Presented at the Museums in Conversation Conference, April 15, 2013, Syracuse, NY. This presentation covers a basic overview of why museums should use online technologies and how they can reach new audiences. For PDFs of print materials developed for this conference and links to research conducted for this presentation, please visit http://engagingyouraudience.wordpress.com

1. Through Digital Technologies
Session No. 1

3. • What audiences are you currently reaching?
• Think about an audience you are not reaching
• How might technology help you reach that audience?

4. • Get on social media
• People use social media as a newspaper
• You can gain new connections
• People use social media (Facebook especially), to find
general info
• Be more than just a presence
• Post photos
• Have a “voice”
• Do “behind-the-scenes”
• Make friends, expand your reach
• “like” other institutions
• “share” others’ updates

5. • Get a website
• Searchable for general info
• Easily provides information about programs, events, etc. that
might otherwise require a phone call
• Make it a GOOD website
• Opportunity to make a good impression
• Engage visitors before they visit
• Provide information not available at the museum or over the phone
• Share resources

6. • Digitize!
• Not everyone knows what you have (and they should!)
• Protects fragile items from overuse
• Broadens sharing ability
• Share collections online
• Broadens your audience considerably
• Makes primary source research easier
• Gets potential visitors (and donors) excited about the collection

7. • Smart phone parity approaches
• Be smart-friendly
• Website
• Exhibitions
• Events
• Surveys
• Apps
• Are you constructing Binaries?

8. • Look online
• Importance of surveying your audience
• What to do with the results?

9. • Who do you want to reach?
• Why do you want to reach that audience?
• What makes you think you are not currently reaching that
audience?

11. • You’ve got your new audience, now what?
• How can online technologies help you engage your new
audience?
• What does using online technologies offer your museum
that you might not otherwise be able to do?

12. • Use your technology manual!
• Engage or reengage existing audiences
• Really think about your website and how best to use it
• Consider joining a social network or reexamine your existing
strategy
• Start digitizing! Every little bit counts
• Get smart and be smart-friendly
• Research your area demographics and start reaching out
to new audiences
• How can technology help?
• Use those surveys
• Start implementing new ideas and don’t be afraid to
make mistakes.