In today’s always-on connected world, people are never far away from an internet-enabled device, and museum goers are no different. It is now crucial for venues to engage their audiences where they actually are and, often, that will include online.
“Museums will always need to connect with their audience,” says Julian Hartley, the founder of Dim Sum Digital, a marketing consultancy working across the cultural and media sector. “If those audiences are now embracing digital then that’s where marketing effort will bear most fruit.”
In its most basic form digital marketing is the practice of using digital communication channels, such as websites and social media sites, to communicate with audiences – and using the data generated to inform future campaigns.
It includes such varied strategies as:
Paid for social-media posts, particularly on Facebook, customer relationship management (see case study) and content marketing are currently the key trends across the sector – with the latter a core part of many museums’ strategies.
While the vast array of digital opportunities is overwhelming, in many senses digital marketing is the same as any other form of marketing.
“Marketing is always about connecting people to your brand – getting the right message to the right people, at the right time,” says Kate Carter, the senior marketing manager, digital, at the British Museum in London.
“Digital doesn’t change that fundamentally, but it opens up lots of new and exciting ways to do this and – crucially – it’s all trackable.
“It’s a powerful way to help us understand our visitors better. We can learn how to personalise their experiences in the way they have come to expect from the institutions and organisations in their lives.”
Getting started
Working out which techniques and channels are the most appropriate is the first hurdle. According to Joanne Karcheva, the marketing and communications manager at Liverpool Biennial, the first thing to understand is that digital marketing must be guided by a strategy.
“It is an opportunity to engage with new and existing audiences but it still needs to fulfil your wider objectives,” she says. “If it doesn’t relate back to your overall marketing plan, then it won’t be focused.”
Regardless of the size or capacity of a museum’s marketing team, a strategy (even if that is a one pager) is essential.
“It should cover what you are trying to achieve and why; how it will help you grow and develop your audience; how you can best focus your resources and who is going to oversee it,” Karcheva says.
The audience should form the starting point of that strategy, says Sophie Colley, the digital marketing officer at Culture Coventry, a trust that manages the Coventry Transport Museum, the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum and the Lunt Roman Fort.
“If we have an exhibition coming up, we think about who we are targeting, what kind of content that audience would be interested in and how best to deliver that,” she adds.
The basics
Marketing teams should start small, says Jo Muskett, the director of marketing at Culture Coventry.
She suggests a search-engine friendly website that is designed to work on different devices (desktop computers, tablets, smartphones and so on), an e-newsletter (see separate article), and one social media channel are a good basis on which to begin building a strategy.
“Creating five social media accounts and not using them will have as negative an impact as not doing it at all,” Muskett explains. “Start off with one and see how it goes.
“Museums aren’t always adventurous but it is important to try things. It might not work the first time but you learn from it.”
Telling stories
The museum sector is “very well placed” when it comes to content development, says the British Museum’s Carter: “We have endless stories to tell and each museum has its own unique personality to showcase.”
Getting to those stories, however, is not always straight forward.
“Half the battle can be with your own organisation,” admits Muskett. “We are a strong vocal marketing team with a focus on digital and we still have issues getting content.”
Looking internally and changing the way the marketing team markets itself to the rest of the organisation could be the answer.
Rachel Williams, the digital marketing executive at London’s Barbican Centre, discovered this while on the Arts Marketing Association’s Digital Marketing Academy.
She says her mentor “helped us to think in a different way to create content, and see ourselves as an in-house agency”.
Williams adds: “You can’t expect people in your organisation to come to you with great ideas if they don’t know what you are capable of doing with that content.”
When planning campaigns, Williams draws up a “dream list” of content and works back from there with what is realistic and then what is possible, but always with the intended audience in-mind.
There are lots of different ways of then presenting that content, such as blogs, picture galleries and infographics. But video is the form that currently gains the most traction with audiences.
“Video and moving content is the top technique just now,” says Karcheva, who used it as a key part of the campaign for the 2016 Liverpool Biennial.
“It’s perfect for storytelling and for relaying any information. It’s so easy for people to share that information with their networks, and that increases the reach and value of that content.”
Facebook is king
Video content works particularly well on Facebook, says Culture Coventry’s Colley.
“For a museum that has a very small marketing team or, even, just one person with marketing responsibilities as part of their role, Facebook is the best place to start,” she advises.
Content can be as simple as a slideshow, which can be set-up using Facebook Ads Manager, Colley adds: “It looks scary at first but it is very easy and there are lots of good articles on Facebook that will explain everything. It is very, very good.”
