Content Marketing Portfolio
Thought Leadership: Chorus Connection
When the war in Ukraine first began, many choir directors expressed frustration at not knowing how best to respond, and they flooded the choral message boards with questions about resources to have the necessary conversations with their singers. Following some intensive research into a wide variety of options, I distilled the most viable down into this short article for choral directors and administrators which included links to active charities providing direct aid, musical resources for performing Ukrainian songs, and a process for assessing the removal of problematic music from programming.
As choirs returned for the 2022-2023 season, choral administrators were searching for ways to minimize the impact of ongoing Covid-19 risks and closures on their rehearsal and performance structures. Having researched and developed a “Stoplight System” for my own choir, I wrote an article explaining our approach to minimizing the impacts of Covid-19. The resulting comments generated additional options which have become an ongoing conversation about Covid-19 best practices for choirs. This conversation took place entirely on Chorus Connection’s platform and is now being used beyond the platform, with referrals to Chorus Connection as an authority on the topic.
Brand Design: Stone Cottage Cellars
In 2014, Stone Cottage Cellars began the journey of creating an online presence. The company had a well-defined physical brand strategy but lacked a website and social media presence. Through extensive conversations with the owners, I developed the following brand guidelines for Stone Cottage Cellars’ online presence, which are still in use today.
Social Media Identity: Florida State University College of Music
From August 2017 through May 2019, I was responsible for all social media marketing for the Florida State University College of Music. This included weekly summaries of College of Music events, behind-the-scenes photos of rehearsals, community engagement both within and outside the College, official announcements, event marketing, faculty and guest spotlight articles, social trends such as #tbt and #musicmondays, etc. Often the creation of these materials involved photography, graphic design, content writing, and editing on a tight schedule.
To create a more unified brand identity using materials from nine independent departments, I developed a set of guidelines for the publication of materials from all departments.
Because many of these departments were advertising different events simultaneously, I also maintained a detailed calendar of our social media postings to declutter our social media pages. This calendar often prioritized concerts happening throughout the week, supporting departmental publicity with faculty and performer showcases, fun facts about music in upcoming concerts, and photos corresponding to recent or upcoming performances.
Integrated Marketing Communications: Sitka Music Festival
During the 2018 summer season, I was responsible for managing the Sitka Music Festival brand. This included maintaining a unified brand identity across newsletters, social media channels, OOH display screens, website, radio spots, presentations, and physical publicity materials. Below is a sampling of branded materials I created for a variety of placements.
Original Photography: Sitka Music Festival
While working for the Sitka Music Festival, I was also partially responsible for capturing photography of the events and environments of the music festival.
Video Editing and Web Design: North Fork Community Choir
During the pandemic the North Fork Community Chorus, like many choirs, created a virtual choir. A small number of singers recorded one of our pieces, which I produced and edited to create the following video.
Since the pandemic, the North Fork Community Choir has filed for its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and has created its own independent brand. This includes a new website, which I created using Squarespace.
RESULTS
Reach: FSU College of Music
From September 2017 to May 2019, the Florida State University College of Music had an average of 18% annual follower growth across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, with over 20% annual follower growth on Facebook and Instagram. The engagement rate across all platforms was 7.29% on average, with stronger engagement on Facebook and Twitter. I also spearheaded the effort to include a Group page on the official Facebook, which has become a primary facilitator of community interaction among students and community members alike.
Conversion: Stone Cottage Cellars
Although I last worked on branding for Stone Cottage Cellars in 2017, their brand identity has remained extremely consistent and still uses most of my work. Online sales of wine, event tickets, and wine club subscriptions now account for 35% of the company’s gross income, up from 0% in 2014.
Engagement: Chorus Connection
Chorus Connection’s unique marketing strategy focuses on establishing its brand as a thought leader and authority figure on all elements of choral music and administration. Their blog is the primary vehicle for this strategy, and over the past year, I have written nearly a third of their blog content. My articles average 7.8 minutes of read time per click, compared with the Hubspot average of 3 minutes for similar articles. Additionally, the average number of comments on my blog posts is higher than the average for the company.