How to build a strong digital communication for the European Arthouse Cinema Day
You are participating in the European Arthouse Cinema Day? Make sure to follow this guideline to create a strong communication about the event in your cinema.
About the European Arthouse Cinema Day
The CICAE organises the European Arthouse Cinema Day, in association with the Europa Cinemas network and co-funded by Creative Europe's MEDIA programme. Since 2016 more than 700 cinemas in over 40 countries have participated in the event, offering magnificent programming including previews, films for young audiences, and classics from the history of European cinema.
Why your website is the most important tool
The most important digital interface to the customer is the cinema's website. There are about 1.13 billion websites on the internet in 2023 and your cinema should own one of them (Siteefy, 2023).
A dedicated landing page on the cinema website should display all information about the event in a structured way and serve as a target page for all forms of digital and analog communication, especially for special events, such as the European Arthouse Cinema Day.
“ Having a website is an opportunity to make a great first impression and give people comfort that you're a real business. Showcasing your brand to your prospective customers is one of the most important things that you can do. ”
Why Every Business Needs A Website, Forbes (2020)
Structured information: What audiences need to read and see
Structuring informationen on the basis of service-oriented questions helps not only the users to get a better understanding of what to expect, but also supports you to create a well-planned event.
On the site of the Yorck Kinogruppe, the landing page has been added to the sitemap under specials. The event is therefore easy to find.
Beyond the artwork, ask yourself the question: What would you want to know about the event?
From the audience's perspective, special events are quite different from regular screenings. Potential cinema-goers need to step outside their comfort zone and therefore need all the information beforehand to build trust towards the cinema.
The following questions should be answered on the landing page
- What is the European Arthouse Cinema Day?
- Why does my cinema participate?
- Why should one participate?
- What kind of program do I offer?
- What has happened in recent years? (Photos, Reviews, Throwback)
- When is it happening?
- How to buy tickets?
Search engine optimization: Gain additional reach
Search engines like Google crawl your cinema website regularly to rank the information and compare it to other websites. The algorithms that can drive more visitors to your website are highly based on trust: If your website displays consistent information, accessible texts, and backlinks to other media, you will profit from higher rankings (Google, 2023).
Creating a landing page for the European Arthouse Cinema Day is a great opportunity to develop website content that will be serving your performance in the long term.
To make the most out of these benefits, the landing page should be updated each year: Add pictures of the event, create a section of feedback from visitors, and share new additions to the program.
⚠ Make sure to always leave the page visible: The moment you delete the landing page or take it offline, it will affect your ranking in a negative way. From the beginning make sure to add the page logically to the site structure.
Share your information
Finally, any communication measures should refer back to the landing page you created for the event. All contents of the landing page can be extended on social media, your newsletter or even shared with potential collaboration partners.
Prioritise your cinema's website
In summary, for a successful European Arthouse Cinema Day, prioritize your cinema's website as the main digital hub. Create a dedicated landing page to provide essential event details and build trust with potential attendees. Optimize it for search engines and maintain it with updates for long-term performance. Always direct your communication efforts back to this landing page for maximum reach across social media, newsletters, and collaboration partners, ensuring a strong digital presence for the event.
In cooperation with the arthouse association CICAE and AG Kino-Gilde e.V., the German platform Zurück ins Kino which collects and connects creative cinematic ideas for digital marketing in cinemas offered an online lab to develop ideas for the promotion of European Art Cinema Day together with cinemas and cinema operators. You can download the results and presentation on their website.
11.08.2023
Valentin Jassin CICAE
Valentin is administrative and finance assistant at the CICAE since April 2022. He is also the French referent of the team and thus participates in our relationships with our French-speaking correspondents.Educated in cinema in Paris between the rue Champollion and the big networks, he worked as a projectionist in many cinemas and was trained in arthouse cinema management in Lyon through a master’s degree at the university and in the Cinémas Lumière. more from the author
