Social media practitioners from local museums and arts organizations gathered during Social Media Week DC for a lively discussion about the value of social media to our institutions. You can find a full recap, including presentation slides, in the Storify archive.
Moderator: Dana Allen-Greil, Educational Technologist, National Gallery of Art
Keynote: Kristen Purcell, Associate Director for Research, Pew Internet and American Life Project
Lightning Talk Presenters:
Sarah Sulick, Public Affairs Specialist, Smithsonian Institution
Darren Cole, Information Technology Specialist, National Archives and Records Administration
Laura Hoffman, Digital Media Specialist, National Museum of Women in the Arts
Michael Edson, Director of Web and New Media Strategy, Smithsonian Institution
Katie Kerrins, Marketing Manager, Ford’s Theatre
Sarah Banks, Audience Engagement Specialist, National Museum of Natural History
Erin Blasco, Education Specialist, National Museum of American History
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Food for thought for #smwMuseSocial event: 3 elements of social media success via @cdilly ow.ly/hUgeg #musetech #musesocial -
Kristen Purcell, Associate Director for Research, Pew Internet and American Life Project, @kristenpurcell
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First up at #smwMuseSocial is @kristenpurcell from @PewInternet to talk about new data on arts organizations and digital technologies.
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Demographics of Social Media Users: pewinternet.org/Reports/201… #smwmusesocial -
Arts Organizations and Digital Technologies: pewinternet.org/Reports/201… #smwmusesocial
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Arts Organizations and Digital TechnologiesAssociate Director for Research Kristen Purcell will join social media practitioners from local museums and arts organizations for a live… -
.@kristenpurcell says Facebook is by far #1 social network adults & teens are using (among those surveyed by @pewinternet) #smwmusesocial -
“Mobile is the needle, Social Networks are the thread.” – @kristenpurcell #smwMuseSocial -
@kristenpurcell – “Mobile magnifies demand for instant accessible information.” #smwmusesocial -
41% of social media users follow individual artists or performers, but only 11% follow arts orgs. We need to close the gap. #smwmusesocial
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Arts orgs say social media has major impact on public profile and engagement w/ audiences: ow.ly/hUdhq #smwMuseSocial
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.@pewinternet study suggests connection between online following & live attendance. Behaviors related, not in competition. #smwmusesocial
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.@kristenpurcell: organizations can find their #superfans on social media #smwmusesocial -
35% of general pop adults have visited a museum, but 82% of adults who follow a museum on social have. – @kristenpurcell #smwMuseSocial
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8 percent if adults are downloading tours at historic sites and museums. Is this low? #historyau #smwMuseSocial -
69% of arts orgs have employees w/ soc/med profiles they use in their capacity as a representative of the org #smwmusesocial @pewinternet -
Increased attendance, ticket sales, public awareness, fundraising. Are you seeing these social media impacts in your museum? #smwMuseSocial
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Education & collaboration lagging behind promotion & audience engagement for effective arts social media via @kristenpurcell #smwMuseSocial
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The @pewinternet arts orgs survey reveals old-school broadcast era attitudes: Org —> user, not user:user or user –> org. #smwMuseSocial -
.@pewinternet study: more than half of arts orgs maintain 4-9 social presences; 10% use >10. Worth it? Survey says yes #smwMuseSocial #smwdc -
Facebook (99%), Twitter (74%), and YouTube (67%) are the top 3 #socialmedia channels used by arts orgs. – @kristenpurcell #smwMuseSocial
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45% of #art organizations post on social media daily #smwmusesocial -
77% of arts orgs using social media what is being said about their orgs @kristenpurcell #smwmusesocial -
.@pewinternet survey: payoff from Social Media? Worth time? Broaden reach? Orgs say yes, but most say insufficient resources #smwmusesocial
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Does social media help your organization? Yes! Are we doing enough? No. Do we have enough personnel and resources? No. #smwmusesocial -
Social media’s value to arts orgs: reach broader audience; helps audiences feel more invested. ow.ly/hUdqx #smwMuseSocial
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Biggest concerns with using social media: excluding some audiences and the lack of control. #smwmusesocial
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Are you listening, senior staff?? “3/4 of museums/arts orgs say they don’t have enough staff/resources for social media.” #smwMuseSocial
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27% of arts orgs have a full time dedicated staff member to do social media #smwmusesocial @pewinternet
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.@HESherman and that’s across a huge budget range. I’m guessing theatre (and dance) are particularly under staffed #smwmusesocial
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Fear of loss of control is a roadblock to arts orgs using social. – @kristenpurcell // People are already talking about you! #smwMuseSocial
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People are the same on&offline. Their habits, preferences, ways of interacting do not change significantly. -@kristenpurcell #smwmusesocial
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Engagement?
