Shownotes
What makes your museum stand out? In this episode, Amy talks about how to define your museum’s unique story and why getting clear on your message can guide your decisions, deepen your impact, and help your audience connect with you on a whole new level.
Get simple prompts to help you uncover what makes your museum memorable and how to use that story across everything from programming to partnerships to social media. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to sharpen your message, this episode is here to help.
This is part of Amy’s Summer Book Club series based on her free ebook, “Getting Visitors Through Your Museum’s Doors: Building Connection in a Noisy World.”
Links from the Episode:
- Download a free copy of the ebook: www.lovemymuseum.com/ebook
- Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum: Check out their brand story video on the homepage
- Listen to the rest of the series: https://www.lovemymuseum.com/podcast/summerbookclub
- https://www.lovemymuseum.com/podcast/everybody-knows-your-name
- https://www.lovemymuseum.com/podcast/communitymuseum
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
Today on the podcast, we're talking about how to uncover your museum's,
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:one of a kind story and how that can
set you apart, guide your decisions,
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:and connect with your community.
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:Let's get started.
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: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 in
communications expert for museums.
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:You're listening to the fourth episode
of our summer book club series.
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:Every other week I'm walking
through one section of my new
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:free ebook called Getting Visitors
Through Your Museum's Doors.
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:Building connection in a noisy world.
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:If you haven't downloaded your copy
yet, you can grab it at any time.
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:The link is in the show notes.
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:In the last episode, we talked about
becoming a community museum about what it
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:means to be seen as a trusted, welcoming
place in your town or your neighborhood.
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:Or your city.
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:And today we're digging into
something that's closely connected.
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:How to define your museum's unique story
because here's the truth, even if your
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:museum doesn't have the biggest budget,
the fanciest building, a large staff.
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:A one of a kind collection, you still
have something special to offer and your
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:story is what helps people see that.
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:So let's start with this.
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:Why does figuring out your
museum's story matter.
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:And what does that even mean?
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:So a lot of the museums that
I work with do amazing work.
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:They are preserving local history,
they're inspiring future scientists.
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:They're creating learning experiences
and they're serving their community.
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:But when I ask them, what's
the one thing you want people
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:to remember about your museum?
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:I usually get a long pause.
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:And you may also be thinking,
don't we already have this?
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:Isn't this just our mission statement?
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:And yes, it is related, but
it's not quite the same.
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:Mission statement is often written
for internal or official use.
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:It's usually a little more businesslike,
maybe even a little dry, but your
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:museum's unique story is more poetic.
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:It's meant to move people.
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:It usually paints a picture of
why your work and your museum
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:matters to the community.
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:Here's a simple example.
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:Your mission might say we preserve
and interpret local history, but
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:your unique story might sound
more like We help neighbors
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:understand the place they call home.
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:It's about connection and emotion
and meaning, and that's what we
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:want visitors to walk away with.
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:It's the story we want them
to repeat to their friends.
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:It's.
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:Something that's a little easier
even to remember so that they
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:can repeat it to their friends.
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:One of my favorite brand stories is by the
Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum.
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:I've talked about them in a
previous episode, and I'll link
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:their website in the show notes.
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:I want you to go to their homepage
and watch the video there,
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:your story is not just your mission
statement or a clever tagline.
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:It's that through line that
connects everything you do.
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:It helps you make decisions, attract
visitors, get a buy-in from your board,
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:and build relationships with partners.
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:It's what makes your museum unique.
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:One of the key messages in the new
ebook is that we want your audience
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:to know your story so well, that
they repeat it to their friends
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:when you're not even in the room.
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:And an important part of
your story is not about you.
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:It's about them.
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:It's about how, how do you make them feel?
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:Do they feel inspired?
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:Do they feel reflective?
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:And it's the why.
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:Why should they care?
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:If you've read the book, StoryBrand
by Donald Miller, you'll know
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:that he talks about this a lot.
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:Also, if people can describe what your
museum is about in their own words, that's
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:a sign that your story is a landing.
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:That's a sign that your brand
messaging and your brand identity
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:is working and resonating.
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:Now, that was a lot, so.
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:Let's talk about how you figure
that story out in the ebook.
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:I offer a few questions to kind of
get you started, to get you kind of
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:brainstorming, and some of those are
what do people say after they visit,
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:and maybe also, what do you wish
more people knew about your museum?
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:And another great one that I wish
museums talked about more is why was
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:your museum created in the first place?
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:What would, what's the, the backstory?
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:What was the inspiration?
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:Was there a need?
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:Was there a catalyst event that happened?
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:These questions help you
beyond just what's on display
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:or what's in your collection, they point
to what your museum means to people,
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:and you need to create that connection
for that long lasting relationship.
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:For the the buy-in, a lot of
times we default to facts.
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:Museums will say things like, we
have 10,000 artifacts, or we host
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:three rotating exhibits a year.
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:And that's fine.
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:But what's more of powerful is
saying, we are the place where kids.
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:Fall in love with science, or we help
people feel proud of where they came from.
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:That's a story that people remember,
and more importantly, it's a story
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:that they wanna be a part of.
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:They want to see themselves in the stories
that you're telling, in your exhibits,
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:in your programs, in your events.
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:Once you have that clarity,
your story becomes a tool.
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:It helps you decide what partnerships
or what exhibits make sense.
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:It helps to internally align your
team around a shared purpose.
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:It really helps, and this is my favorite.
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:It really helps you communicate.
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:More clearly, more consistently,
and more confidently.
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:When your story shows up in your
social media, in your signage, in
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:your tours, people start to trust you.
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:They see what you stand for, and
they're more likely to support you.
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:They're more likely to come
visit you again, and they're more
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:likely to tell their friends.
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:So here's your.
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:Bite-size, action step for this
week, ask three people to describe
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:your museum in their own words.
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:This could be a board member,
a staff member, a volunteer,
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:or even a frequent visitor.
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:You can do this casually.
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:Just ask, how would you
describe us to a friend?
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:And then look at what they say.
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:Are there any common threads or is
there anything that surprises you?
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:And that's your cue.
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:That's the clue to where your story lives.
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:You could also gather your team
and ask, what's the one thing we
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:want every visitor to feel or know?
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:When they leave, one activity that I
do with my consulting clients before
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:we begin our work together is I create
a Google Doc in our shared folder
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:that all of the staff has access to.
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:And on this Google Doc,
everyone is asked to share.
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:What they love about their museum.
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:If you have volunteers, you can
also print something out to leave
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:it in the binder at the front desk
or put it on a staff bulletin board
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:so they can add to it as well.
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:And you can also send this out in your
email newsletter to ask the visitors.
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:On your list or ask your board.
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:This is such a good exercise and you'll
learn so much and get a lot of really
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:good inspiration for your messaging
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:. Thank you for listening to this
episode of the Love My Museum podcast.
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:I hope it gave you
something to think about.
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:In next week's email, I'll follow up
with a simple takeaway to help you
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:keep building on your unique story.
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:And again, if you haven't downloaded the.
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:Ebook yet, you can go grab it.
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:It is completely free and full of tools
like this to help you grow your audience
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:and deepen that community connection.
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:It's linked in the show notes,
also in the show notes if you
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:are just finding this series.
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:Are all of the previous episodes
in the summer book clip series
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:in the next episode, we'll be
talking about designing your visitor
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:journey from before they step in
the door too long after they leave.
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:And if you're enjoying the book
or if you have any questions,
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:please send me an email.
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:I'd love to hear from you.
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:Okay.
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:That's all for today.
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:I'll see you next time.
