[1st-mile-nm] Social Media and Arts .orgs Study

[Richard Lowenberg]

Study: 96 Percent of Arts Organizations Are Active On Social Media 
Networks

Devon Glenn on June 15, 2012

http://socialtimes.com/study-96-percent-of-arts-organizations-are-active-on-social-media-networks_b98673

Arts organizations operate in a gift economy, which is why so many of 
them are slow to adopt new technology.  A new study shows that social 
media sites have given nonprofits an inexpensive way to reach out to 
patrons and new audiences – in April 2011, 96 percent of arts 
organizations were active on at least one site.

Theatre Bay Area commissioned this study of 207 nonprofit arts and 
cultural organizations in different regions. Researched and written by 
Devon Smith, “The Tangled Web: Social Media and the Arts” is a 30-page 
document detailing how these organizations, which represent a wide range 
of budgets and disciplines, have fared in their experiments with social 
media.
	http://www.theatrebayarea.org/Programs/Theatre-Bay-Area-Datapoint.cfm

The study shows that social networking is a more effective way of 
engaging with audiences than just putting up a Website or blog. However, 
some platforms work better than others, and there is no 
one-size-fits-all solution for every organization.

 From the study:
•	All told, the 207 arts organizations in the study utilize over twenty 
other social networking platforms.
•	The average arts organization is active on three social networks 
(Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) and uploads 66 new pieces of content each 
month.
•	Facebook Pages that are updated multiple times per day, use a 
customized URL and feature a custom Welcome tab have more fans, who 
interact with the page more often, than those who do not.
•	Arts and cultural organizations that tweet more than four times per 
day and do not replicate Facebook content on their Twitter feed have 
more followers and a higher rate of engagement than others.
•	Venue pages on Yelp and Foursquare that have been claimed by an 
organization have more user engagement than those that have not.
•	Arts organizations who use a custom URL and a custom template for 
their blog have more engagement than those who do not, but overall blogs 
offer a very low rate of engagement regardless of format, structure or 
frequency.

New York’s Lincoln Center had 3, 716 Facebook likes at the time of the 
study in 2011. Since then, the network has grown to 8,372 likes. The 
organization is also active on networks like Foursquare, Yelp, and 
Twitter. In “From the Green Room,” an interactive map powered by 
Broadcastr, Lincoln Center asked several artists who have graced the 
stage (and the kitchen) with their talents what it’s like to perform at 
the venue, immortalizing their thoughts in clickable soundbites.

If you work in the arts and need inspiration, Smith’s document is a 
must-read. Especially helpful is the spreadsheet that lists the names 
and Web presences, with links, of every participating arts organization 
in the study.

The work was commissioned as part of the Leveraging Social Media series 
of workshops and granting program, and funded by the Wallace Foundation, 
Grants for the Arts, The San Francisco Foundation, The William and Flora 
Hewlett Foundation, and the Koret Foundation.





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Richard Lowenberg
1st-Mile Institute
Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-989-9110 / 505-603-5200
www.1st-mile.com   rl at 1st-mile.com
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