Strategic Social Media Campaign For Art Gallery

Southampton City Art Gallery were looking to increase footfall to the venue, grow engagement on their social media pages, increase bookings for events and workshops, and improve their team’s approach to social media management.

The multi-faceted approach started with in-depth sessions with each department to understand individual requirements and gauge content contribution capabilities. We reviewed existing social media documents and policies, then devised a dedicated social media strategy, guidelines, and a tailored content calendar. The content calendar was designed for the campaign duration and optimised for ongoing internal management. Initial benchmark reporting established baseline metrics to measure performance throughout the campaign.

One of the main goals was enabling the internal team to continue the social media strategy independently. We ran multiple training sessions throughout the project, from beginner sessions for team members managing ad-hoc posts and comments, through to advanced sessions for individuals who would lead the strategy forward, ensuring sustainable capability within the organisation.

Using social media themes identified in initial planning, we used the content calendar to plan regular organic posts, including launching a dedicated Instagram account. Content centred on daily gallery life, exhibition and event information, behind-the-scenes features of employees and exhibition setups, plus dedicated posts for the Smart Murals in the City exhibition.

Alongside organic campaigns, we devised paid campaign plans to drive website traffic, reaching people not currently following the gallery’s social media or searching for related content. Campaigns targeted two key audiences: parents of young children interested in the “Please Do Touch Trail for Under 5’s” and children’s workshops, plus art students who may not know about Smart Murals in the City.

The campaign achieved a remarkable 287% increase in Facebook check-ins at the gallery, demonstrating significant growth in visitor engagement and physical footfall.

Social referral traffic to the website increased by 215.4%, showing effective conversion of social media engagement into website visits and deeper exploration of the gallery’s offerings.

Organic social media performance exceeded expectations across all metrics: Facebook comments growing 927.1%, shares growing 321.8%, and check-ins growing 287.9%.

Paid campaigns successfully drove 56.5% increase in website goal completions, 56.2% increase in sessions, and 35.8% increase in page views.

Importantly, the end result was the internal team being empowered with comprehensive skills, strategy framework, and confidence to continue social media success independently.

• Cross-departmental strategy sessions ensured social media approach aligned with all gallery functions
• Comprehensive training programme empowered internal team for long-term social media independence
• Multi-channel approach combined organic engagement with targeted paid campaigns for maximum impact