posted by Schwartz Media Strategies, Miami Florida Public Relations
Here at Schwartz Media Strategies, we’re big advocates of the strategic use of social media for communicating with key audiences, raising profile and visibility online, and engaging and creating a community around a brand. While social media isn’t for every organization, its power to advance nonprofits and other social causes cannot be understated.
Ask James Mintz, the architect of President Barack Obama’s social media fundraising campaign. He (along with a number of other experts) will be speaking at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts tomorrow, May 18th, at BOLDLY GO, a day-long seminar teaching nonprofits how to use social media to to raise money, build audience support and board development.
The Adrienne Arsht Center, a client of ours, is the perfect host for this seminar: the Center has had immense success implementing social media tactics to build community, drive attendance, and bring in donations, as detailed in the below excerpts from a South Florida Business Journal blog post by Susan R. Miller, entitled “The Power of Social Media for Nonprofits.”
“We knew we had done something right when, in the opening weekend, the No. 1 tweeted phrase in the metro Miami area was ‘Fuerza Bruta’ – second only to Britney Spears,” he said.
When Andrew Goldberg joined the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in August 2007, there was no one handling social media. Within two months, they had an e-commerce specialist and within six months they had no idea how they ever lived without that position.
“We now have a regular presence on MySpace, Facebook and really made our first entrance into Twitter last summer with ‘Fuerza Bruta’ – a cutting-edge show that transformed our ballet opera house,” said Goldberg, the center’s vice president of marketing. “We had more than 30,000 people come.”
They created a microsite for the show and had people post their own photos.
…Goldberg said social media is important for any nonprofit looking to reach out, not only to its existing supporters, but to new ones. And it doesn’t have to cost a lot.
“We paid $600 for our entire campaign for ‘The Color Purple’ on Facebook, but we had 1 million impressions,” he said. “It’s about frequency.”
The Arsht Center uses its social media in conjunction with its tried and true marketing efforts.
“It’s become an important part of the mix,” Goldberg said.
As a result, sales have increased and they have seen gradual growth in attendance and interest in the center.
The symposium, which includes lunch, costs $20, will be held at the John S. and James L. Knight Center Concert Hall from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information or to register, click here.
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