish clear definitions of success for awareness, participation, and financial gains.  Success must be defined to show how awareness and participation in social media translate into financial gains.  From understanding this concept, it will bring forth the examination of strategies for behavior and use of Web 2.0 applications which are currently being employed by arts non-profit organizations, to understand which of these strategies are effective and which are not.

This review addresses: (1) various discussions on how general marketing strategies are changing with the increased uses of Web 2.0 applications; (2) specific strategies being recommended for non-profit arts organizations; and (3) examples from the field including articles describing efforts and comparisons / critiques of several specific social media sites.

The use of Web 2.0 applications is an emerging marketing technology that, if applied effectively to arts non-profit organizations, will deliver maximum impact with minimum cost.  As arts administrators utilize Web 2.0 applications they create large scale market presence, awareness, and participation opportunities that generate expanding revenue sources. 

The most significant limitation of this study is that Web 2.0 applications are a new and emerging field.  Therefore the study is confined to the state of the field at the time in which the research is conducted.  Additionally, while the strategies defined in this paper are currently proven to be successful in various ways, these strategies will continue to evolve.  The thesis will still be valid as a source for current day practices and could later become an example of best used strategies during a specific time period.

A word about potential confirmation bias which comes from a decade of working with symphony orchestras; while I begin this project with an open mind, I expect to find that social media is most effective when word of mouth strategies are applied online, there are specific known objectives and methods of postings, and when an organization markets itself with a personality with which their audience can identify.  I believe that frequency and levels of activity also affect measures of success.