Market Research

Tik Tok is a rapidly growing social media platform that is known for its short-form videos and viral trends. It has quickly become a powerful marketing tool for arts organizations looking to reach younger audiences and promote their events and programs. In this post, we’ll cover some tips for using Tik Tok in arts marketing.

1. Understand the platform

Before diving into Tik Tok, it’s important to understand the platform and its audience. Tik Tok is primarily used by younger generations, with the majority of its users under the age of 30. The platform is known for its short, engaging videos that often feature music and dance. Keeping this in mind, it’s important to create content that will appeal to this demographic and align with the platform’s trends.

2. Create a Tik Tok account

To get started with Tik Tok, you’ll need to create an account. This is a straightforward process that can be done using your email address, phone number, or social media accounts. Once your account is set up, you can start exploring the platform and getting familiar with its features.

3. Research trending hashtags and challenges

One of the keys to success on Tik Tok is participating in trending hashtags and challenges. These are popular themes or activities that many users are engaging with, and they can help your content gain visibility and traction. Research the current trending hashtags and challenges and find ways to incorporate them into your content.

4. Keep your content short and engaging

As mentioned, Tik Tok is all about short-form videos, so it’s important to keep your content concise and engaging. Try to keep your videos under 60 seconds and make sure they have a clear and compelling message. Consider using music and dance to make your videos more dynamic and memorable.

5. Promote your events and programs

Tik Tok can be a powerful tool for promoting your events and programs. Consider creating short videos that showcase your upcoming events or programs, and use hashtags to help them gain visibility. You can also collaborate with influencers or other organizations to reach a wider audience.

6. Engage with your audience

Like all social media platforms, Tik Tok is a two-way street. Engage with your audience by responding to comments and messages, and consider creating content that encourages interaction and participation. This can help you build a loyal following and establish yourself as a leader in your industry.

In conclusion, Tik Tok is a powerful marketing tool for arts organizations looking to reach younger audiences and promote their events and programs. By understanding the platform, creating engaging content, and participating in trending hashtags and challenges, you can successfully use Tik Tok to boost your arts marketing efforts.

Contact Arts Marketing Australia to find out more

Australia Council invests in performing arts tours across Australia from 2022 onwards

Australian audiences can look forward to a raft of exciting performing arts touring to their local areas once live performance resumes.

If you need marketing help, contact Arts Marketing Australia

The investment of almost $3 million ($2,963,941) delivered through Playing Australia will support performing arts to tour nationally, including to audiences in regional and remote areas, with tours scheduled from 2022.

A theatre adaptation of the children’s picture book Guess How Much I Love You, and a reimagining of a voyage by Charles Darwin – with puppets – are among the diverse range of arts experiences supported.

The Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher said the Playing Australia program is helping more Australians enjoy the performing arts, especially those who live in regional and remote communities.

“These grants deliver on our commitment to make arts and culture accessible to all Australians. Touring by our performing arts companies contributes to the vibrancy of communities across the country as well as generating economic activity in regional centres and towns,” Minister Fletcher said.

“As the vaccine rollout continues at a strong pace, it’s important that our arts touring sector is primed to restart when permitted to do so.”

Australia Council Executive Director of Arts Investment Alice Nash said:

“Touring is key to ensuring a diverse and thriving sector, for artists and their audiences, and this will be particularly important following the disruption of COVID-19.

The Federal Government’s additional investment of $5 million over two years towards Playing Australia has allowed us to support an even greater number of performances for the benefit of audiences right across Australia.”

The latest investment through Playing Australia will support 13 projects:

• CDP Theatre Producers Pty Ltd will take its Australian adaptation of the much-loved picture book Guess How Much I Love You to 30 venues across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and ACT. The children’s theatre company will use puppetry, movement and music to bring this gentle story of growing up to life on stage for children aged 3 and over, as well as their families and education audiences.
• arTour will present shake & stir’s theatre adaption of Jane Eyre – a faithful yet fiercely original gothic tale of the spirited orphan Jane in search of love, family and a sense of belonging. It features original music, written and performed by multi-ARIA Award winner Sarah McLeod. The tour is set to visit 40 venues across. New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, ACT, Tasmania and Western Australia.
• Woodfordia Inc Small Halls Tour will travel across Western Australia with performances featuring Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse and Jack Davies, who bring incandescent vocals, guitar brilliance and rare Noongar language to their audiences.
• Dance Makers Collective will bring The Rivoli to regional locations across Australia. The Rivoli is an immersive dance theatre production inspired by the dance hall era of the 1950s-70s. The tour includes 90% regional locations, including community halls across Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, delivering 22 performances to audiences of more than 3,300.
• Dead Puppet Society is set to tour its critically acclaimed visual theatre production The Wider Earth to five states (QLD, NT, ACT, NSW, TAS) including more than 60 performances including at least 35 in regional locations, as well as workshops and professional development opportunities for regional creatives.
• HIT Productions Pty Ltd will tour its production of Ray Lawler’s Summer of the Seventeenth Doll directed by Denny Lawrence to 24 locations during 2022, including 19 regional and remote locations in VIC, NSW & QLD. The tour is set to culminate with special shows in the QLD cane fields, areas made famous by the play & which are vital, thematic parts of this enduring story.
• HIT Productions Pty Ltd will tour its production of the award winning First Nations Musical play The Sunshine Club, Book & Lyrics by Wesley Enoch AM, Music by John Rodgers, Directed by Wesley Enoch The production will travel to 16 locations across WA and SA (including 12 regional and remote) in 2023.
• Contemporary Asian Australian Performance Inc will tour its ambitious, large-scale work, Double Delicious, to regional locations across New South Wales, Victoria, Northern Territory and Queensland. The work aims to empower and inspire its audiences to value culturally diverse community members and migrant stories. Image from Website.
• Lewis Major Projects will bring its innovative, collaborative and highly flexible double-bill dance work ‘Unfolding and Satori’ to regional audiences alongside extensive engagement activity for local communities, including Whyalla, Renmark, Mount Gambier and Frankston.
• 

