Shownotes
Want visitors to fall in love with your museum, return again and again, and spread the word? In this episode of the Love my Museum podcast, Amy breaks down a proven PR strategy that builds museum loyalty and attracts new audiences. It all comes down to three key elements: authentic Brand Messaging, an Exceptional Visitor Experience, and positive Third-Party Endorsements that amplify your reputation. Tune in to learn why these three elements work together to create a strong, memorable brand that keeps visitors engaged and talking about your museum long after they leave.
Links from the Episode:
- https://anacostia.si.edu/
- Let me know what you think! Send me an email: amy@amykehs.com
- Sign up to get all my free resources here: www.lovemymuseum.com/free
More Free Resources for Museums:
About the host:
Amy Kehs is a brand strategist and communications expert for museums. She has owned Kehs Communications since 2000 and has worked for the most renowned and well-loved museums in Washington, D.C. Her goal is to ensure that museums thrive into the next century and she hopes people will come to love museums as much as she does. Her proven process sets up proactive communication habits for museums, cultivating relationships with visitors who will want to return and bring a friend. Want to talk more? Click this link to book a call.
Transcripts
Hey there, it's February, the month
of Valentine's Day, the month of love.
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:And since this is the Love My
Museum podcast, today we're talking
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:about creating a museum that your
visitors love and are loyal to.
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:Let's get started.
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:Amy: Hello, and welcome to
the Love My Museum podcast.
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:I'm your host, Amy Keys,
and I love museums.
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:I'm also a brand strategist and
communications expert for museums, and
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:this is a podcast where we talk about
the strategies, ideas, and stories that
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:help museums Grow their audience and
become a vital part of their community.
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:Today we're diving into a powerful
framework that will elevate your
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:museum's public relations strategy.
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:The three elements of
what I call brand love.
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:Now we've talked about this on the podcast
before, but today we're really going
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:to look at why this framework works.
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:And I'm going to give you some examples.
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:Examples, and things that you
should be thinking about too.
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:If you want visitors to fall in love
with your museum, return again and
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:again, and spread the word, then you
need these three elements of brand love.
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:Number one, you need clear, consistent,
and confident brand messaging.
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:Number two, you need an
exceptional visitor experience.
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:And number three, you need Third
party endorsements that are
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:going to amplify your reputation.
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:So let's explore why these three
elements work together to build lasting
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:love and loyalty for your museum.
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:Now, while a good public relations
strategy is more organic.
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:It's also a bit more slow growing
than other strategies, but I
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:guarantee that it will lead to
exponential and more stable growth.
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:Bill Gates famously said, if I was
down to my last dollar, I would
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:spend it on public relations.
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:And while these three things
may sound really easy and basic.
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:I've seen very few museums
that do all three equally well.
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:Even some of the most famous museums.
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:may struggle a bit on
one or two of the items.
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:I think that because they seem
basic, they're often overlooked.
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:But really paying attention to these
three things and refining them for your
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:museum is going to be such a game changer.
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:So let's talk about the first one, brand
messaging, which really is the foundation.
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:A great PR strategy starts with clear,
consistent, and confident, the three C's.
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:Brand messaging.
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:It's the foundation of how the
public perceives your museum.
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:Donald Miller, the author of Building
a Story Brand, says, people don't
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:buy the best products, they buy the
ones they understand the fastest.
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:If your museum's message isn't
clear, potential visitors won't
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:know why they should your messaging
should Attract the right audience
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:by making a compelling promise.
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:So this could be in the form of a
tagline or your mission statement.
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:It also should build trust and credibility
And to do that, you need to be consistent
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:across platforms, not just how often you
show up, but also the words that you're
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:using, whether that's your website,
social media, or in your press materials.
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:And the third thing.
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:Is that confidence people engage with
stories and missions, not just facts.
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:So if you are confident in your
brand messaging, if you're confident
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:in your, your why that emotional
connection will, will be easy.
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:You are looking to create that
know, like, and trust factor.
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:One of my favorite museums, the
Smithsonian's Anacostia Community
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:Museum, does a really great job at this.
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:They are the smallest Smithsonian museum.
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:and were founded during the
civil rights era in:
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:They have an amazing origin story.
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:I'll link their homepage
in the show notes.
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:Take a look at their website, especially
their brand reel on the homepage.
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:Brand messaging is solid
and it is consistent.
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:It's confident, which means that no
matter when or what a visitor is coming
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:to see, it could be a special event, a
community day, a new exhibit, a panel
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:discussion, everyone leaves understanding
what the museum is all about.
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:Their mission and vision shines brightly.
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:You can tell that it is at the basis.
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:It's at the foundation
of everything you do.
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:If you ever get a chance to visit this
small museum, I highly recommend it.
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:The second part of brand love
is the visitor experience.
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:Once people visit, their experience
determines whether they return or rave
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:about you to their friends and family.
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:As Maya Angelou famously said, people
will forget what you said, people will
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:forget what you did, but people will
never forget how you made them feel.
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:And this is true for your museum too.
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:One thing I remind my clients is that
your visitor's experience with your museum
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:starts before they step foot in your
museum and it ends well after they leave.
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:The first thing that we
usually look at is the website.
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:How easy is it for people to plan
their visit from your website?
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:Do they have to dig around
for the information?
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:How easy is it for them to find
everything they need to know?
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:To come and see you.
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:Also, how are visitors greeted
when they get to your museum?
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:How's your signage?
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:How do you stay in touch
with them after you go?
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:Do you have a way to capture
their email addresses?
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:Do you follow up and
ask for honest feedback?
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:The third part of brand love
is third party endorsements.
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:Even with the best branding and visitor
experience, nothing is more powerful
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:than what others say about you.
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:Third party endorsements from
media, influencers, online reviews,
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:They boost your credibility
and they expand your reach.
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:As Richard Branson puts it, a
good PR story is infinitely more
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:effective than a front page ad.
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:When others vouch for your museum,
it carries a More weight than
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:anything you could say yourself.
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:If you see an ad by a pizza place
talking about how great their pizza
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:is, that is going to mean less to
you than if your neighbor tells
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:you that their pizza was great.
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:When others vouch for your museum,
it carries more weight than
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:anything you could say yourself.
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:Museums that cultivate their media
relationships and encourage their
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:visitors to write reviews, they have more
credibility because people trust third
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:party endorsements, Your third party
endorsements will be a way that you can
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:borrow audiences so you'll have a wider
reach That press coverage or influencer
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:reviews or community partnerships
introduce your museum to new audiences.
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:Also those third party endorsements
can reinforce your brand messaging and
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:lead to more consistent storytelling.
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:So why does this strategy work?
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:Well, it creates a compelling
story, and then an experience
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:that backs up that story, and the
external credibility that really are
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:going to make people take notice.
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:Your brand messaging draws people in.
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:Your visitor experience
turns them into fans.
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:And then those third party
endorsements amplify your reputation.
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:It's the perfect PR cycle
that builds lasting museum
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:love, loyalty, lifelong fans.
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:And it's what I have seen
work time and time again.
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:I'd love to hear from you.
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:What's one thing that your museum does
or could do to keep visitors coming back?
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:Is there something that I talked about
that you would like more information on?
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:Send me an email and let me know.
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:That's all for today.
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:Keep up the great work.
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:and keep loving your museum.
