I was reading another article about the classical music woes. The author feels that if we shift money into music education programs, we will build an audience again.
Think about the countless studies that have mentioned that many people attend the arts because it was a part of their background. Yes, building future arts lovers via arts education funding is necessary, yet, we have not done the best job of reaching out to the people that already have the arts background. We can do this by connecting with particular alumni groups!
Let’s be honest, raise your hand if you seriously work with alumni groups, especially the arts alumni groups that might exist. I am not simply talking about college, but high school, arts camps, etc. The arts experience is binding, and I am willing to bet there are groups of people that are still connected via these past groups. For instance, I am part of a Facebook group for my music camp. I am sure there are other groups out there for drama clubs, visual arts camps, and more.
It is few and far between when I see a good effort going toward building relationships with these groups. Sometimes there might be a member among your staff, and then a group gets approached, but you can still work at connecting with these groups whether or not you know someone off the bat.
Many of these groups enjoy receiving discounts that they can pass on to their members. They want their members to feel special so this is yet another way to spice up their lives, with the arts!
These artsy alumni groups are a built in audience for you! Why not take the time to connect with them, build a relationship, and grow your audience with people that would already love what you do. It’s another no-brainer audience building solution that we have yet to tap.
Cheers to happy and loyal audiences,
Shoshana
Shoshana Fanizza
Chief Audience Builder, ADS
