Growing your group and audiences

Being active on social media can be a great way for your group to grow your audiences, build relationships, recruit new members and learn from other groups, but it takes effort to make the most of it.

In our getting started guide we covered the basics of setting up accounts and creating your first posts. In this resource we cover our top tips for building an engaged audience and spreading your messages as far as possible.

Marketing is a broad term and covers a huge range of activities. From researching potential audiences to composing social media posts, choosing your group's 'brand colours' to deciding on ticket prices: these activities all feed into how your group is seen; how potential members, audiences and supporters feel about it; and whether they decide to engage with you.

Struggling to recruit younger members? In this guidance, reprinted from the Autumn 2016 issue of Highnotes, Making Music’s Youth Engagement Manager Xenia Davis has some suggestions.

The biggest barrier to young people joining music groups isn’t repertoire, or classical music being perceived as ‘stuffy’, or the age profile of the group.

A free online ticketing system for online and in-house, easy to use and offers an exclusive telephone box office service.

Being the musical director (MD) of a group is a diverse role with a lot to think about from conducting, arranging music and developing the group to leading, inspiring and encouraging cohesive working.

Helen Hall of Alderley Edge Symphony Orchestra discusses how the orchestra refreshed itself to attract more members and increase audiences.

Background

Our orchestra had been running since 1922. However, over recent years the audiences have been small and the usual programme of overture, concerto, symphony was feeling rather tired.

The challenge

Make our orchestra more appealing to local musicians looking to join an orchestra, and to audiences.

Fantastic for Families is a UK-wide initiative of exciting theatre, dance, music and visual arts events designed to increase family participation in arts and culture. Run by Family Arts Campaign and supported by Arts Council England, Fantastic for Families aims to get your event information in front of as many families as possible.

One of the best things about busking is that anyone (over the age of 14) can do it; from seasoned veterans to someone who has yet to sing a note in public, the street is your stage.

In this resource, we'll talk about the legalities, collecting money and how to best engage with the public.

Why do it?

Busking is a great way to: