{"id":6214,"date":"2015-12-29T09:00:48","date_gmt":"2015-12-29T14:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museumhack.wpengine.com\/?p=6214"},"modified":"2022-11-20T00:23:20","modified_gmt":"2022-11-20T05:23:20","slug":"increase-museums-social-media-reach","status":"publish","type":"do_not_index","link":"https:\/\/museumhack.com\/increase-museums-social-media-reach\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Increase Your Museum\u2019s Social Media Reach By 2500%: Lessons from the National Gallery of Denmark"},"content":{"rendered":"

Social media are powerful tools for museums to interact and engage with their visitors. \u00a0They also serve as tools to help museums invite and engage with difficult-to-reach audiences before they ever step foot in the museum.<\/p>\n

Museums and the Web<\/i> is an annual conference featuring research on\u2014and applications for\u2014digital practices in museums. \u00a0This gathering is unique in that a lot of conference papers are presented for free online. \u00a0One of our favorites from this year\u2019s conference is \u201cThe Me\/Us\/Them model: Prioritizing museum social-media efforts for maximum reach<\/a>\u201d by Jonas Heide Smith of the National Gallery of Denmark.<\/p>\n

His paper looked at how the National Gallery of Denmark (in Danish: \u201cStatens Museum for Kunst\u201d or \u201cSMK\u201d) maximized reach on their Instagram account through various experiments in 2014. \u00a0These experiments increased the SMK\u2019s Instagram reach by 2,500%!<\/p>\n

From the SMK\u2019s research, museums can use a 3-step approach to help them better engage with visitors via Instagram, or potentially any social media platform. \u00a0Here\u2019s the three-step process we took from SMK\u2019s findings, and our reflections on it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

#1. \u00a0Establish Your Baseline Numbers<\/h2>\n

SMK observed that \u201cthere was little synergy between the efforts of the museum and the sharing activities of guests\u201d on their Instagram account. \u00a0Wanting to fix this, SMK sought ways that could invite guests to become active agents for the museum on social media. \u00a0But before they could implement public initiatives, they needed a way to measure the impact of their experiments.<\/p>\n

SMK used July 2014 as their baseline — their Instagram activity had been kept to minimum, with no special initiatives to encourage guest sharing. \u00a0They then decided to track the reach of all content related to the museum. \u00a0\u201cTo do this, a system was set up (using IFTTT<\/a>) that collected all Instagram posts that were geotagged at one of the museum\u2019s two physical locations or that applied one of several commonly used hashtags. \u00a0These images were appended to an online spreadsheet after which doubles…were deleted.\u201d They also incorporated methods to account for overlaps and those images not geotagged\/hashtagged, informed by analytics from other platforms. \u00a0The result was a hard number that could be consistently tracked by staff.<\/p>\n

#2. Create Opportunities for Guests to Share<\/h2>\n

Armed with their analytics strategy, the SMK began their experiments. \u00a0After July 2014, they experimented in creating opportunities for guest sharing.<\/p>\n

First came Instawalks, modeled after the #emptymet events of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. \u00a0Small groups gathered inside the museum before the SMK\u2019s opening hours to post photos tagged with #emptysmk. \u00a0At first, the SMK led groups on guided tours of the museum — but found that this left little opportunity for photos. \u00a0Instead of giving up, the SMK\u2019s management team modified their practice, allowing Instawalk groups to wander the museum. \u00a0This freedom to roam enabled visitors to become inspired by \u201cparticular, hard-to-foresee light effects or want to spend time organizing the group in visually interesting patterns.\u201d \u00a0The results were photos that showcased different points of view about the museum.<\/p>\n

Second, SMK installed new signs that asked visitors to \u201cplease take photos\u201d and tag them with geotags or hashtags. Lesson: it\u2019s totally okay to ask for what you want.<\/p>\n

Finally, SMK installed \u201cselfie mirrors\u201d — small plateaus that enabled visitors to take interesting selfies within exhibitions. \u00a0This approach enabled guests to take selfies, but also did so on the museum\u2019s terms, ensuring the safety of their objects and exhibition content.<\/p>\n

#3. Review and Adapt Your Strategy<\/h2>\n

The SMK\u2019s combined efforts led to marked increase in activity:<\/p>\n

\u201cBetween July and August, the total of shared images increased from 147 to 604 (410 percent), and reach increased from 9,083 to 227,605 (2,506 percent).\u201d \u00a0<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wow!<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the best part.This high market reach continued in subsequent months, even without specific Instagram events or other marketing initiatives. \u00a0The SMK\u2019s experiments were \u201csnowball-like as activity yields interest and awareness, which again yields activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SMK took time to reflect on their experiences, and to leave room to continually adapt to the needs of visitors and the museum. \u00a0During their reflections, they found they needed to be vigilant of three things:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Practical conditions<\/b> — The SMK reviewed copyright laws to ensure that guests could post photographs of objects or exhibitions, and installed signage on items that could not be used in photographs. They also provided easily accessible, free WiFi to visitors to enable sharing during the museum experience. This last point, accessible WiFi is very important and often overlooked.<\/li>\n
  2. Physical nature of collections<\/b> — The SMK didn\u2019t dictate what visitors should share. \u00a0Instead, they embraced the \u201csurprising shadows and unplanned visual patterns\u201d that attract visitors\u2019 lenses and ensured clear opportunities for photos by designing for unique selfie opportunities.<\/li>\n
  3. Organizational priorities<\/b> — The SMK established a clear institution-wide priority \u201cthat, while smartphone photography could potentially be an irritation to certain guests, the collections belong to the citizens of Denmark, and the museum should place as few restrictions on their use as possible.\u201d While some rules are important to protect and preserve the art, rules should interfere with the guest experience as little as possible.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The SMK also acknowledged that, although a \u201cThem\u201d approach was highly successful, it wasn\u2019t the only focus they should have. \u00a0Official Instagram profiles \u201care uniquely suited to communicate those aspects of the museum that are not immediately visually striking or are inaccessible to the public.\u201d \u00a0Social media allows museums to showcase stories that intrigue staff, to provide glimpses into backrooms or exhibition development, and to promote events. \u00a0Social media also functions as a hub for various conversations on guest experiences, establishing rapport with guests through reposting\/resharing content; and promoting the image of the museum as an inclusive, engaging space.<\/p>\n

    Future Implications for Social Media in Museum Spaces<\/h2>\n

    Social media has made museums more sociable and accessible. \u00a0SMK\u2019s experiments showed that encouraging visitors to share their experiences online was a better use of resources than other strategies. \u00a0This museum\u2019s specific strategy may not work for all museums, but their process is interesting and reveals a strategy for museums looking to increase reach and engagement.<\/p>\n

    By creating opportunities for guest engagement on Instagram, the museum exponentially increased their reach — intriguing new audiences before they ever step foot in the door.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe Me\/Us\/Them model: Prioritizing museum social-media efforts for maximum reach\u201d<\/i><\/a> is a presentation and paper by Jonas Heide Smith of The National Gallery of Denmark, originally published on the Museums and the Web website.<\/i><\/p>\n

    Find out about our <\/i>consulting work<\/i><\/a> with museums, or email us at <\/i>info@museumhack.com<\/i><\/a> to find out more about how we can help your institution with audience development and upgrading your social media efforts.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":19801,"template":"","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Increase Your Museum\u2019s Social Media Reach By 2500%: Lessons from the National Gallery of Denmark<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SMK increased their Instagram reach by over 2,500% in 2015. 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