Reference: Australia Council Press Release 15/9/21

When arts companies are devising a site the accessibility to smartphone and tablet platforms is central. If companies are advertising, they need to address mobile platforms.

This is the trend in the US, and with Australians loving mobile technology its happening here too.

The eMarketer company highlights this issue.

eMarketer estimates that daily time spent by US adults with mobile devices—specifically smartphones and tablets—exceeded that spent with PCs for the first time in 2013.  Now, in 2014, marketers and sellers are finally forced to reckon with a world of “always on” mobile consumers. As a result, mobile ad spending will more than double in 2014, topping 30% of digital ad spending.

Companies need to consider this is all advertising plans.

I recently came across a 2012 report by Arts Victoria on the state on the importance of marketing to arts companies they work with. I have the repeated the bulk of that report below. What I would note is that these companies recognise they need to spend more on marketing, just don’t have the funds.  Arts Marketing Australia has the freelance solution these arts companies need.

MARKETING AND PROMOTION INITIATIVES

Respondents were asked to rate the importance of marketing and publicity for their organisation or arts practice.
• Almost nine in ten respondents (89%) rated marketing and publicity as important or veryimportant for their organisation or arts practice. A further 7% rated it somewhat important.
• Only 3% rated marketing and publicity as not very important or not at all important for their organisation or arts practice.

They then asked about the forms of media respondents used to promote their work:
• Over three quarters (78%) specified public relations which includes media releases and media coverage.
• Three quarters of respondents (76%) also selected printed material including posters and flyers.
• Around two thirds of respondents (64%) use advertising through digital (59%), print (52%), radio (35%) or TV(10%).
• 59% said they used direct mail, including e-mail (57%) and post (28%).
• Respondents were then asked to rate the effectiveness of their marketing and to tell us what they thought would increase the effectiveness of their marketing. Of the 398 respondents that indicated they had a marketing campaign:
• 45% thought their marketing was effective or very effective and a further 45% said their marketing was adequate. 8% of respondents considered their marketing to be not very effective, while 2% said they didn’t know.
• Over half of respondents (55%) said that an increased marketing budget would be the top measure that would increase the effectiveness of their marketing campaign.
• Skills/expertise/capability was given as the top response by 19% of respondents
• Sharing networks/contact was the top response for 18% of respondents

Following my analysis of Facebook and Twitter I decided to examine the YouTube usage of these major companies.

I decided a long period of analysis was needed for the videos as they might take longer produce than Facebook or Twitter posts.

I looked at the period from May 1, 2013 up until June 26 2013. The survey was completed on 27 June 2013.

As with all social media analysis, I invite the respective companies to examine their usage themselves as figures can change on a moment by moment basis.

I decided to have a look at the twitter activity of the major performing arts companies. I have recorded the twitter activity in the 10 days between 10-24 June 2013. The interactions include replies, retweets, favourited tweets. The information was gathered on 26 June 2013.

This post follows my presentation of facebook usage.

I decided to do a survey of the major arts companies Facebook interactions. The list of companies comes from the Australia Council’s website. “These companies must meet a range of criteria, including the demonstration of the highest artistic standards, a sizeable audience base and having a minimum average income of more than $1.6 million over the previous three-year period.”

My survey was conducted on 25 June 2013 of the public Facebook pages of the companies. The posts are public posts by the respective companies. The interactions are a vital figure and include post likes, shares and comments within the 10 day period of 14 – 24 June 2013.

These figures are purely a snapshot of activity at this point. Because of the fluidity of social media posts the figures may contain an element of changeability and I invite companies to do further analysis.

The interactions are an important figure as I have examined in my blog post on audience engagement.

*I have combined the Queensland Theatre Company Facebook page with the Queensland Theatre Greenhouse page.

# I have not included the SDC Studios Facebook page which had 10 930 likes, no posts and no interactions.