A key point to remember when setting up a video or slideshow is to caption the pictures or add a statement at the top. Colley explains: “Up to 60% of people are viewing on their phones and that is often in silence so an explanation is really useful.”
Colley adds that Facebook Live, where video is streamed live via a Facebook page, also offers an exciting way to involve your audience in events, even if they cannot attend. Broadcasts should be advertised ahead of time, to let you followers know you what you will be doing.
“It is also worth noting there is a three-second delay before recording begins,” Colley says. “And [remind people to] hold the phone horizontally as landscape always looks better.”
While a certain amount of customer engagement and reach can be achieved with free social media, paid-for campaigns where posts can be “boosted” to appear in newsfeeds are becoming increasingly important. It has also become more necessary as algorithms on platforms such as Facebook now favour paid-for content over organic.
Colley adds: “Facebook prioritises video and live streaming content so it ensures your content will be at the top of a feed. You can be competing for attention with up to 1,500 other posts at some points in the day.”
Meanwhile, Facebook can also ensure that you are targeting the right people with the right content.
“Facebook tools can really drill down and find out who has engaged,” Muskett says. “Facebook changes a lot so we do lots of experimenting but it is very cost-effective and something I would strongly recommend.”
Learn, understand and respond
The real success in digital marketing comes from learning from the data that campaigns generate. There are lots of free analytics tools available, including Microsoft Dynamics, HootSuite and Google Analytics, not to mention those available through Facebook.
These tools will often allow users to create a “dashboard” that brings together information about a particular campaign, such as how many people are visiting a website, where they came from and what device they are using.
Tools inside social media will help segment audiences to see exactly who interacted with content and for how long.
“It’s very easy to drown in data though,” Carter from Coventry Culture warns. “You’ve got to be really clear about what questions you are trying to answer and what specific pieces of information you need to answer these – not just gathering data for the sake of it.”
A digital marketing strategy should not be set in stone but should be dynamic and open to change. If Facebook content for a particular campaign is receiving lots of likes, resources should be moved accordingly.
However, there is no rule that says the same will be true for the next exhibition, so being able to quickly adapt is key.
Experimentation, measurement and learning should form the basis of any strategy – whether that’s for an institution with an established digital marketing strategy, or one that is just taking tentative first steps.
“Museums will always need to connect with their audience,” says Julian Hartley, the founder of Dim Sum Digital, a marketing consultancy working across the cultural and media sector. “If those audiences are now embracing digital then that’s where marketing effort will bear most fruit.”
In its most basic form digital marketing is the practice of using digital communication channels, such as websites and social media sites, to communicate with audiences – and using the data generated to inform future campaigns.
It includes such varied strategies as:
- Search engine optimisation using keywords and other tools to ensure your website appears high in Google search results;
- Email marketing and customer relationship management using email addresses to market directly to visitors promoting bespoke offers or content;
- E-newsletters that highlight what’s going on via email;
- Pay-per-click ads that appear in search engine results and are charged when a user clicks on them;
- Content marketing where content shared online links back to a museum’s website.
Paid for social-media posts, particularly on Facebook, customer relationship management (see case study) and content marketing are currently the key trends across the sector – with the latter a core part of many museums’ strategies.
While the vast array of digital opportunities is overwhelming, in many senses digital marketing is the same as any other form of marketing.
“Marketing is always about connecting people to your brand – getting the right message to the right people, at the right time,” says Kate Carter, the senior marketing manager, digital, at the British Museum in London.
“Digital doesn’t change that fundamentally, but it opens up lots of new and exciting ways to do this and – crucially – it’s all trackable.
“It’s a powerful way to help us understand our visitors better. We can learn how to personalise their experiences in the way they have come to expect from the institutions and organisations in their lives.”
Getting started
Working out which techniques and channels are the most appropriate is the first hurdle. According to Joanne Karcheva, the marketing and communications manager at Liverpool Biennial, the first thing to understand is that digital marketing must be guided by a strategy.
“It is an opportunity to engage with new and existing audiences but it still needs to fulfil your wider objectives,” she says. “If it doesn’t relate back to your overall marketing plan, then it won’t be focused.”
Regardless of the size or capacity of a museum’s marketing team, a strategy (even if that is a one pager) is essential.
“It should cover what you are trying to achieve and why; how it will help you grow and develop your audience; how you can best focus your resources and who is going to oversee it,” Karcheva says.
The audience should form the starting point of that strategy, says Sophie Colley, the digital marketing officer at Culture Coventry, a trust that manages the Coventry Transport Museum, the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum and the Lunt Roman Fort.
“If we have an exhibition coming up, we think about who we are targeting, what kind of content that audience would be interested in and how best to deliver that,” she adds.
