Infograph showing online platforms for artists

Digital Media versus older forms of Media in online business promotion

More traditional forms of media would include, television, radio, newspaper and magazines. These formats still exist, but in modern times it is essential for businesses to have a strong online presence. The Artist Trudi Doyle would appear in older forms of media in the form of newspapers and magazines and flyers for arts events. The Carnegie Arts Center Kenmare appear in county wide and more local magazines and newspapers. They also use printed flyers, posters and signs around the town to promote their events. 

Many younger people in particular, spend more time watching You Tube than television. Trudi Doyle has a You Tube video which can be viewed here.

Here the artist has created a montage which cycles through a selection of her paintings accompanied by music. This is an example of her use of modern media as opposed to the more traditional television. Unlike television her video is permanently visible and can be accessed at anytime.

The Carnegie arts center Kenmare have a you tube channel. You can view it here: 

The Carnegie Arts Center Kenmare

The Carnegie also appear on You Tube frequently as other people post videos of events they attended there and also via organisations such as Theatre Games Ireland who use their venue, see here:

 Theater Games Kenmare You Tube

 

Trudi Doyle would appear in newspaper articles as she participates in arts events such as the Kilkenny Arts Festival. Many of these articles would appear both in print and online. The Carnegie Arts Center news appears in the monthly edition of the Kenmare News which is a free advertising magazine which is available to collect in places like shops and the post office. The Kenmare News also have a digital edition of their monthly magazine so this gives the Carnegie extra online exposure. You can see it here: 

The Kenmare News Digital Edition

References

The Carnegie Arts Center Kenmare, 2018, The Carnegie Arts Center Kenmare, 14/02/19, <https://carnegieartskenmare.ie/ >

Trudi Doyle, 2019, Trudi Doyle Official Site, 14/02/19, Fine Art America, Pixels<https://trudi-doyle.pixels.com/ >

The Role of Digital Media in the Online Art Business of  Artist Trudi Doyle.

The Seed Saver by Trudi Doyle Artist.

As part of my digital media course in the Kenmare Adult Education Center I have to conduct an investigation into the role that digital media fulfils in a business. As my purpose in taking this course is in order to learn to promote myself better online as an artist I chose to do this assignment on the Carlow based Irish Artist Trudi Doyle. The reason I have chosen this artist is because she has a good online presence across a variety of platforms and is successful in linking these different domains of her online business together. Her business model also has the feel that it is all home made, so to speak, and she does not appear to employ any outside branding or marketing companies. Most artists have insecure incomes and cost cutting and this diy approach to online self promotion is therefore often a necessity. Trudi Doyle has succeeded in reaching a broad global audience for her artwork and this allows her to sustain a niche art business that may not suit the tastes of all art buyers and visitors to traditional galleries. 

Trudi Doyles business has an online presence on Facebook, Etsy, Saatchi Online, Fine Art America, Pinterest, ArtVitae, Twitter, You Tube, Adverts.ie and also an online blog and website. Although Trudi Doyle also appears in print in newspapers this is minimal and secondary compared to her online presence. For this reason she is a good example of how digital media is in the ascendency as it enables the artist to reach a global market rather than a narrower, more local or national customer. In my opinion this explains the success of her business model as art is a question of personal taste as well as trends in the artworld. Operating on digital media platforms allows her sell more consistently and be less at the mercy of variations in these trends. Having a strong online identity that is recognisable by the target audience is important for an artist, this could be called branding. Trudi Doyle has a strong online identity and is easily visually and uniquely recognisable across the different platforms that she uses. 

