The ever-increasing
participation of users on social media sites has expanded the reach of
individuals and organizations alike that target niche audiences. Social media
sites have given users a way to bridge the gap between themselves and their
intended audience. Now, niche audiences, such as art enthusiasts, don’t seem so
far out of reach. Individual artists and art institutions such as galleries and
museums are taking advantage of “using
the internet, social media, and mobile apps to draw in and engage audiences,
provide deeper context around art, and disseminate their work” beyond the walls
of the studio, museum, and gallery according to a study conducted by the Pew
Research Center (Thomson).
The purpose
of this study was to “understand how arts organizations are using the internet,
social media, and other digital technologies to connect with the public…[and]
focused specifically on how arts organizations are navigating the changing
technological landscape (Thomson). According to the survey results, the
increased digitalization of the arts through social media seems to be a double
edged sword: it has presented many challenges for art organizations, like the
notion that “all digital content should be free”, but the benefits are also
clear that “technology and social media have made art a more participatory
experience (92% agree), and that they have helped make art audiences more
diverse (83% agree)” (Thomson).
One of
the trends seeming to correlate with the availability of niche audiences
through social media is that social media sites are moving toward specialty
functions, able to be tailored specifically to its user. In Media Post News Mark Walsh reports that “growth
in social media…is shifting to single-purpose or messaging apps” meaning that
users are favoring content specific apps, such as Instagram, over sites
offering more comprehensive options like Facebook. The photo-sharing, and now
video enabled, Instagram was the fastest growing app among the top 10 in 2013.
Instagram’s app audience surged 66% rising to 32 million last year, according
to Nielsen data (Walsh).
It
seems to that this favoring of the image centered Instagram over its parent
company Facebook sends a strong message about social media sites telling us
what users like and what they find cumbersome. This message is clear: on social
media, images are king. The same can be
said in the art world, and this may be why the two are so compatible. Below is
an example of an art gallery’s Instagram page where their art is displayed and
links to further information are provided:
Highly
visual, content specific social media sites such as Instagram, Pinterest, and
Tumblr are effective channels for artists and art organizations alike to disseminate
art to their intended audiences. In an article in Ad Age, Cotton Delo recognizes that while Tumblr “hasn't yet attained the primacy of a Facebook or Twitter
in most marketers' social-media toolkits, it is catching on with fashion
retailers and media outlets that connect with its highly visual method of
storytelling.” Aesthetics mean a lot to art and fashion enthusiasts alike, so
it is no surprise that their messages are more effective on the social media
sites that are the most visually engaging.
Delo’s article also focuses on the
differences in presentation of content on social media sites. In regard to
Tumblr, Philip Leif Bjerknes, digital director for the New York agency All Day
Every Day says, "I think you can communicate in a very rich way for your
audience -- in a way that seems much more in brand and in character than a
Twitter or a Facebook." The ability of sites such as Tumblr to give your
work or your messages a personality is important for those in the art world.
Rather that on Facebook or Twitter where the message itself the most important,
on sites like Tumblr, Instagram, or Pinterest, the image is the message. And
this is what attracts the niche markets of art and fashion.
Mr. Bjerknes also noted that
Tumblr doesn't have a rich analytics suite like Facebook, but brands can track
the number of likes and reblogs, as well as their total followers, to see what
goes viral. Here is where Pinterest has a leg up on Tumblr. In another article
Delo notes that Pinterest has become “more measurable to brands and bloggers alike by launching web
analytics that shed light on how images shared there resonate with users.”
“Pinterest's new
analytics tool lets accounts track how many people have pinned content from
their sites, how many people have visited their sites from Pinterest, and how
many Pinterest impressions their content has generated. It will also show a
selection of the most recent pins captured from their site and the content
that's been re-pinned and clicked on the most within Pinterest” (Delo). This analytic system is highly valuable to
those targeting niche markets because it gives them a more detailed view of
what is popular with users so that they can stay up to date with the tastes of
their audiences. Now, artists and art institutions can consider the tastes of
their audiences more than ever before.
