Never before have you had more tools, platforms, and marketing channels to weave into your marketing strategies for attracting new members and promoting museum events and keeping connected with them so they continue to visit.
With so many new ways to reach them deciding which ones, both traditional and more technology-driven, to adopt and integrate into your marketing mix can be challenging Every museum is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all answer. However, regardless of your budget, the age of your audience, or the size of your space, here are eight great recommendations for your marketing strategy to promote your museum, spread event awareness, and grow attendance and membership.
- Embrace Technology – Use technology to make your museum more accessible and enjoyable for visitors. Add QR codes on printed signage and exhibit descriptions that connect with video and augmented reality (AR) content to bring displays to life and provide richer experiences. Museum Trends Report 2024 notes a 25% percent increase in repeat visits at institutions using QR code technology, as patrons return to enjoy enriched educational experiences through informative videos. QR codes lead to new opportunities for visitors to follow the museum on social media and stayed engaged.
- Welcome the Smartphone – Once upon a time, museums frowned on visitors taking pictures of exhibits, but no longer. Now museums should let visitors act as brand ambassadors when they share photos and experiences on social media channels. Museums by promoting hashtags or creating photo opportunities within exhibits encourage visitors to share their experience with friends and followers. The content acts as validation that a trip to the museum is worth their time for those on the fence. Museums are also using smartphones apps for geofencing to increase awareness and engagement, as well as using beacons for notifications to attract passersby or gauge what exhibits visitors are most engaged with.
- Be Authentic With Your Storytelling – The signage you deploy throughout your museum gives you wonderful opportunities to enrich the visitor experience with unique perspectives. Bring your exhibits to life and allow visitors to create their own individual experiences and gain a greater appreciation for the subject surrounding them. Wall and ceiling wraps can envelope visitors in detail-rich environments and digital, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) technologies are giving museum staff creative ways to immerse guests in unforgettable, sensory-rich experiences. It’s likely that there’s an abundance of images, photos, video, and other information and research on hand to share with visitors.
- Build Communities – Use the knowledge you have on hand about your loyal supporters to gain insights into their behaviors and develop programming that appeals to them as well as audiences that share their interests. You should always be gathering content and developing activities to strengthen relationships by knowing what your visitors want. A great way to grow your attendance is to invite wider participation with social media walls and UGC that connects with users and viewers in real time, generating low-cost, high-reward buzz and excitement. Cultivate audiences with strategies that connect and showcase your brand’s uniqueness and invite greater participation along the way.
- Incorporate Video Content - Find ways to create and incorporate video content into your exhibits and marketing strategies for deeper engagement from viewers and more memorable experiences. People stop and take notice when they encounter a video presentation on a digital screen as part of an exhibit. A well-crafted video story can include components such as artist and curator interviews, archival footage, and animated videos (great for children). Video is ideal for condensing information into easy-to-understand pieces. Video is also a great way to repurpose existing content. Younger audiences have grown up relying on video as a primary source of information, and will more actively engage with content presented in video format.
- Optimize Your Web Site – Since your website may be the first place a potential visitor gets a look at what makes you special, treat your website as an extension of your museum. Use it to generate excitement about your mission and purpose, your plans for the future, and most importantly, what you have in store for them when they walk through your doors. Make sure the impression you make exudes quality with sharp graphics, clean design, and appealing colors. A strong SEO strategy is necessary to achieve high search page ranks and gain prominence with effective pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Your website should act as your online box office, with the added benefit of collecting valuable customer data through the process.
- Integrate Direct Mail – Because the majority of museum marketing is local marketing, direct mail delivers terrific results when either targeting specific demographics or spreading brand awareness throughout communities. Variable print technology allows for greater personalization in every communication, giving you the flexibility to change graphics, messaging, and promotions based on household data. Interactive print technologies also give you the ability to use QR codes or personal URLs (PURLs) to transport recipients to landing pages or present digital content and augmented reality experiences through their smartphones. People consider direct mail trustworthy and if the piece looks and feels great when they pull it from their mailbox, it makes a great impression.
- Connect With Email – Deliver the museum experience directly into the email boxes of people who want to stay connected with you and asked to receive updates, invites, and other news. In many cases, these individuals have shared information with you so that you can shape and customize your communications with them and add value to every email. Use email to create strong bonds with members and reward their loyalty with special perks and access to both virtual and in-person behind-the-scenes events. Integrate email into annual membership campaigns as part of multi-channel fundraising strategies. Email newsletters are great ways to keep followers informed and up to date.
You know your audience better than anyone. When you apply these recommendations and a little creativity, you can develop marketing strategies that bring people to your museum and inspires them to return again to enjoy your exhibits. Marketing.com’s museum signage experts can work with you to develop strategies to attract visitors and convert them into loyal members. Contact us today.