Why Museums should blog
It seems like there is always something new to get excited about on the internet, conference backchannels buzz with talk of web 3.0 and museums using the semantic web, augmented reality and crowd sourcing. So why am I talking about blogging, isn’t that so 2005?
Why museums should blog
Blogging is a brilliant way for you to give audiences the chance to see a different side of the museum. There is a genuine interest in what happens behind the scenes in a museum or gallery and a blog gives you the chance to give those interested in your organisation a deeper understanding of the work that goes into an exhibition, research, event or education programme.
It can also provide information in bite-size chunks, perfect for casual browsers, and can give you an outlet to create build-up for something, such as with posts about the stages of preparation for a large event.
A museum blog is a brilliant way to increase the website traffic that you get from search engines, because a blog is regularly updated with rich content full of links. In my experience a museum can expect its traffic to rise by around 10% by adding a blog.
What to write on a museum blog?
Your starting point should be to think about your audiences, who are you writing for, and what would they be interested in? Remember that your visitors are fascinated by what goes on behind closed doors, so think about photographing exhibitions being installed, write about your exhibit of the week or talk about the ghost in the basement.
I would recommend that you are very careful not to post any press releases about new exhibitions on the blog, as the formal style of a press release would jar with the informal written style of a blog. You should try and keep your blog posts to under 500 words and use sub-headings to break up the text and make it easy to skim read.
Who should write your museum blog?
I think it would be a mistake to try and write a museum blog alone. A client of mine recently decided to set up a blog, they decided that they would to have two new blog posts per week and decided that it would take ten members of staff to accomplish that. They asked for volunteers from across the organisation, and asked those interested in being involved to write a sample blog post (to check they could write). One important thing to note here is that these individuals came from across the organisation, each bringing a unique perspective on the work that takes place behind closed doors.
How often should a museum blog?
A blog is meant to be updated regularly, and I’d suggest that you aim for a new blog post every week, to do this you really need to have a number of people writing the blog and encourage people from across your organisation to put idea’s forwards.
Get ready for a conversation!
Though at first glance a blog may look like a publishing medium, every blog post tends to invite comments from readers and you need to be ready to respond to these comments. This is a great way of gathering feedback and connecting with and getting to know your audience. It is worth thinking about how you will respond to feedback, some of which may be negative. Be open to the points that people put forward on your blog and always be prepared to learn from your audiences.
—-
This article was written by Jim Richardson, founder of MuseumNext and managing director of Sumo, an agency with a reputation for developing innovative digital marketing.
Jim regularly speaks at conferences and contributes to publications on social media and digital marketing.
It seems like there is always something new to get excited about on the internet, conference backchannels buzz with talk of web 3.0 and museums using the semantic web, augmented reality and crowd sourcing. So why am I talking about blogging, isn’t that so 2005?
Why museums should blog
Blogging is a brilliant way for you to give audiences the chance to see a different side of the museum. There is a genuine interest in what happens behind the scenes in a museum or gallery and a blog gives you the chance to give those interested in your organisation a deeper understanding of the work that goes into an exhibition, research, event or education programme.
It can also provide information in bite-size chunks, perfect for casual browsers, and can give you an outlet to create build-up for something, such as with posts about the stages of preparation for a large event.
A museum blog is a brilliant way to increase the website traffic that you get from search engines, because a blog is regularly updated with rich content full of links. In my experience a museum can expect its traffic to rise by around 10% by adding a blog.
What to write on a museum blog?
Your starting point should be to think about your audiences, who are you writing for, and what would they be interested in? Remember that your visitors are fascinated by what goes on behind closed doors, so think about photographing exhibitions being installed, write about your exhibit of the week or talk about the ghost in the basement.
I would recommend that you are very careful not to post any press releases about new exhibitions on the blog, as the formal style of a press release would jar with the informal written style of a blog. You should try and keep your blog posts to under 500 words and use sub-headings to break up the text and make it easy to skim read.
Who should write your museum blog?
I think it would be a mistake to try and write a museum blog alone. A client of mine recently decided to set up a blog, they decided that they would to have two new blog posts per week and decided that it would take ten members of staff to accomplish that. They asked for volunteers from across the organisation, and asked those interested in being involved to write a sample blog post (to check they could write). One important thing to note here is that these individuals came from across the organisation, each bringing a unique perspective on the work that takes place behind closed doors.
How often should a museum blog?
A blog is meant to be updated regularly, and I’d suggest that you aim for a new blog post every week, to do this you really need to have a number of people writing the blog and encourage people from across your organisation to put idea’s forwards.
Get ready for a conversation!
Though at first glance a blog may look like a publishing medium, every blog post tends to invite comments from readers and you need to be ready to respond to these comments. This is a great way of gathering feedback and connecting with and getting to know your audience. It is worth thinking about how you will respond to feedback, some of which may be negative. Be open to the points that people put forward on your blog and always be prepared to learn from your audiences.
—-
This article was written by Jim Richardson, founder of MuseumNext and managing director of Sumo, an agency with a reputation for developing innovative digital marketing.
Jim regularly speaks at conferences and contributes to publications on social media and digital marketing.