Content Strategy 101

Whatever your other goals at work, if you've found your way here, there's a good chance that driving ticket sales and donations is high on your list. Often, we find ourselves focusing on short-term strategies for pushing an underselling show or hitting revenue targets by the end of the season — setting up promos, discounts, and bundles, making sure ad tech tracking is in place, constantly proving the impact of our work.

Content strategy is a way of thinking about these same goals, but on a longer timeframe. It's about using storytelling to strengthen the connection between your organization and your audience, so they aren't just buying a ticket (or at least not right away, necessarily) — instead they're engaging with your mission, trusting your voice, and feeling more like they're a part of your story. That connection doesn't happen overnight, but when you build it thoughtfully, it creates lasting value for your audiences and your organization alike.

What is content strategy, and why does it matter?

Content strategy is the practice of planning, creating, and sharing stories that resonate with your audience. Unlike advertising, which focuses on quick wins, content strategy looks at the bigger picture: what stories can you tell now that will still matter months or even years from now?

Done well, content strategy can:

• Help you stand out in a crowded cultural landscape.
• Build trust and emotional connection with your audience.
• Create assets with longterm value that can be repurposed.

For arts nonprofits, this isn't just a nice-to-have. It's a way to show that your organization is more than just your events and exhibits, and that you're a vital, vibrant part of your local community and the arts landscape you exist in.

Choosing the right stories to tell

The best content strategy starts with a simple but powerful question: What do we want to say? You might be tempted to begin with logistics — "We need a blog post about the gala next month!" — but it's far more effective to focus on the unique stories your organization has to share. What will surprise, delight, inspire, intrigue, or fascinate your audience?

New York City Ballet's Anatomy of a Dance

The Anatomy of a Dance series invites audiences into the artistry of ballet. By hearing dancers explain their process, viewers gain a deeper appreciation for the craft. The videos connect emotionally, offering insight and intimacy, and they have lasting value beyond a single performance.

Takeaway: Be specific, be human

Your audience doesn't just want information — they want to feel something. Look for stories that highlight your organization's personality and values.

Who are you creating content for?

Your audience isn't one monolithic group. Some people are longtime supporters who know your programs and art forms inside and out, who might be turned off by content that insults their knowledge; others are newcomers still deciding whether to engage, and who might be repelled by content they feel is written "over their heads." Tailoring your content to the right audiences is key to building meaningful connections, and finding the right balance can take time and exploration.

LA Phil's "Where Should I Sit in Walt Disney Concert Hall?"

First-time visitors to the Walt Disney Concert Hall can find its scale intimidating, and new users booking seats online don't necessarily have a sense of where to sit for the experience they want and what seats are worth extra to them. The LA Phil's seating guide addresses this head-on, offering a clear, approachable way to choose which section is best for you. It's practical, welcoming, and perfectly suited to an audience unfamiliar with the venue.

Read the full guide

Conversations with Frank Gehry and Esa-Pekka Salonen

For the Walt Disney Concert Hall's twentieth anniversary, the LA Phil released a conversation between its famous architect and a former conductor. The content is highly specific, but it's perfect for their most dedicated fans and for architecture enthusiasts.

Takeaway: Know your audience

Great content starts with understanding who you're speaking to. When you can meet their needs and speak to them in their language, your stories become more relevant and impactful.

Making your content discoverable

Even the best stories need help reaching their audience. Think about how and where people will find your content:

• Plan for versatility: Can this blog post become an email, a social media post, or a video? Repurposing content gives you more bang for your minutes, and keeps your messaging consistent.
• Optimize for shareability: Make sure to consider how your content will look when a user shares it in an iMessage or a social media post. Is your headline written to inspire a click? Is your website automatically choosing a good thumbnail and a useful summary? Make sure things like Open Graph tags are set up correctly. (Need help setting this up? Reach out — we're happy to take a look.)
• Keep your calls to action clear: What do you want your audience to do next? Buy tickets, watch a video, sign up for a newsletter, keep reading? Once the user has engaged with the content, give them obvious an obvious next step — ideally including an option that doesn't require them to give you money right away to be successful.

Takeaway: Make it easy for your audience

Your stories are only as impactful as their reach. Help people find, share, and engage with them by planning for discoverability from the start.

Beyond the basics: content hubs and other advanced strategies

These principles are just the foundation. As you grow your content strategy, you can start to explore more advanced approaches, for example content hubs — collections of related content around a central theme or topic — that can act as a go-to resource for your audience and help you capitalize on your existing authority in the field.

Imagine a "Behind the Scenes" hub showcasing stories from your staff, artists, and productions, or a hub including guides to the top 100 works or pieces in your organization's artistic niche. These hubs provide both structure for your content and value for your audience, creating an intuitive way to explore your organization's work. And even though we're focused on doing right by your human audience, there's an SEO benefit here too, as search engines are tuned to recognize high-quality hubs of content like this and reward them with clicks from interested users.

Minnesota Orchestra’s Meet Our Musicians

The Minnesota Orchestra’s Meet Our Musicians content hub organizes their videos and blog post interviews with their musicians, which makes it easier for their audiences to fall down a rabbit hole and learn more about the people performing onstage. This framework also provides a place for sillier content, like the Thanksgiving video below.

Takeaway: Build for the long term

Once you have a strong foundation, advanced strategies like content hubs can make your content even more powerful, helping you deepen relationships with your audience over time.

It's about people, not posts

Content strategy isn't about churning out blog posts or ticking off SEO checklists. At its heart, it's about connecting and communicating with real people. When you focus on what you truly want to say, find the right voice, and create content that's discoverable and shareable, you're doing more than marketing — you're building relationships.

Ready to get started?

At Made, we help arts organizations craft thoughtful, effective content strategies tailored to their needs and audiences. Whether you're just starting to think about content, or looking to take your strategy to the next level — or if you're just wondering how you can use your website's existing tools to put some of these principles in motion — we're here to help. Let's talk.