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YES! RT @mpedson: I can’t wait to ask @kristenpurcell what she thinks arts orgs mean whey they use the word “engagement.” #smwMuseSocial
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…I suspect that arts orgs understood “engagement” to mean “engage with us, on our terms, about what we offer you.” #smwMuseSocial
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@mpedson @darrenmilligan And what are “yes” answers based on? What kind of measurement? #SMWmusesocial
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@mpedson Can you offer an alternate definition of engagement? #smwmusesocial
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@DarrenMilligan @mpedson I think an alternative def would be asking people what they want and making an effort to provide it. #smwMuseSocial
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Q from @mpedson could be its own session. How do arts orgs interpret the contested word “engagement?” Only on our turf? #smwmusesocial -
Engagement is a connection w/ the org as opposed to just being an attendee – personal connection established @kristenpurcell #smwmusesocial
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@kristenpurcell believes that engagement is a visitor going beyond attendance and the visitor taking an active role #smwMuseSocial
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@darrenmilligan – re: *my* definition of “engagement.” Let me work on that. I think the term is wrong for us in so many ways. #smwMuseSocial
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@DarrenMilligan Found “engagement” in wikimedia anu report: it’s about editor recruitment/productivity bit.ly/15ByWdg #SMWMuseSocial
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I propose an “Engagement” swear jar for all GLAM practitioners. Money to be used for beer. #smwMuseSocial
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More stats from the Pew report
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Art orgs surveyed by @pewinternet re: payoff of social media: 55% major impact = boosting orgs public profile @kristenpurcell #smwmusesocial
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Social Media is an add on task not an complete position. Will that be true in five years? #smwMuseSocial
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Biggest cons of social media: distracted audience due to ringing phones, texting, etc. “I’m live tweeting! It’s not rude!” #smwmusesocial
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Arts orgs are unhappy that their focus is shifting from content dev and curation to promotion and marketing #smwmusesocial -
@NancyProctor asks who answered @pewresearch survey? @kristenpurcell: mostly executive leadership, and some practitioners. #smwmusesocial
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.@kristenpurcell says it is at least somewhat a misperception on arts orgs part that their audience is not on social. #smwMuseSocial
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.@kristenpurcell: rates of mobile, sm use higher in black, Latino populations. hmm. #smwmusesocial -
@kristenpurcell If you’re looking for more orgs in arts/culture, add historic #preservation orgs – if you haven’t already! #smwMuseSocial
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.@kristenpurcell: nearly half of arts orgs have requested funding for sm work; many aren’t successful. #smwmusesocial
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(+ 100) “I’m such a groupie for @pewinternet, we use their research all the time.” says @danamuses. #smwmusesocial
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Thx to @kristenpurcell & @pewinternet for providing valuable data that arts orgs cannot gather on own. Amazing resource! #smwmusesocial
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Best place (non NEA) to get rep sample of arts orgs would be *service* orgs: @DanceUSA @tcg @orchestraamerica @operaamerica #smwmusesocial
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ATTN v2 #smwmusesocial: @kristenpurcell‘s presentation slides are now up and available for your perusal. pewrsr.ch/15AXi6Z -
———————————————-Lightning Talks——————————————————-
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What SM outcome matters most, how do you achieve it, how do you measure it? Lightening round time at #smwmusesocial
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Sarah Sulick, Public Affairs Specialist, Smithsonian Institution, @sarahtsulick
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Next up at #smwMuseSocial is @sarahtsulick to talk about the Smithsonian’s #SeriouslyAmazing campaign.
