Social Media Policies and Evaluation Tools

We can acquire a sense of who makes up our community We can gain more direct information about what people want to see We can hear visitor responses and reactions We can be more open and accessible Can provide a gateway to new audiences Talking in the language of our future audience /

Note: Guidelines are approved at the organizational level, and policies are approved at the Board level. At a minimum, you should have guidelines for your staff and volunteers to follow!

 To provide direction  To ensure consistency  To encourage compliance with internal and external regulations and policies

 Introduction (identify goals, definitions)  Use of Social Media By Your Organization (including monitoring and feedback)  Governs use of SM by staff on behalf of the organization  Personal use of SM by staff (should be in accordance with your HR policy)  Be in keeping with CRA regulations (i.e. activism or political activity)  Regular review

 Goals & Benefits (Why?)  Target Audience (Who?)  Execution Strategy (What?)  Specific Strategies for each SM tool (When? How?)

 Facebook will be utilized to do the following:  Update members with current information about exhibits and events  Display and share images or video of exhibits and events  Link to features pages of the website, or to external websites, media coverage, etc.  Post news items or local information about the museum, its partners or its exhibits From: Social Media Strategy developed by TDG Marketing for the Brant Historical Society -

Example (cont.) Initial Phase:  Update existing social media platforms, giving it a consistent look that compliments the website and allows for ease of use for members  include a prominent link to the museum’s website  Encourage all staff and guests to join and invite friends and family to join  Send an HTML advertisement to current contact list inviting them to join  Trigger discussion by asking thought provoking questions and by responding to member comments From: Social Media Strategy developed by TDG Marketing for the Brant Historical Society -

Example (cont.) Ongoing Phase:  Increase the amount of information posted through the group allowing for constant interaction with users  Addition of weekly trivia to keep the interest of users  Initiate contests to increase interaction  Add pictures and video  Update events and exhibits  Participate in two-way discussions with users  Create online surveys From: Social Media Strategy developed by TDG Marketing for the Brant Historical Society -

 Which Social Media platform should I use?  Tips for Facebook:  Set up a “Page” and not a “Group”  Avoid using your personal account to set-up “Page”  Best option is to set up a second personal account  Facebook does not allow organizations to have a personal account

 Tips for Twitter:  Think carefully about your user name  Decide what/whose voice you will be tweeting as  Post a series of content before following other users  Do not follow everyone, but follow anyone you are interested in yourself  Do include the link to your institution or organization in your profile  Send a direct message to anyone who follows you thanking them  This thank you can include a link to your main website

“Those who describe their social media efforts as “successful” or “very successful,” are more likely to spend over 30 minutes a day on social media.” ◦ (Social Media Museum Research Survey conducted by Adrienne Fletcher, Univ. of Florida) Work within your limits! It is better to choose one SM tool and do it well. Consider using free SM management tools (such as HootSuite or Tweetdeck) to manage all of your accounts from one location.

How to best approach….

You want to create a community with your visitors by interacting and engaging with your audience. The marketing will happen If you Start a conversation

 Information on Collections ◦ Incomplete information often posted – inviting visitors to add to content  Relevant Articles and News Items ◦ Entices discussion

Chart from Surveymonkey.com

1. Current activities of staff 2. Live tweeting of events and openings 3. Gallery Store information on new products and services 4. First person historical anecdotes and stories 5. Share links to news and media coverage 6. Post quirky facts and competitions 7. Posting photos

1. Add pictures - Post pictures of a new exhibition being built, an event or exhibition opening or even objects from your collection. Sourced in Part:

2. Fact of the day – this can be anything associated with your museum. Post this to Twitter with the Hashtag #museumfactmonday and join museums all over the world!

3. Twitter as a historic figure – This has been done in the past with success. Try Sourced in Part:

4. Ask a question – Ask you followers something, their opinion, a weekly quiz, etc. 5. Link to your visitors’ videos and pictures – If you find videos or pictures posted by visitors to your museum link to them. 6. Talk about what is going on behind the scenes 7. Retweet – When someone else ‘tweets’ about you. Retweet so all ca see. 8. Talk to people – Answer peoples questions or comments about your museum and contribute to these conversations. Sourced in Part:

The best source for new ideas of how to make use of Social Media is browsing the pages of other institutions and getting inspired! Twitter Engagement Tips apply to most Social Media platforms

What can you learn?

 Much harder to do than Facebook  Many different tools can be found online ◦ However, these do not necessarily give you useful information ◦ Ex. -

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