Faith Dais Neto, Communications Officer (Brand and Content), shares how we’ve been developing our communications strategy to champion our belief that orchestras are for everyone.

Since joining Orchestras Live last year, a key part of my role as Communications Officer has been to increase our brand awareness by amplifying our organisation’s online voice and adding value to the sector. I work to make our work stand out.

In doing this, I understand that the power of social media cannot be overlooked. Though we’re not a customer-facing organisation, these platforms still present a unique opportunity to connect with diverse audiences, raise engagement, and champion our mission of making orchestras accessible to everyone.

In this blog, I share three key things I’ve been doing in my role to maximise the impact of our online presence with limited resources.

1. Who are we talking to? 💬

As someone who comes from a fast-paced theatre background, learning more about Orchestras Live’s core B2B audience has been key to supporting our communications strategy.

This understanding allows us to think about the different ways we can tailor our content and messaging to resonate with those who we want to reach most. Whether it’s potential funders or partners - knowing who we're speaking to allows us to craft relevant and engaging content with the aim of driving meaningful interactions.

One thing that stands out for me has been understanding that our target audience does not have to be everyone, and that you don’t need to go viral to be effective. I went from marketing varied large-scale commercial theatre productions with a wide reach to presenting social value research reports whose target audience is niche. In this, I have learnt the importance of refining your messaging to stand out to your desired audience.

Tip: A smaller organisation doesn’t mean what you’re saying is any less important. It just means being open to new ideas to get your message across to the people who it matters to. You need to know who they are.

2. We enjoy recycling! ♻️

Planning is the key to success and content is no different. Through the content we post, we want to tell compelling stories about our projects to those who may not have experienced them.

This involves exploring different forms of content including written, visual, and video content. From behind-the-scenes snaps taken by our producers to visual data-driven graphics and our informal #OLTeaBreak videos, we aim to regularly share a diverse range of content. But with limited resources, everything can’t always be new. This is why we’re super keen on utilising ever-green content and ‘recycling’ content by transforming it ourselves from one medium into another.

This is especially important because different types of content appeal to different types of people. One way we’ve done this is by turning a longform blog into a series of images with standout quotes. This extends our reach by getting the same ‘message’ in front of more people – people who wouldn’t click on a blog post.

Tip: Having less content doesn’t mean you can’t post more. Be creative and think of ways to refresh and put a new, exciting spin on your existing content.

3. Is anybody listening? 📣

Each year, we set goals for our social media platforms to track our overall performance. This involves monitoring key metrics such as impressions and engagement rates. We use this data to inform our content planning and better optimise our platforms. For example, by looking at our most popular posts on Instagram, our producers can capture similar content that we know typically performs well.

Monitoring our performance also allows us to experiment with new ideas and see how they perform in comparison to the rest of our content, testing what resonates the most with our audiences.

Tip: Use platforms such at Hootsuite to monitor your social media engagement. Look at your highest-performing posts across the month and identify what your followers love. Then keep posting more of what they love!

As we continue bringing orchestral experiences to communities across England, I believe it’s just as important to continue telling the story of our work and its value. I understand it takes consistent time and effort to build a reputable online presence with an engaged audience that trusts your brand. With that said, I’m excited for the future as we continue amplifying our voice online and enriching the communities we work with in person.