Reflecting on How We Told Our Story

One year ago, Arts Council explored new ways of telling their story. As twelve months wraps up, we reflect on how our story telling has grown and envision how it can continue to grow.

Twelve months ago, marketing primarily supported programming and in-kind services. Marketing efforts now to promote what we do and demonstrate the value the Arts Council brings to our community and support long-term sustainability. Today, marketing supports all revenue-producing departments and mission-driven initiatives.

Highlights from the past year:

Strengthened storytelling.

We enriched our newsletters, expanded blog content, and utilized social media to showcase upcoming programming and the impact of our supporters. As a result, blog post views increased by 6.05%, contributing to stronger website engagement and search visibility.

We created a home for Arts Council news which you can see by clicking here.

We increased programming profitability.

Despite a 50% reduction in marketing staff, programming profit increased by 19.1% through more strategic, smart programming and efficient, collaborative marketing systems. Instead of focusing on paid ads targeting a wide, general audience, we invited the artists and producing organizations to communicate with specific communities that would be interested in their show.

View our upcoming events by clicking here.

We grew individual giving.

Through mailed marketing, we launched a membership-based fundraising initiative reigniting the spirit of 1949.

View the membership website page by clicking here.

Increased visibility without paying for it.

As every non-profit knows, every dollar is maximized. Therefore, when we choose the medium in which to share our story, we first consider what we can do for free. Social media is a fantastic platform for free marketing.

With strategic digital marketing practices, we revitalized how we told our story on social media. We created more engaging reels, collaborated with partners to expand our audience and created consistent content. Through these efforts, Instagram grew by 1,200 followers totaling 6,300, while Facebook grew by 791 followers totalling 8,100. Content interactions increased by 100%, with our best-performing content reaching 22,100 people organically.

Imagine reaching an audience of 22,100 people without paying for advertising!

We transformed how we market our venues.

We created a new venue rental website that goes beyond listing rental costs. It communicates the value and possibilities of our spaces while showing renters how their investment supports the arts community.

View our venue rental page by clicking here.

We created a stronger, more sustainable brand strategy.

We developed marketing pillars that guide our storytelling and reinforce key messages consistently. This framework creates greater continuity in how we communicate the Arts Council’s story over the long term.

We created an evergreen content library.

To strengthen our visual identity and create sustainable marketing assets, we launched an evergreen professional photography and video initiative.

These accomplishments aren’t just about numbers. They represent a shift in how marketing functions within the organization. Marketing can be a driver of sustainability by building audiences, support revenue, strengthen donor relationships, communicate impact, increase visibility, and create lasting value for an organization and the community it serves.

Goals for the Year Ahead

After reviewing a year's worth of analytics and reflecting on what worked well, we've identified priorities we'd like to focus on. We will be focusing on more clearly telling our story on various platforms in a way that engages the reader to learn more.

Thank you so much for being an avid reader and follower over the past twelve months. We look forward to coming up with new, fun ways to share our story and learning more about you and what you like to hear about.

Thank you for supporting the arts community!