While Trudi Doyle has succeeded in creating a strong online identity these modern forms of media can expose her to risks. Many artists have their images stolen and reproduced by third parties. Some artists have their images stolen by third parties and resold on the internet. Artists sometimes find that their images have been used without permission and reprinted and sold or mass produced in China on cushions, bags etc. and resold in shops and online in the West. This can be prevented by a strong watermark but a disadvantage of this is that the customer cannot see the image clearly. Trudi Doyle does not use a watermark on her online images so this is a potential risk for her. It can also be difficult to sell larger works online as people are less willing to pay out bigger sums for larger paintings that they have only seen an image of online. There are also many instances of fraud in the online art world with email scams targeting artists for their work. 
Visit her website here: https://trudi-doyle.pixels.com/

The Role of Digital Media in the Carnegie Arts Centre Kenmare.

For my investigation into a non-business organisation I will investigate The Carnegie Arts Center Kenmare.  The Carnegie Arts Center is a cultural hub for the people in the local communities of South Kerry and the Beara Penninsula. Founded in 2008 the Carnegie situated in the heritage town on Kenmare and attracts international arts performers. It has a 140 seat theater, full size cinema screen, performance area and a gallery space for exhibitions. The Carnegie hosts concerts, theater and dramatic productions and concerts and art exhibitions.

The Carnegie Centre Kenmare promote their organisation in traditional media forms such as newspapers, local advertiser magazines, leaflets, billboards and and signs.

The Carnegie Centre also increasingly use more modern forms of digital media to advertise their activities and events.  The organisation has an online presence on Facebook and Instagram as well as their own website. Tourists can find out about the Carnegie on the famous online platform Trip Advisor where people leave reviews about events they have attended there. The Carnegie is also featured on the Discover Ireland and Wild Atlantic Way website.  The use of digital media gives the Carnegie great advantages in reaching a larger, global market. For an organisation such as the Carnegie that is a great asset as they are based in a tourist town. Potential customers visiting the area from abroad would not have access to the Carnegie's older forms of media when planning their trip. A disadvantage of Digital Media for organisations such as the Carnegie is that it can feel impersonal to customers. Viewing content online and looking online for events is not as memorable as a person to person  interaction. There is also more potential for financial crime when people pay online and paying over the counter with cash carries less potential risk than IT systems which could be hacked. 
To visit the Carnegie Arts Centre Website click here: https://carnegieartskenmare.ie/about

Digital Media at Kenmare VEC

Digital Media at Kenmare VEC

I am studying digital Media on Thursday mornings at Kenmare VEC. I hope to learn to promote a business online and increase traffic to my Facebook and Instagram pages and increase my online visibility. I also hope to increase my understanding of Digital media in everyday life and observe how others, in the creative fields in particular, use it to their advantage. 

Digital Media is a rapidly evolving aspect of most peoples daily life now through the medium of smartphones, tablets and PC's, Self Service Checkouts, online shopping, security scanners, group sms messaging, database managment systems and contactless payment are ubiquitous aspects of modern life. This growth in digital media has created commercial opportunities for businesses to market their products and services to individuals in a targeted manner. Social media, instant messaging, online blogs, video chat and live streaming allow individuals as people to connect with each other and as consumers to access services, goods and information. 

Organisations now have access to a global audience of consumers twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Collecting data on consumers needs, interests and wants allows organisations to provide improved customer services and advertise and market their product in a more targeted way and become more competitive. For example, candy apple red guitars are a local business with both a shop front in the town of kenmare and sell internationally via their website. https://candyappleredguitars.com/

Another local example or a digital media organisation is Dream Ireland

https://www.dreamireland.com/irish_accommodation_in_town/kenmare.html 

and Kenmare.ie an organisation which markets kenmare events and business to promote the local area to visitors https://www.kenmare.ie/

Many social media platforms have responded to the surge in businesses use of their platforms to promote their goods and services by creating tailored pages especially for businesses as distinct from the layout of personal pages. They have also capitalized on this surge in digital marketing by requiring sponsored posts and videos which businesses must pay for before their followers or new potential followers can access them. The rise in Digital Media has transformed the marketing landscape for business in the modern age and it has opened up worlds of possibilities for businesses and artists to promote their work.