Works Cited:
Delo, Cotton. "Pinterest Launches Web Analytic to Track
Popular Content." Advertising Age. 12 March 2013. Web.
Delo, Cotton. " Which Marketers Should (and
Shouldn't) Tap Social-Media Darling Tumblr." Advertising Age. 29 August 2011. Web.
Thomson,
Kristin, Kristen Purcell, and Lee Rainie. "Arts Organizations and Digital
Technologies." Pew Internet
& American Life Project. Pew Research Center, 4 Jan. 2013. Web.
Walsh, Mark. "Instagram Fastest-Growing App Among Top 10 In
2013." Media Post News. 17 Jan. 2014. Web.
It seems logical that art galleries would follow in the footsteps of their well-dressed sibling, fashion. Many fashion brands, whether it’s an actual designer or a PR team, realized early in the media game that apps like Instagram and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook would be beneficial to them, especially from a sales standpoint. I agree with your assertion that it’s based on visuals, it totally is and there is good reason for that. The point is to engage with the consumer. When you go shopping, you want to see the product and understand it. Retailers discovered that the issue with just an image was that people couldn’t touch it, so the solution was to create a video, primarily because it showed the garment being worn or described, and thus you saw how it moved or what it was comprised of. Galleries have employed the same tactic by taking pictures of art or an exhibit, and in doing so entice people to their gallery. I know from a recent experience that it works, as well. The Gagosian Gallery is currently having a showing of Victoire de Castellane’s jewelry in New York and has employed social media to garner attention for the exhibit. I’m a huge fan of de Castellane’s work, but she isn’t as well known as say a jeweler like Tiffany or Harry Winston because she works behind the scenes at Dior as director of their high jewelry collection. The Gagosian posted amazing images of the exhibit both to their Instagram and website in hopes to persuade people to come to the show, and so far it seems to have gotten the exhibit, which is also a sale, a lot of attention within the art world press, meaning that it moved past the fashion perimeters of retail. Interestingly, it even showed up on a fashion magazines Tumblr page.
ReplyDeleteWhat I also find interesting is that people don’t want crazy, wordy reviews. They basically just want a picture so they can come to their own conclusions and then decide on their own if an exhibit or article of clothing is for them. As Mark Walsh notes in his article on the success of Instagram, we are now shifting into a world of “single-purpose or messaging apps, including Instagram, Snapchat, Whatsapp, Whisper and others” that rely on one focal point to convey a particular message. Like the link to the Instagram account of the art gallery you posted, that features a single work of art with only a brief description, it really drives the point of the gallery home: we have interesting art and we are virtually inviting you into our space. If you like what you see on our Instagram account, imagine what you’ll find inside the rest of the gallery.
Another important point you brought up is knowing what content could entice new users while catering to what your existing followers want to see. I think with the addition of analytics to Pinterest, and eventually other apps, could lead to really specific and well tailored content generated for users and followers. As Cotton Delo suggest in Advertising Age, it’s all about “content strategy”: knowing what your customer wants and then giving it to them. It lets the organizations become that more engaged within the users life, reaching out to them in cyberspace to sell them an article of clothing or show them what they can see at a gallery. That concept, especially with regard to an art gallery, seems vastly interesting and that with regard to the future, there is a lot of potential for growth. What I really liked about your blog is that you taught me something totally new. I knew a lot of retailers do this, primarily because I do this where I work, but I had no clue that museums were also using similar tactics! Very interesting!
Goegre Fracasse
Works Cited:
Delo, Cotton. "Pinterest Launches Web Analytic to Track Popular Content." Advertising Age. 12 March 2013. Web.
Walsh, Mark. "Instagram Fastest-Growing App Among Top 10 In 2013." Media Post News. 17 Jan. 2014. Web.
