By Amanda Lima
That the cultural market is an extremely competitive universe, we already know. This results, of course, in a sequence of challenges to be faced by cultural producers of several artistic segments. Launching oneself in the market involves fighting for sponsorship, understanding and adapting to processes of the culture statute and, mostly, standing out in the crowd. In order to make a good cultural product reach its audience, there is nothing more essential than making good usage – understand “strategic” – of communication.
What is essential in such cases is, as obvious as it may seem, making sure you have a worthwhile product in hands, identifying which audience it communicates to and making the message reach them. For sure there are many resources to reach this goal, which involve music and executive production for example, but I will limit myself to mention three which I consider the most essential when we talk communication: public relations, social media and, above all, relationship.
Talk to the press
The first step to visibility is exploring the relevance and credibility of journalistic outlets, despite that not being the only strategy. After all, we are going to explore the notorious communication 360°, isn’t it? A big production is not worth much – independent or featuring great names – if it is not informed to the audience. What is challenging here is fighting for space in the culture media, which is, unfortunately, limited. Here is where the importance of constructing a good relationship resides, investing in unique and exclusive experiences. But we will come back to this point later.
Owing the communication
Cultivating a relationship – one more time the same topic – with a base of fans is essential to consolidate na image and digital presence of na artist. That is why it is so important keeping websites, social networks and other means always up to date. Here we remember the business card cliché: someone may search for your band, order a product on your social network first. Therefore one must be careful with the messages that are being transmitted: visual identity, updated dates of presentations, uniform and regular content are only a few key steps.
Have the relationship as a background
The magic happens when special moments and opportunities are provided for the base of fans as much as for the press. The differential in culture field, when we involve the whole work of communications, should not limit itself to musical quality, to the strength of a script, to a cast or to the irreverence of an exposition. All background and promotion project must be developed having the essence of the product as a base.
The secret is searching innovative ideas, that go way beyond sending press releases by e-mail or uploading a picture of a gig. Press kits, customized invitations, sweepstakes, campaigns, actions such as call to action on social media, lives, exclusive material, press conferences, pocket shows, etc. Within this universe of possibilities, it is the key to make that a good artist also have a good communication strategy.
Which other resources you consider important for the communication of artistic products? Leave a comment!
