PR for artists is an art in itself. Effective public relations comes down to compelling storytelling. The more compelling the story, the more effective the PR campaign. Unlike with advertising, or direct marketing or other forms of promotion, by utilizing PR or media relations you are the news. Developing effective stories is the most important part of a campaign. A compelling story that connects with their readers, viewers or listeners is what writers, editors and producers are looking for.
As an artist, your responsibility is creating the best work you can. The trouble is, particularly now in the age of social media, it’s often difficult to realize that creating your work is step one. In the real world, it’s not where your job ends if you want your art to reach your audience.
Creating the work is step one, marketing it is a whole other story. But if you realize that creating a successful PR campaign for your work is an art form in itself, you can begin to look at it with
new eyes. Whether offline or online, your story is your fortune. A band, author, filmmaker or a painter becomes successful once they tell their story in a believable, impactful way. Effective PR truly is the art of storytelling. The media doesn’t want to be sold or hyped. It doesn’t want smoke-and-mirrors or jargon. What it wants (and needs on a daily basis) is compelling stories. PR can bring stories about you, your work and your career to your target market and to investors and influencers in your field. It is a way to create and develop your brand. It’s also a way to get out such practical information as where your shows and exhibits will be, which galleries are showing your work, activities or organizations you’re involved with, collaborations you’re working on, new work you’re creating.
To start you need to know your target market and your audience. Understand where they find their information, what do they read, watch and listen to? What sites or blogs do they visit? What interests them? Who else shares those interests?
Now develop stories about your art, your journey as an artist, your perspective on art and the art world, etc. You never know where your most compelling stories are until you work on them. Don’t just stick with the obvious. Chances are you’ll be surprised by which stories will connect with the media and your audience. But then again, art is like that.
Copyright © PR for Artists | Mora Communications Inc. 2014