This week, James Dale (managing director) and Ben Bunce (strategy director) of SINE Digital, met with an international group of arts leaders. We convened to dig deeper into what it means to run GOOD digital campaigns. There was a strong focus on social – where nearly all organizations are connecting with and attracting new audiences. Here are a few key takeaways (the details of which are nuanced and important, and best shared with by our colleagues at SINE, you can reach them HERE but these are a good start).
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Turf wars. There are three big data companies
whose philosophies and territorialism will impact the ways you can
(and should) set up your campaigns. From Apple’s changes in
iOS, to likely shifts in Google’s policies, and the massive
market share Facebook holds, you’ve got to optimize your
campaigns now to clear current hurdles and anticipate new ones.
This includes how you set up your Facebook tracking – use
all 8 events, and come up with a platform you can stick with
– changes can result in data loss for a few days.
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All campaigns should create CONVERSIONS. If you
(or your agency) is separating “brand” spend from
“sales” spend, stop. Everything you spend,
particularly with limited resources and staff, must be designed to
create ACTION from your customers. Register, buy, subscribe, give
– let’s measure success in activity in your database
not on your social pages (likes, shares, comments).
Optimize for conversions, not impressions. EVERY
time. The one exception here is if you have an event or product that
sells itself – the most amazing blockbuster you can imagine.
Then go full bore on brand spends – but let’s be
realistic, how often is that the case?
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Digital can and should talk to different people
differently.
Yes, segment your digital campaigns. If you serve, or seek to
serve, audiences that don’t all behave similarly and have
the same values, then why aren’t your digital campaigns
reflective of that? Likely because of scarce resources, short
timelines and limited capacity for building content. I get it. And
yet, I strongly recommend investing here—you’ll learn
more about what’s working (and for whom!) in your
acquisition campaigns after just a few months of segmenting your
digital appeals.
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Digital marketing can’t stop with ads. Your
WEBSITE is as important, likely MORE important, than your
advertising assets. If you’ve created thoughtful, engaging,
digital acquisition campaigns that speak authentically to
different audiences, but then they all land on the same page and
buying a ticket takes 2-clicks too many, you’ve lost a sale
from a previously enthusiastic buyer. Consider having multiple
landing pages for an event that speak to different key segments.
Family buyers and life-long Star Wars fans might both be
interested in your John Williams concert – but are they
coming for the same reasons? Likely not. Tailor your website
accordingly.
- Test it. You’ve heard this from us, and we heard it from SINE – test your campaigns and be ready to change course when it isn’t going as planned. Increase spend, change spend, build new assets, adjust your calls to action, or tweak segmentation. The biggest benefit to digital campaigns is the robust data you can collect – immediately after you launch. Data will help you make smart decisions that have positive impacts to your budget, revenues and patron relationships. Use the data! Analyze it and plan accordingly for what you’ll do differently next time. If we don’t learn from and act on all the AMAZING data we collect, then who needs it?
Running a good, a GREAT, digital campaign is a lot. And you’re already doing a lot. But if you have questions about your audiences, goals to change who’s coming, and a necessity for successful acquisition campaigns this year – then digital is worth prioritizing. Take something else off your list, and move digital strategy and measurement to the top.
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