I think you touch on some very interesting points in your blog post, Jessica. For one, niche media is seemingly becoming a social norm as companies now have the ability to track the demographics of who uses their sites with free tools such as Google Analytics. This gives these companies increased control over finding their exact target market and directly reaching them via the information they have amassed through analytics or big data. Even more so when it comes to social media as these platforms have lists of their fans created for them in followers, likes, etc.
ReplyDeletePinterest has been able to capitalize on this more so than any social network in the past year through their new analytics tool. This allows company accounts to track everything from who pinned their content, who glanced at it, to if that resulted in a purchase. Cotton Delo writes, "Cat Lee, Pinterest's product manager for platform, said the idea is to help brands with their content strategy. Now they can see which pins are popular on a given day, for example, and highlight those on their website to juice Pinterest sharing even further" (Delo). Not only is this tool helping companies posting on the network, but it is also driving traffic to Pinterest to find the best deals. This verifies the value Pinterest serves to advertisers/marketers, resulting in increased use of the service. Cat Lee delved further into this, "There will continue to be a need for the companies that provide an even deeper level of services for businesses" (Delo). Pinterest's analytical tool allows companies for find their target audience, target them directly, and reap the benefits of more sales, which ultimately results in an increased bottom line.
Another company that had a stellar year is Instagram and I found an article from Fast Company illustrating why; "Facebook photo posts get 39% more interaction and shorter posts get 23% more interaction" (Cooper). Simplicity in king in most industries, especially social media. Marketers have figured out how to get their audience most engaged on the behemoth in Facebook and Twitter. In turn, Instagram and Pinterest have capitalized off of that success through offering services dominated by pictures and short messages. I strongly believe this is why they have been able to grow at such impressive rates over the past year. As Mark Walsh puts it in Media Post, "Facebook had easily the largest U.S. audience of any app, with traffic up 27% from 2012. But that growth rate paled in comparison to Instagram -- acquired by the social network in 2012 for $1 billion -- which saw its app audience surge 66%" Facebook had become too complex and confusing for some users and needed a way to simplify their product. It was simple, purchase Instagram. Instagram is a company that takes the most interactive part of Facebook, photos, and capitalizes on it as their central product. It is simple to use and allows the user to produce content or use the service mindlessly.
Dylan Zucosky
Works Cited
Cooper, Belle. "7 Powerful Facebook Statistics You Should Know About | Fast Company | Business + Innovation." Fast Company. N.p., 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
Delo, Cotton. "Pinterest Launches Web Analytic to Track Popular Content." Advertising Age. 12 March 2013. Web.
Walsh, Mark. "Instagram Fastest-Growing App Among Top 10 In 2013." Media Post News. 17 Jan. 2014. Web.
This is a very interesting topic that i have never really thought about before. Every single say i go on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest and for what? Pictures. That is the entire point. Who went where, and who's with who, and how many likes each picture obtained is a major reason people are attracted the the sites. It stems away from the traditional museum or gallery which people nowadays might not really have time to get to during their busy schedules.
ReplyDeleteIt is also not instantaneous and once you leave you cannot revisit the image unless you make the trip all the way back to the gallery.
The content specific apps like Instagram allow people in a way to interact with art and images in their own way, such as using filters and editing, and look at art Instagram accounts to be inspired as well. While Instagram is still in competition with Facebook for the number 1 spot, we cannot overlook the fact that Instagram’s audience increased to 66% to 32 million last year (Walsh). While Facebook is still in the lead, i think Instagram is more popular within niche audiences. However, i also think they really cannot be compared under the same lens. Facebook is for sharing hundreds of pictures by posting “albums.” With Instagram, it is made to be a smaller scale photo sharing app with you really only posting one picture per day. (Anyone who posts more than one unless its your birthday, a holiday, a puppy, or any other really good excuse is putting yourself on the social suicide chopping block!). We also have to remember there are larger demographics and users on Facebook, which further alters data. If the two were not so different, i think there would be a very close competition for the number one spot.
