By Dejen Tesfagiorgis 
I have to applaud the San Francisco Opera for its long running Opera in the Park series. Although this is my first year hearing/reading about the broadcast, SF Opera has held this annual FREE concert in Golden Gate Park since 1972.
This is a perfect example of innovative and integrative marketing; effectively seeking new listeners and followers instead of relying on traditional methods of reaching an audience (postal mailings, word of mouth, reputation, website only). Read the Full Article here
After reading this news on several arts websites and seeing the full article in the SF Chronicle, I decided to take a look at the SF Opera’s additional online marketing efforts. The results were as great as I would expect. This opera house near Silicon Valley Opera has recognized and capitalized on the tech trends.
Have a look at the additional leverage of social media used to grow their fan base (and maybe even add them as your friend!!). You have to give a little to get a little, and the SF Opera is definitely putting forth its best efforts to reach new listeners:
SF Opera on Vimeo (Behind the scenes)
However, I would suggest that the SF Opera Webmaster push you Bravo! Club more, maintain an opera Blog, and make the links to social networks more obvious from the SF Opera homepage. I was navigating the site for 5 minutes trying to find links to these social networks in ONE CONVENIENT LOCATION before deciding to search each site individually. Also, social network links on your Contact Us page would be awesome.
All arts sites should have a look at AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS http://blog.artsusa.org/, on the right hand they display their convenient array of social networks.
Fans don’t have time to read and open mail, we demand information conveniently and immediately. Artists are the best listeners, so listen to your fans and connect with them as they connect with each other. How is your website?
Here’s a small video clip from YouTube of the ~27,000 some listeners in attendance June 5