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.@smithsonian has over 600 social media accounts! Wowzer! #smwmusesocial
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600 media accounts across @smithsonian. 30 dedicated staff members. #smwmusesocial
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Are they in english only? ordealing with bilingual? RT @sluggernova: @smithsonian has over 600 social media accounts! Wowzer! #smwmusesocial -
.@sarahtsulick says content that has a specific “ask” is key to measurement. so true. #smwmusesocial
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.@sarahtsulick measure success in social media: qualitative user surveys & measurable goals (with an ask: like, share,donate) #smwMuseSocial
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#seriouslyamazing campaign built upon Q&A with @smithsonian, targeted to “aware millennials” #smwmusesocial
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Link for the seriously amazing campaign ow.ly/1SFNlt. #smwmusesocial -
#seriouslyamazing included promoted posts to millenials. Targeted those to people following key celebs, non-profits. #smwmusesocial
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Traditional advertising drove most of traffic to #SeriouslyAmazing campaign. @sarahtsulick #smwMuseSocial
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@sarahtsulick – social media drove 18% of the traffic to the seriously amazing campaign website. Surprisingly hi or low? #smwmusesocial
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used promoted posts in twitter targeted to millenials. digital ads made up HALF of traffic. wow. #smwmusesocial
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Twitter ad most successful for @smithsonian (and cheapest) in terms of reaching millennials #smwmusesocial
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Big laugh from the crowd for @sarahtsulick aptly noting that “Internet Explorer users tend to skew older.” #smwMuseSocial
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#seriouslyamazing metrics: Cost per click on banner ad = $26. Cost per click Twitter ad (target aud)= 0.37 cents. #smwmusesocial
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Found they should dedicate more resources to social media advertising than traditional advertising to reach target audience #smwMuseSocial -
.@sarahtsulick but cheaper & much more targeted advertising through social media–> reaching “aware millennials” for pennies. #smwMuseSocial
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Darren Cole, Information Technology Specialist, National Archives and Records Administration, @TodaysDocument
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Darren Cole from National Archives is discussing success of Tumblr for @TodaysDocument. #smwMuseSocial
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Love the idea behind @TodaysDocument – 10,000 documents, one day at a time. How can I adapt it for @PresNation? Hmm… #smwMuseSocial
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Darren Cole of @todaysdocument on Today’s Doc on Tumblr, “which skews younger.” History GIFs, oh yeah. Goal: build followers. #smwmusesocial
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Goals: build awareness and appreciation #NationalArchives #smwMuseSocial
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Tumblr reblogging creates a viral environment. Know your audience to use it to your advantage. #smwmusesocial
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benefits of tumblr: visual in nature, virality is inherent. #smwmusesocial
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More rapid follower growth on Tumblr due to easy reblogging. Short text is key. “The more you write, the fewer read it.” #smwmusesocial
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National Archives masking clever use of Tumblr. @dcole7 – getting 10k followers a month. #smwmusesocial
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National Archives “Today’s Document” success metric on Tumblr was gaining followers. They now have close to 70,000! #smwmusesocial
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wow. in 2011, 10,000 followers in 6 mos. 2012, 10,000 followers in 3 mos. 2013, 10,000 followers in 1 MONTH. #smwmusesocial
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National Archives new tumblr Today’s Document. Does it collect meta data? #historyau #smwMuseSocial
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tumblr limitations: followers doesn’t mean engagement. it’s difficult to create dialogue, ID comments #smwmusesocial
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@todaysdocument (in discussing comments) “Intellectual heroine was my favorite.” – Darren Cole #SMW ##smwMuseSocial -
“Oh snap. the U.S. National Archives have a Tumblr…” User comment via @dcole7, re: @TodaysDocument #smwMuseSocial
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@TodaysDocument: Tumblr’s lack of commenting, content metrics makes it difficult to measure engagement. #smwmusesocial
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Limited by funds, agency policies, keeping posts fresh #tumblrproblems #smwmusesocial
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User engagement via crowdsource is a next step for @TodaysDocument #smwMuseSocial
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@TodaysDocument Federal Agencies can only follow institutions. Is this keeping Fed Institutions behind? #historyau #smwMuseSocial
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.@todaysdocument Tumblr: @dcole7 shares wish list: better comment tracking, crowdsourced content, more 2-way dialogue #smwmusesocial
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A snapshot of our #SmwMuseSocial talk. How can @TodaysDocument meet the user engagement challenge? tmblr.co/ZKvbjxelkC8K #socialgov -
Laura Hoffman, Digital Media Specialist, National Museum of Women in the Arts, @womeninthearts
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How does @womeninthearts use Twitter for advocacy? Laura Hoffman explains. #smwMuseSocial
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“Building Advocacy in Museum Social Media.” lightning talk re: social media & gender equality in arts. see @WomenInTheArts /#smwMuseSocial
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daily #linkatlunch tweets highlight pieces that are not of @WomenInTheArts, but align with mission. good idea. #smwmusesocial
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@womeninthearts social media platforms run by employees from multiple departments. All are cross trained to help each other #smwmusesocial