As far as Pinterest goes with appealing to fashion enthusiasts, this is completely true and a huge trend. Tumblr, while exhibiting its “visual storytelling” is far more chaotic and random than the ever-popular Pinterest. This is enforced as you mentioned with Bjerknes, explaining that Tumblr does not have rich analytics. Pinterest is far more appealing in my personal opinion, with very neat, clear cut storyboard type layout. It is easy to get to boards, follow individual pins, boards, people, and fashion accounts in a measurable way. I think Pinterest is one of the most useful social media sites out there. Cat Lee, Pinterest’s product manager explained the Pinterest was designed with the idea in mind to, “help brands specifically with their content strategy and an opportunity for startups that can do custom integrations with brands.”(Delo) I think that the mere idea that they did such great planning of what they wanted to achieve with the site is what made it so successful. Pinterest is interesting because it really focuses on helping these small businesses. It is very smart of them to charge big companies for their analytics to keep in the league, but also stay small enough that it appeals to the die-hard niche users. Its the worst when a site gets too big that it starts to become overwhelming, such as Facebook.
Arianna Paluzzi
Works Cited:
Walsh, Mark. "Instagram Fastest-Growing App Among Top 10 In 2013." Media Post News. 17 Jan. 2014. Web.
Delo, Cotton. "Pinterest Launches Web Analytic to Track Popular Content." Advertising Age. 12 March 2013. Web
Prior to reading this blog, I had not considered how art galleries and/or museums partake in social media. I suppose I had not considered the idea because museums and galleries are meant to be a "participatory experience" (Thomson 2014) - to see, feel, and be present with the artists' work; not to simply see a snapshot of it on the computer screen or other technological device. Visiting a museum or gallery has always been an active, in-person event, but then again, so was having a conversation with someone in person. We now are more technologically driven than ever and companies (now even art galleries) are constantly trying to figure out how to cater to the needs of the digital consumer.
ReplyDeleteIn this technologically advanced society, how could a company/individual not want their product displayed on social media? - it's free advertising and unlimited exposure to millions of people. Instagram, for example, currently has an audience made up of over 30 million users (Walsh 2014), and Pinterest's exponential growth opens a wide market for image sharing. As stated in the blog, "highly visual, content specific social media sites such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr are effective channels for artists and art organizations alike to disseminate art to their intended audiences" (Kelley 2014). With the link provided in the blog, I was able to get a glimpse of the artwork created by an artist throughout his life. The images (though they never fully do the creative work justice) allowed me to explore the creativity of this artist without having to visit a gallery to see his/her work. Having the images of artists' work available on social media ultimately gives more purpose to the content - it now allows me to use the images as backgrounds for any of my electronic devices, cover photos, share with friends, or even choose to go visit the work in person. I also found the online gallery to be appealing to me, but perhaps it is not appealing to someone else. That is where the niche marketing aspect of social media kicks in. Pinterest, for example, “track[s] how many people have pinned content from their sites, how many people have visited their sites from Pinterest, and how many Pinterest impressions their content has generated" (Delo 2013). The amount of exposure than an artist could get as well as the content available to those who want to see such content is vast. Social media provides users with the ability to appreciate art in a non traditional way, and also provides artists and galleries with unlimited exposure to their products/creations using free advertising. I think social media has provided companies and organizations with the opportunity to expand more than ever before, and cater to the needs of their preferred audiences.
Delo, Cotton. "Pinterest Launches Web Analytic to Track Popular Content." Advertising Age. 12 March 2013. Web.
Thomson, Kristin, Kristen Purcell, and Lee Rainie. "Arts Organizations and Digital Technologies." Pew Internet & American Life Project. Pew Research Center, 4 Jan. 2013. Web.
Walsh, Mark. "Instagram Fastest-Growing App Among Top 10 In 2013." Media Post News. 17 Jan. 2014. Web.