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Attracting visitors to museums requires keen thinking and market understanding. Innovation is key for museums to refresh their exhibits and appeal to visitors. Below are some of the best practices museums can implement.
Event organization
The most common approach is to regularly organize engaging events with fresh themes. Besides their artistic value, these activities can be educational and inspiring to a wide range of visitors.
For example, some museums offer dance and music performances on weekend afternoons. These kinds of special events can attract hundreds, sometimes thousands, of visitors on a regular basis.
The music event was held at the Oceanside Art Museum. Photo: OMA
Social media marketing campaign
With the ever-growing development of the virtual world, it's understandable that museums are concerned about their ability to attract visitors. However, this presents both a challenge and an advantage for museums.
Museum management units need to actively develop communication strategies and share widely on social media to attract new customer segments. For many people, sometimes the reason they choose to visit a place is simply because they saw it in a short video, a photo shared by a friend, etc.
Social media posts have helped the museum attract many visitors. Photo: Christian Fregnan.
According to statistics, content with hashtags such as #FineArt, #ArtHistory, and #ArtonTikTok has garnered over 2 billion monthly views on TikTok to date. The number of users using the hashtag #Museum has grown by 200% since 2020.
By increasing their reach on social media, museums can connect with visitors from a wider range of backgrounds and persuade them to purchase tickets. Furthermore, this helps museums become more accessible to the public, avoiding the perception that they are only for those with in-depth knowledge of art.
Reaching younger customers
One challenge many museums face is attracting younger audiences. To address this, they need to create a space where young people feel connected. In Vietnam, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology has combined Korean cultural experiences and opportunities to try on traditional Korean clothing to reach Gen Z.
The experience of wearing traditional Korean clothing delighted customers. Photo: Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.
Most importantly, museums need to be sensitive to young people and the issues they care about. Affordable prices are also a way to make museums more accessible to younger customers. This is a demographic with limited income, so receiving special offers will make their experience much better.
Collaborate with influencers.
Every social media influencer has their own distinct fan base, and connecting with them can be an incredibly effective advertising tactic. The museum's communications team will be responsible for finding influencers who match your target audience. This is no longer a new concept in the Vietnamese market, where the experiences of content creators increasingly influence consumer decisions.
Museum-related content is going viral on TikTok. Photos: Musée d'Orsay, Palace of Versailles, and Uffizi Galleries.
In 2018, Beyoncé and Jay-Z filmed their music video at the Louvre (France), helping the museum attract over 1.2 million visitors, a 25% increase compared to 2017. Clearly, influencers have a significant impact on tourists' decisions. Therefore, museum management could invite influencers to museums for free or hire them to promote the museum.
