Social Media | Sussex County Arts Club

  • Kate Shields

Re-invigorating and maintaining the club's social media presence, in order to gain new members and reflect the changing nature of the club as a space where anyone can go to draw, paint and sculpt in Brighton. sussexcountyartsclub.co.uk

In 2019, I was employed as one of two Publicity Officers, to help improve numbers at the club.
After creating a social media audit, myself and the other officer created a workable strategy to be reviewed in six months. This strategy included:
  • The creation of an online file sharing system, for photos/film and other content
  • A set of guidelines for posting across each of the three main platforms.
  • the use of free scheduling software (Later, Tweetdeck)
  • setting up a MailChimp account, to transfer all contacts into for future mailouts
  • making the club wifi password available to session attendees, to encourage sharing/follows/likes
instagram
Posting a maximum of once per day, (using Later) images of the club, and channelling all traffic towards the online session timetable link.
Sharing work created by members of the club via Stories, and then added to Highlights.
2011 - 2019
Before being employed by Sussex County Arts Club, I worked as a volunteer Social Media Officer, before I began studying my degree.
I ran a weekly session for over two years, and as I became more involved with the club, I began helping out more with promoting the club to a wider audience.
As the club is non-profit, and run by mostly older people it became clear that in order to attract more diverse members, it was necessary to implement an enticing social media strategy that was easy to maintain for a variety of volunteers, yet also stayed true to the club's traditional roots.
My main aims to re-invigorate the club's online presence were:
  • Organise a professional photographer to take new images of the club, to be used online.
  • Open a Twitter and Instagram page for the club
  • Run special drawing events
  • Train a small group of volunteers how to create and maintain a cohesive online presence.
Firstly, I organised a photo shoot during a one-off class, in order to generate some new photography of the club, and began using the photographs to update the clubs existing Facebook page. I taught a small group of club volunteers how to use the scheduled update tool, so as to post regular updates about upcoming classes, and I linked the Facebook page to the Twitter, so that it could be updated automatically. I ran a number of one-off drawing events in order to promote the club as a space that can be used for more diverse sessions, and encouraged more volunteer session leaders to utilise social media in order to promote their own sessions to a wider audience. As there are now many life drawing spaces in the city, it was important to promote SCAC to be able to keep it running as a non-profit business.
Club photography by Sharon Kilgannon
Club photoshoot with photographer, Sharon Kilgannon
This was a first step in starting to generate new, professional content for the club online. We were able to use some club funds to pay the photographer and model, and the session was run free to invited members.
Special events
I ran and co-ran a number of special themed drawing events at the club, that aimed to keep the club fresh and exciting, such as 'Midnight Drawing'. This session was a 3 hour group pose for just 10 artists, between the hours of 10pm and 1am, and was promoted as a unique and mysterious experience. Rather than post promotional material for the event online, content was kept to a minimum, and artists were emailed personally about the event.
The 'secrecy' of the event, created a buzz, meaning that artists talked about the event, and we were able to run a second session.
Artists paid £20 to draw for the full three hours. The timelapse was photographed again by Sharon Kilgannon, and the video was created and edited by Kate Shields.
Other events include 'Suspended', where aerialist Kitty Peels hung from the ceiling for artists to draw, 'Music and Movement', a ballet and movement session, and 'Alt Couture', a session where with performer Arran and an array of wearable art made out of paper and plastic.
Both 'Midnight Drawing' and 'Suspended' have since been repeated, due to popular demand.
Social media and design for all events by Kate Shields.
Free May sessions
Throughout the month of May, when the club opens its doors for the annual open house exhibition, Saturday drawing sessions have had to close.
As a way to further promote the club, I suggested holding a free costumed session each Saturday for anyone who wished to drop by. This proved to be a great way to further promote the club as a place to come to draw. As each session is costumed, the session can be photographed for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. (Photography during sessions is not usually permitted.)
Free Saturday sessions in May continue to run.
Volunteer-led social media
One of the main challenges of social media management for a volunteer-led organisation, is sharing responsibility for creating and posting consistent content. As we are all volunteers, no one has the time to commit to 24/7 social media for the club!
After I began running events, organising photoshoots and starting a Twitter and Instagram account for the club, I gathered a small group of volunteers who were keen to help with social media.
I was able to teach this group about:
  • Scheduling posts
  • Linking Facebook and Twitter (to save time having to update more than one platform)
  • How to write online (eg: what kind of agreed language to use.)
As session leaders become more confident posting content, the club's online presence continues to reflect the friendly, volunteer-led nature of the club. When the club has exhibitions to be hung, has new signage installed, there is always someone there to show it happening!
The club continues to attract regulars and new members to each of its sessions.