Photo: ElyceFeliz 

Promote Yourself | Arts Council Napa Valley 

You can utilize Arts Council Napa Valley to promote yourself and your business. Here are some tips to improve your visibility.

Gain Exposure! | We are always looking for…

• Success stories and quotes about the impact your program, organization, or business has made on others.
• Press releases with photos to share on our social media outlets and e-newsletters
• High-resolution images of 300 dpi that we can use for our website, e-newsletters, stories and more!

Promote Yourself Through Our E-Newsletter | We have two e-newsletters that each go out twice a month. Do you have any noteworthy events or coverage that you would like to submit for possible inclusion in our e-newsletter? We always welcome content! Just be sure to submit your information to us by these days:

• Arts Crush goes out on the second and last Thursday of every month. We need content 4 days before Thursday!
• The Insider goes out the first and third Tuesday of every month. We need the content 4 days prior to send out on Tuesday!

Social Media | Use these hashtags to organize content on social media channels:

• Posting something to do with Arts Council Napa Valley? Hashtag it! #ArtsCouncilNV
• At an Arts in April event or posting something about Arts in April? #ArtsInApril
• Have something to share about Napa Valley Collection? #NapaValleyCollection
• Supporting Napa Valley arts education on social media? #SupportNapaValleyArtsEd
• Just want to support Napa Valley arts? #SupportNapaValleyArts
• Give a shout out to Napa Valley arts in general. #NapaValleyArts

Tag Arts Council Napa Valley so we can share your content!

Arts Blog Opportunity | If you’d like to share industry discussion and dialogue, we have the perfect place! We love to receive blogs on arts industry related topics and events for eligibility to post on our website news section! If you have ideas or a blog ready for review, email Olivia@artscouncilnv.org.

Arts in April Promotions | Now’s the time to start thinking about Arts in April, the sooner you have events planned, the sooner we can promote! Take advantage of the best promotion opportunity for Arts in April by having your content ready for the early press in October!

Looking for talent to showcase with your Arts in April event? Check out Napa Valley’s only Creative Directory, a resource for businesses and wineries to discover talent. Visit ArtsCouncilNapaValley.org/Creatives to see more. business. Here are some tips to improve your visibility.

Tips on Getting Good Press (and avoiding the alternative)

By Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune

 Know and understand local media 

• Learn what’s out there (print, radio, TV, Internet)
• Get to know bylines, beats, assignment and weekend editors and bureaus; invite reporters to your shop; become an expert they can quote on issues
• Be an advocate; keep in contact with key players on issues that affect your organization
• Figure out which news organizations and reporters cover what types of events; don’t pitch an investigative reporter feel-good or feature stories
• Look to community weeklies or TV for lighter stories; pitch weightier stories to daily enterprise reporters or alternative media, tell them why it matters

Press releases

• Must be concise, best if single page, with Web addresses for follow-up info, boilerplate description of agency and contact info for someone who will be available
• Give at least two weeks’ notice before scheduled events
• Remember, press releases are glorified sales pitches, not stories; the idea is to sell editors or reporters on pursuing the story themselves
• Recipients should be targeted; don’t blanket newsroom
• Develop Events for TV or Newspaper Coverage
• Organize events and benefits
• Issue white papers, studies, polls or calls to action
• Nurture and promote partnerships with other NPs; more likely to garner attention

When reporters call…

• Develop talking points in advance (elevator speeches), stay on message, do spin but always tell the truth
• Don’t avoid returning calls; invite them to tour organization
• Figure out what they really want; sometimes reporters are following a tip, other times they already have information and simply need a response; if you genuinely don’t know, ask them upfront why they are asking what they want to know
• Maximum disclosure/minimum delay regarding unwelcome publicity; OK to admit mistakes, talk about corrective actions taken; public is quick to grant second chances
• Don’t debate reporters; it’s unnecessarily confrontational and undermines your credibility; if a reporter is asking around, it’s because he or she is seeking answers; help them understand your point of view; tell them why things are the way they are