Making an Impact- Creu Argraff WELSH MUSEUMS FESTIVAL TRAINING – 10 AND 11 SEPTEMBER 2015 HYFFORDDIANT GWYL AMUGEDDFEYDD CYMRU – 10 A 11 MEDI 2015

Making an impact This presentation will look at:  Online and offline opportunities before, during and after the Festival  Maximising impact within limited resources  Ideas for you to implement within your museum / planning for action  Identifying your key target audiences – define and prioritise as accurately as possible to achieve maximum impact.

Do what you can, but do it well  Decide how your museum is going to be involved  Who’s your target audience/what do you want to achieve?  Who else will/can help you achieve this?  Pool ideas  Give encouragement  Share the workload  Spread the joy Making the Festival work for your museum

How will my museum support the Festival? Two possible approaches, offline and online: OFFLINE: Open during the Festival. Proactive use of Festival marketing materials e.g. bunting, posters, freebies Running an event or events, and branded as part of the Festival ONLINE: If not open to the public, create fun ways to promote collections via social media channels i.e. twitter / facebook If open, support what you’re doing at site, communicate collections and send messages to a wider audience

Who’s your target audience?  Visitors – encourage more people to visit  Staff/volunteers/trustees – make them feel an integral part of something positive linked to the sector. Proactively factor messages early into internal communication tools you may use i.e. staff briefings, staff noticeboards, and team meetings.  Stakeholders – e.g. council leaders, decision makers  Partner organisations  Media – press, radio, TV, online blogs etc.

Before the Festival - 1 Once you know what you’re doing and who you’re targeting – what’s next?  Identify who will help you deliver the Festival at your museum e.g. who’s working that week (include both staff and volunteers)  Communicate to them why and how your museum is supporting the Festival  Designate roles – e.g. those welcoming/meeting visitors to raise awareness about the Festival and encourage visitors to engage in social media about their visit  Update information about your museum and events on the Welsh Museums Festival website

Before the Festival - 2  Decide if you’re going to use the Festival as an advocacy opportunity, as well as a marketing one  If so, agree who you want to target and with what messages – e.g. write/ a local councillor, AM or MP and tell them how you’re supporting the museum. Invite them to the museum during the Festival period, or send an open-ended invitation if they’re someone you’re targeting  Decide why you want them to visit, and what the desired outcome would be e.g. meet face to face, raise awareness, create a photo opportunity or simply as part of a wider familiarisation visit.

During the Festival  Implement what you’ve planned  Ensure pictures are taken and encourage visitors to get involved  Visitor-generated communication can be very powerful – try to establish two-way dialogue with visitors.  Evaluation – crucial if we’re to capture impact and learn lessons  Use the postcards  Log feedback online and in-house

Before the Festival - 3  Decide if you’re going to use the Festival as a media/press opportunity  If so, decide what you want to communicate e.g. a specific event, exhibition, collections, opening hours or a general visit  Decide what press to target – national, local, print, radio or television  Work with the Marketing & Communications team – use existing contacts if you have them, or ask for help.

Before the Festival - 4  Decide if you’re going to use social media during the Festival  If so, go through the social media pack and plan content now  If possible, designate specific people to be responsible for social media during the week  If not, plan tweets now and ensure they’re ready to go - TweetDeck  Research key people to target e.g. local councillors and invite them via social media to an event  Be creative!

After the Festival At site Collate feedback and evaluate if you met your objectives Thank those who supported you in delivering the Festival, and share feedback If others helped you deliver the Festival, ask for feedback and ideas if it was to be repeated again. Online Do a round up of your involvement on Twitter, Facebook or storify etc If you have a blog, why not write about the week and your involvement? Keep updating information on the Welsh Museums Festival website Stakeholders Thank those who visited, and if any follow up required, ensure it is done Follow up with those who didn’t respond or couldn’t attend your Festival event – invite to visit at a time that suits them Communicate the success of the week e.g. cuttings from local newspapers, photographs, stats, visitor figures etc.

“ ” Any questions? U NRHYW GWESTIYNAU ?