Market Your Event at SMU and in DFW

Arts Entrepreneurship

You've had an idea. Maybe you're going to put on a show for a new theatre troupe, or maybe you're going to try to raise awareness of your string quartet by playing outside the Owen Arts Center on Monday afternoons.

The idea and execution of the idea is only part of the battle. To be successful, an audience has to become aware of your idea before they can offer their support. In other words, you have to market your event. (An artist today wears many hats!)

Luckily, Meadows has a number of channels through which to help get the word out about student initiatives. Students are encouraged to use as many of these resources as they can! Many are "self-service" and require only that time and effort be put forth.

There are also a number of arts publications in the Dallas area that allow event submissions, as well as e-zines and blogs that are always looking for interesting stories. Be ready to pitch your idea!

Meadows Resources

Meadows Event Calendar

The Meadows Event Calendar is the central hub of event information for Meadows. Students can submit event information, which will be reviewed by Meadows administration then posted. This is the easiest way to begin to get word out - all you have to do is enter a few fields, and your information will get distributed!

Once posted, the information from the calendar is distributed to:

Meadows Events Calendar page
Due to heavy volume, student recitals in the music section are placed here
This Week at Meadows, the weekly email of events that is sent to SMU faculty, staff, and students, as well as subscribed alumni and ticket office patrons.
Events listing on the Bob Hope Lobby digital signs

Submit an event to the Meadows Event Calendar

Meadows Digital Signs

Content can be placed on either or both of the Bob Hope Lobby or Umphrey Lee Lobby digital signs. This is more work than submitting the event form, because you have to provide your own "creative" (digital artwork to be displayed). This can also have a greater impact, however, because of the potential "wow factor" of a well-crafted message and artwork to accompany it.

Meadows Social Media

Meadows is active on Twitter and Facebook. Tweet something about your idea and include @smumeadows, and there's a good chance you'll get a retweet! Similarly, post a message, an image, or a video on our Facebook timeline and we'll likely share it on our timeline to be shown more prominently.

We're always searching for ways to highlight our students to our social media followers, which include current students, faculty and staff as well as alumni and community members. Sharing with us via social media is a quick and easy way to increase your exposure.

SMU Meadows on Twitter
SMU Meadows on Facebook
SMU Meadows on Youtube
SMU Meadows on LinkedIn
SMU Meadows on Pinterest

E-Zines, Blogs, and Local Websites

Websites often list arts events, and editors are always looking for pre-made content. Become avid readers of local arts media, learn the type of stories each site focuses on, and see if your story fits with what they want to present to their audiences.

Local Websites and Event Listings

Art and Seek (KERA) - Event submit
GuideLive (Dallas Morning News)
Dallas Observer - Event submit
PegasusNews - Event Submit
CultureMap Dallas

Arts Specialty Websites/Blogs

FrontRow (D Magazine)
Theater Jones
Glasstire

Other Resources

Personal Social Media

Don't underestimate the power of your own friendships! If you have 500 friends on Facebook, and 5% of them are interested in what you're creating - that's an easy 25 artistic connections. Keep creating strong content, and let your friends share with their networks! We recommend creating a separate Facebook Page (as opposed to your personal Profile) when using Facebook for business - the advantages are great. But the most important part is to engage your network.