Over the last two weeks we have seen a slew of announcements and public comments by Mark Zuckerberg and others at Meta that mark a significant shift in company practices designed to make its platforms more palatable to US President Donald Trump and other conservative commentators. Meta ended fact-checking on its platforms, softened its Hateful Conduct policy, wound back automated content filtering, appointed Republican-friendly personnel into key roles, made a US$1 million donation to Trump’s inauguration fund and the list of changes goes on.
Zuckerberg may think the decisions will not alienate users, but it looks as if many are starting to reconsider their use of the Meta platforms. Google searches related to closing Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts saw a 5000% increase in the 24 hours after the fact-checking announcement was made. Also up were searches for alternatives to the Meta platforms.
It is not yet clear if a mass exodus of Meta users will come to pass, but even if it doesn’t it draws into stark view how reliant on Meta’s tools arts brands have become. If their audiences go, there is no point investing marketing time and effort on content for Facebook, Instagram and Threads. If their audiences stay and arts brands opt to maintain their presence on those platforms, they will need to think carefully about whether this shift on fact-checking and the softening of hate speech rules aligns with their organisational values.
There is also a risk that an increase in hateful content and misinformation on the Meta platforms may adversely affect artists, arts organisations and arts funding agencies, as well as broader cross-sectoral messaging about the value of the arts. Right-wing sensationalist attacks on arts funding and organisations already exist, but may increase in propensity, especially where that content is intentionally politically charged because the content poster does not agree with the artistic subject matter or the identity of the artists involved.
If arts audiences do leave the Meta platforms, there are a number of things arts organisations can consider doing in response:
- Go where your audiences is going – Monitor where your audiences are going to find out about arts experiences. If you aren’t sure, ask them! Are they moving to social media alternatives such as Mastodon or Bluesky? Are they looking to arts news websites? This could be broad arts media outlets like ArtsHub and Limelight or art form specific outlets such as dance magazines and visual arts journals. If they are going to Google, could SEO (search engine optimisation) or SEA (search engine advertising) help them find out about your offers? Plus, there are lots of listings websites you can add your events to free of charge.
- Rethink your website – It may feel a bit 90s and early 2000s, but perhaps it is time to reframe your organisational website as a central hub in your marketing program. Take a concerted look at your current website; there is a good chance it is purely informational content. What would be needed to introduce more engaging content that rewards repeat visitation? We are a sector of storytellers – show it through more dynamic content, such as behind the scenes videos, Q&As with artistic talent and key staff or targeted landing pages that bundle together lots of content on an arts product.
- Level up your email marketing – Focus on growing your email subscriber base by proactively getting sign-ups. You could incentivise signing up with promises of discount codes, competitions and exclusive content. Is an option to subscribe built into the ticketing journey (making sure you comply with the Spam Act and the Privacy Act, of course!). Are you suggesting signing up in post-event communications? Then, as your list grows, segment it well so you can send targeted emails that give different subscribers the information they want to receive in exciting ways.
- Work on WOM – Find ways to incentivise WOM (word of mouth) because recommendations from friends, family and colleagues are still a powerful way to motivate people to go to arts experiences. The foundation of positive WOM is an amazing experience, so ensure what you are doing is quality, but also unique and memorable. Excellent customer service is also a must, so explore ways to further enhance it. Quality customer service training can ensure FOH (front of house) and other staff are always friendly, courteous and helpful. And regular marketing briefings can make sure they are knowledgeable and able to easily deliver key marketing messages about new arts products. You could also consider introducing a referral program or loyalty perks.
- Don’t pooh-pooh printed material – Posters and flyers in the local area can still be a helpful way to tell people about your arts offers, so don’t forget them. Can you distribute them to friendly local businesses, cafés, community centres or sporting facilities? What does it cost to have them letterbox dropped? How do you get them added to community noticeboards? Lots of local governments run public noticeboards; there is one at every Coles, Woolworths and IGA, and lots of shopping centres have them as well.
- Go pro with PR – When you are writing a media release, be concise, informative, engaging, clearly articulate your key messages quickly and prioritise the information you are sharing using the inverted pyramid writing structure. Go beyond just sending cold emails with attached PDFs to info@ email addresses; invest time and effort in building your relationships with journalists, bloggers and content makers who cover the arts, so you can directly pitch story and content ideas to them that align with their interests and coverage areas. When they do cover you, show them the relationship is reciprocal; share the story on your channels and email or call them to thank them for the coverage.
- Extend your cross-promotional reach – You are likely engaging in cross-promotion with other arts organisations already but take your cross-promo efforts further by reaching out to other local community organisations with which your audiences may be engaging. This could be health services, social clubs, industry associations, chambers of commerce, parent groups and more. Ask them to share messages with their community, but also be willing to support them through cross-promotion.
Ideally, arts brands have been cultivating a diversified portfolio of marketing channels that allow them to speak to their audiences. If you haven’t been, this may be the motivation you need to start doing it.
And remember…
We have experienced the impacts of not being able to rely on our Facebook Pages before – do you recall how many arts and community organisations were shut out during the Facebook news block? – but the sector didn’t learn from it. We should have been making our arts marketing more resilient then. Now we may not have a choice.
Whether you have been maintaining a range of marketing channels or you are about to start adding new ones to your marketing program, I hope arts marketers and their bosses are taking more notice of the fact that notions we hold dear – equity, inclusion, calling out social injustice, artistic freedom, social cohesion to name but a few – are not guaranteed on the platforms with which we align ourselves.
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