The basics
Marketing teams should start small, says Jo Muskett, the director of marketing at Culture Coventry.
She suggests a search-engine friendly website that is designed to work on different devices (desktop computers, tablets, smartphones and so on), an e-newsletter (see separate article), and one social media channel are a good basis on which to begin building a strategy.
“Creating five social media accounts and not using them will have as negative an impact as not doing it at all,” Muskett explains. “Start off with one and see how it goes.
“Museums aren’t always adventurous but it is important to try things. It might not work the first time but you learn from it.”
Telling stories
The museum sector is “very well placed” when it comes to content development, says the British Museum’s Carter: “We have endless stories to tell and each museum has its own unique personality to showcase.”
Getting to those stories, however, is not always straight forward.
“Half the battle can be with your own organisation,” admits Muskett. “We are a strong vocal marketing team with a focus on digital and we still have issues getting content.”
Looking internally and changing the way the marketing team markets itself to the rest of the organisation could be the answer.
Rachel Williams, the digital marketing executive at London’s Barbican Centre, discovered this while on the Arts Marketing Association’s Digital Marketing Academy.
She says her mentor “helped us to think in a different way to create content, and see ourselves as an in-house agency”.
Williams adds: “You can’t expect people in your organisation to come to you with great ideas if they don’t know what you are capable of doing with that content.”
When planning campaigns, Williams draws up a “dream list” of content and works back from there with what is realistic and then what is possible, but always with the intended audience in-mind.
There are lots of different ways of then presenting that content, such as blogs, picture galleries and infographics. But video is the form that currently gains the most traction with audiences.
“Video and moving content is the top technique just now,” says Karcheva, who used it as a key part of the campaign for the 2016 Liverpool Biennial.
“It’s perfect for storytelling and for relaying any information. It’s so easy for people to share that information with their networks, and that increases the reach and value of that content.”
Facebook is king
Video content works particularly well on Facebook, says Culture Coventry’s Colley.
“For a museum that has a very small marketing team or, even, just one person with marketing responsibilities as part of their role, Facebook is the best place to start,” she advises.
Content can be as simple as a slideshow, which can be set-up using Facebook Ads Manager, Colley adds: “It looks scary at first but it is very easy and there are lots of good articles on Facebook that will explain everything. It is very, very good.”
A key point to remember when setting up a video or slideshow is to caption the pictures or add a statement at the top. Colley explains: “Up to 60% of people are viewing on their phones and that is often in silence so an explanation is really useful.”
Colley adds that Facebook Live, where video is streamed live via a Facebook page, also offers an exciting way to involve your audience in events, even if they cannot attend. Broadcasts should be advertised ahead of time, to let you followers know you what you will be doing.
“It is also worth noting there is a three-second delay before recording begins,” Colley says. “And [remind people to] hold the phone horizontally as landscape always looks better.”
While a certain amount of customer engagement and reach can be achieved with free social media, paid-for campaigns where posts can be “boosted” to appear in newsfeeds are becoming increasingly important. It has also become more necessary as algorithms on platforms such as Facebook now favour paid-for content over organic.
Colley adds: “Facebook prioritises video and live streaming content so it ensures your content will be at the top of a feed. You can be competing for attention with up to 1,500 other posts at some points in the day.”
Meanwhile, Facebook can also ensure that you are targeting the right people with the right content.
“Facebook tools can really drill down and find out who has engaged,” Muskett says. “Facebook changes a lot so we do lots of experimenting but it is very cost-effective and something I would strongly recommend.”
Learn, understand and respond
The real success in digital marketing comes from learning from the data that campaigns generate. There are lots of free analytics tools available, including Microsoft Dynamics, HootSuite and Google Analytics, not to mention those available through Facebook.
These tools will often allow users to create a “dashboard” that brings together information about a particular campaign, such as how many people are visiting a website, where they came from and what device they are using.
Tools inside social media will help segment audiences to see exactly who interacted with content and for how long.
“It’s very easy to drown in data though,” Carter from Coventry Culture warns. “You’ve got to be really clear about what questions you are trying to answer and what specific pieces of information you need to answer these – not just gathering data for the sake of it.”
A digital marketing strategy should not be set in stone but should be dynamic and open to change. If Facebook content for a particular campaign is receiving lots of likes, resources should be moved accordingly.
However, there is no rule that says the same will be true for the next exhibition, so being able to quickly adapt is key.
Experimentation, measurement and learning should form the basis of any strategy – whether that’s for an institution with an established digital marketing strategy, or one that is just taking tentative first steps.