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Measure success with quantitative stats and user comments #smwMuseSocial
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Highlights of @womeninthearts: goal = build advocacy, cross-dept sm team, measure success via combo of quant & qual data #SMWmusesocial
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Michael Edson, Director of Web and New Media Strategy, Smithsonian Institution, @mpedson
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Scope, scale, and speed: Impacts that @mpedson would like to see in museum use of social media. #smwMuseSocial
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In usual @mpedson fashion, we begin w/fun! Spinal Tap “This one goes up to 11” #smwmusesocial
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@mpedson: You can tell a lot about an organization about what they measure and what tools they use. #smwmusesocial
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didn’t know the Chandra telescope is operated by @smithsonian. #smwmusesocial
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2.4 billion Internet users today #smwMuseSocial
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Smithsonite astrophysicists: we won’t consider a project unless it is a 10 x improvement than what we did last time. #smwMuseSocial
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Imagine if we did that with exhibits! #smwMuseSocial
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.@mpedson: “we could be working with dial that goes to 11, but I’m worried we’re working with a dial that only goes to 5” #smwmusesocial
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@mpedson: We are so steeped in object culture that it limits how we see things #smwmusesocial
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.@mpedson plays fast & loose with numbers, but is putting together an interesting case for putting dial to 11 in sm strategy #smwmusesocial
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Loving how @mpedson is “playing fast and loose with data” to make the point that arts/culture orgs fail to dream big enough. #smwMuseSocial
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“Our constraint is not money. Our constraint is dreaming.” – @mpedson #smwMuseSocial
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“our constraint is not budget. Its our ability to dream [of something bigger]” @mpedson quotes TEDs budget is < @smithsonian #smwmusesocial
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.@mpedson highlighting TED, zooniverse, trove, open street map, kickstarter about explosive power of the interwebs #smwmusesocial
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Communities love museums libraries and archives but we are working with old ideas. We need them to be super successful. #smwMuseSocial
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Start with an open community, be web-centric (STILL a challenge for us, not for TED), be “born global.” Well said, @mpedson #smwmusesocial
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.@Sarah_Stierch shoutout from the podium @mpedson “Start with OPEN community, because open spreads & scales” #smwmusesocial -
Be web-centric. How many of your meetings start w the #web? Says @mpedson and #Makers #smithsonian #smwMuseSocial
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Thrilling, but daunting, advice. MT @sluggernova: From @mpedson: start with open community, be web-centric, be “born global.” #smwmusesocial
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Katie Kerrins, Marketing Manager, Ford’s Theatre, @fordstheatre
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Katie Kerrins from @fordstheatre now up talking about the buzz word of the day: engagement. #smwmusesocial
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And now, Katie Kerrin of @fordstheatre takes on “engagement” #smwmusesocial “We want you to LOVE us!”
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@fordstheatre on engagement: “We want people to love us. Not like us, not follow us…love us!” #smwmusesocial
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.@fordstheatre has a very date-driven strategy, but they must be flexible. … and given their history, very careful. #smwmusesocial
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.@fordstheatre is scene of tragedy, so careful to be aware of what audience is saying & get involved in discussion. #SMWmusesocial
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@fordstheatre: “Focus on engagement, not sales.” Yes! Wish more orgs would follow suit. Wrong channel for that message. #smwmusesocial
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overall challenges: 2 different, specific audiences — theater goers and history buffs. #smwmusesocial
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how do you intersect audiences without overloading them? #smwmusesocial
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Not gonna lie, my @PresNation side is geekily excited that @fordstheater just name-dropped @LincolnsCottage. #smwmusesocial
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what successes do you look for? @fordstheatre: virality (the dream) and shares and retweets #smwmusesocial
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Katie Kerrins talks about getting audiences to take the next step beyond social media. #smwmusesocial
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.@fordstheatre conducts online surveys after every show. #smwmusesocial
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.@fordstheatre looks at google analytics, web surveys, Facebook analytics and twitanonomy. #smwmusesocial
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@fordstheatre presentation How do sites of tragedy or consciousness do social media? #smwMuseSocial
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.@fordstheatre: “all we want to do is engage, inspire and win hearts” #smwmusesocial
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Katie from @fordstheatre :our challenge is to convince people that fords is more than a place where a nat’l tragedy happened #smwmusesocial -
Sarah Banks, Audience Engagement Specialist, National Museum of Natural History, @sbanks20
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great to see @nmnh has a social media working group too. tested museum madness with them. #smwmusesocial
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.@sbanks20 / @nmnh has first mention of the day of @Pinterest for the promotion of arts objects #smwMuseSocial
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.@NMNH Museum Madness 2012 campaign sought engagement over sustained 4-week period. ? = would aud remain engaged?… #smwmusesocial
