Social Media Sponsorships in the Performing Arts

A recent study done by social media advertising company IZEA shows that blog posts and videos have the highest value for marketers and publishers. As the market for social media continue to grow, it is not surprising to see that marketer are showing more interests social media sponsorship. According to the study, only 23.2% of the marketers have sponsored an online video, but 50.2% said they would use such a social media sponsorship. Moreover, of all the elements such as quality and sentiment of content, cost-per-click, shares, cost per acquisition and more, quality of a post was the most important measure of success: 80% of respondents saying it was very important or important.

In addition to the activities presented above, there is also a monetary value on the different types of social media sponsorships. Blog posts and videos were the mentions with the most value, calculated to be $114.71 and $112.46, respectively.

As a marketer for classical music and performing arts organizations, the message above shows some opportunities for the market I am interested in. Most major orchestras, opera houses, and music festivals do have some type of online presence such as Facebook, twitter, and many organizations have their own Youtube channel. Given the nature of the product, Youtube has been an effective tool for audience to learn more about the orchestras, artists, and the performances in a “less intimidating” setting (new concert goers do find it uncomfortable and “awkward” being in the concert hall when first going to concerts). However all these tactics only target people who are already aware or interested in the shows, those who are not aware or have not yet had a chance to be introduced by performing arts or classical music are still remain untargeted. Social media sponsorships on blog posts and videos are actually great means for this particular sector because many organizations already their Youtube channel with high quality clips of the performances. While most online ads for the majority of the performing arts organizations remain “pictures or words only”, maybe it is time to think about putting videos out there—a more direct way to introduce the product to those who only surf on web.