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We’re becoming more evaluation and audience focused We’re just testing everything out. -@SBanks20 we need to know the why&how #smwmusesocial
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.@SBanks20 you should check out @poptip so ppl can submit #MuseumMadness votes via twitter & you can see real time results #smwmusesocial
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@sbanks20 found that late-night 10:30 posts get more engagement, response than daytime #smwMuseSocial
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Erin Blasco, Education Specialist, National Museum of American History, @erinblasco
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How do you measure a relationship?, being discussed now by @erinblasco. Great question! #smwMuseSocial
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.@erinblasco now talking about building relationships. at postal museum found 30-something art geeks on twitter. #smwmusesocial
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@erinblasco: Twitter revealed a previously unknown audience: artists who incorporated mail into their art. #smwmusesocial
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.@erinblasco: finding & engaging hidden audiences on twitter #smwmusesocial
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Thanks, @danamuses for a great #smwmusesocial today. My notes: s.si.edu/hYb5V My slides: s.si.edu/hYb7E #musesocial
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@missjames Thanks for sharing that pic from my #smwmusesocial mini-talk. Here’s the slideshare: s.si.edu/hY955
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.@erinblasco twitter stalked group & structured outreach program around that niche audience interested in museum’s content #smwmusesocial
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.@erinblasco: audience like a good friend who’ll be honest – told us our website was bad, but then offered to help fix it. #smwmusesocial
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@erinblasco we have to position social media within the org in a holistic way. We can’t leave them online. Be their advocate #smwmusesocial
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Early takeaway for @erinblasco‘s talk: addressing a target audience takes work. Just being online isn’t enough. #smwmusesocial
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Love the story from @erinblasco about social media relationship with mail art aficionados. From strangers to besties! #smwmusesocial
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Nice! @postalmuseum did a google+ hangout for an audience focus group of ppl they found making stamp art on their own #smwmusesocial
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@erinblasco talks about the importance of finding your niche Definitely a take away from @SMWWDC is find your nerds&love them #smwmusesocial
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Audience Questions & Continued Discussion
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What is the best way for startup museums, or museums with no collections, to use social media to engage audiences? #smwMuseSocial -
@johannabak Is it a museum that plans to build a collection? Crowdsource ideas for items to acquire! #smwMuseSocial
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What is your opinion of Second Life? Is it a viable social media platform for museums to use or is it too antiquated? #smwMuseSocial
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I think too resource-intensive for the return you get. Depends on goals though. MT @johannabak: Opinion of Second Life? #smwMuseSocial
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@danamuses Has anyone turned the reigns over and let the public tweet from the GLAM accounts? #smwmusesocial
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Thank u @mpedson – let’s throw out “social media” & talk about participatory models. Web/mobile/social all together now. #SMWmusesocial
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@danamuses What can we do to help administrators understand that some positive aspects of SM just can’t be quantified? #smwMuseSocial -
The peoples GLAMs…the peoples collections…the peoples social media. Trust the people. We ain’t so bad 😉 #smwmusesocial
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Here are details about how and why @sweden let Swedish people tweet from their account: onforb.es/VB474p #smwmusesocial @chrisubik
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I wonder if social media coordinators are becoming the new curators regarding fearing losing power of said social media? #smwmusesocial
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#smwMuseSocial has left me convinced that we need to find a way to create an ongoing #socialmedia convo in the arts/culture/museum sector.
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Let’s throw out Engagement and Social Media, and replace them with ideas of Love, Change, Use, Save… #smwMuseSocial
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@DarrenMilligan compassion & human connections r essences of art, history, science & culture. That what museums are about! #smwmusesocial -
@LmQuiteContrary We’ve been fans of @TodaysDocument + @USNatArchives tumblrs for awhile, but @ROMKids is a new one! Thanks! #smwMuseSocial -
Nice to see #smwMuseSocial trending! -
Looks like #smwmusesocial talks were brilliant! Congrats everyone! Museums are so fortunate to have these dedicated public servants! 🙂
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#smwMuseSocial tip from CGP1styear @LmQuiteContrary 3 Social Media Lessons From Y/A Fiction Writers dft.ba/-4z_P via @FastCoCreate
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#smwMuseSocial Do you tap your own internal crowds for content integration or software. Salesforce + social media i.e. -
#SMWmusesocial ? about internal museum transformation. Yes! Social media does influence change in museum culture. cc @nealstimler
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Lots of chat in the Q&A about timing and not just posting during east coast biz hours – make sure to hit nights & weekends. #smwMuseSocial
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(@danamuses says when they started social media on evenings/weekends they got deeper, more thoughtful interaction w public #smwmusesocial)
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@smheffern Anyone there concerned about work/life balance? #smwMuseSocial
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#SMWmusesocial themes: define “engagement,” SM goals, measure quant/qual, limited staff to dial over 5, collaboration #SMWmusesocial
