Digital_engagement_in_culture_heritage_and_the_arts.1

DIGITAL ENGAGEMENTIN CULTURE, HERITAGEAND THE ARTSJasper Visser / Jim Richardson

CC By-NC-ND Asian Art MuseumAuthors In the true spirit of the 21st century, this publication The Digital Engagement Framework helps you toJasper Visser and Jim Richardson brings together the ideas, energy and experiments design the strategies, processes and technologiesEditor of many individuals and organisations. Included to systematically engage all stakeholders withJemma Bowman are Kevin Bacon, Rick Lawrence, Laura Fox, Mar your institution in order to maximise the valueDesign Dixon, Bridget McKenzie, Carlotta Margarone, Dana you co-create.Sumo Allen-Greil, Davide Baruzzi, Hans Henrik Appel, Luca Melchionna, Lynda Kelly, Mylee Joseph, “Our mission is to get culturalThis publication is available under a Oliver Zietzke, Pierre-Yves Desaive, Rui Guerra, institutions to use digital mediaCreative Commons Attribution-Share Ryan Dodge, Samuel Bausson, Steffen Boddeker, in a more effective way.”Alike license. Copyright 2013, Stephanie Rosestone, Susan te Riet, Travers Lee,Jasper Visser & Jim Richardson. Tony Butler and the great people at Sumo and Jasper Visser is an independent strategy consultant, Inspired by Coffee. change manager and innovator working with not- for-profit organisations. Thanks for creating a platform to develop our ideas. Thank you too for your energy and enthusiasm, [email protected] feedback, promotional efforts, skills and patience. This book is for you and all other professionals Jim Richardson is founder of design agency Sumo, working to connect people with culture, heritage the MuseumNext and CultureGeek conferences, and the arts. RaceDay and other brands. We would like to acknowledge the creators of [email protected] the Business Model Canvas for showing us a way to make complex ideas accessible in a simple framework. 1

IndexPart A Part D Part FIntroduction Assets and audiences Organising engagement3 Why digital engagement? 22 The key ingredients of your strategy 46 The organisational basis– And why a strategy? 23 Element 4: Assets4 Digital, online, physical 24 W hat does your audience expect from you? 47 Element 8: Metrics– Digital media, social institutions 25 From assets to content – Quantity, quality and telling a convincing story5 Bottom up, or top down? 26 Element 5: Audiences – Measuring engagement– How to use this book – Online communities (1) 48 Element 9: Guidelines 27 Things to know about 21st century audiences – Example guidelinesPart B 28 U sing digital tools to research 49 Element 10: Channels and contentThe Digital Engagement Framework your assets and audience 51 Choosing your channels6 A framework for digital engagement 52 Developing a content plan7 Asking the right questions8 The four building blocks of digital engagement Part E Part G9 C ase studies: The Digital Engagement Digital engagement strategies Seven example frameworks Framework in practice for your organisation11 Example: Digital engagement in a circus 29 Reach & engage 30 Phases of engagement 53 Digital engagement for a heritage sitePart C 31 Conversion 54 Digital engagement for an arts council 32 Content and engagement 55 Digital engagement for an exhibitionThe organisational basis 33 Case studies: structured engagement in action 56 Digital engagement for a festival 34 Online communities (2) 57 Digital engagement for a theatre12 Vision, objectives, trends 35 Case studies: online communities 58 Digital engagement for a local library– Urge and enthusiasm 36 Element 6: Reaching new audiences 59 Digital engagement for an artist13 Social leadership in the digital revolution 37 Audience mapping and reach 60 Your digital engagement framework14 Element 1: Your digital vision 38 Connecting through your assets16 How to define your vision 39 Case study: Mapping the playing field for a festival Part H17 A vision of more social institutions 40 Element 7: Engaging audiences18 Element 2: Objectives – Strategies to interest people Making it happen19 Element 3: Trends 41 Involve: invite, inspire, facilitate20 How to recognise trends? – Activate your enthusiasts 61 Getting started– 12 disruptive trends 42 Case study: Stimulating return – 10 weeks to a digital engagement strategy21 Case studies: Responding to trends 62 A digital engagement framework workshop visits with digital tools 63 Case study: A digital engagement 43 Co-created value 44 Case study: How one museum strategy for education 64 Our best advice raised almost 100k Euros 65 Your turn: how to give back? 45 Fans, friends and members 2

Part AIntroductionWhy digital engagement? And why a strategy?Jim and Jasper first met in Newcastle, 2009. Jim Digital engagement is an essential tool in the tool- And because digital media touches every aspect ofhad been blogging for a while about cultural kit of the modern organisation. And it touches a modern organisation, it needs to be at the heart ofmarketing on a now defunct blog. Jasper had been every aspect of an organisation. We’ve spoken every organisation. In order to get it there, you needan avid reader, liking the high quality content Jim with organisations whose front desk staff were to know what you’re doing digitally. You need toshared about social media, campaigns and new completely overwhelmed after their online have a convincing story.technology. When Jim posted a link to a conference sales skyrocketed during a successful onlinehe was organising on these topics, Jasper googled campaign. We’ve seen social review sites all but We call this convincing story a strategy. It tells youNewcastle upon Tyne and bought a ticket. That’s destroy institutions. Fortunately, we’ve also visited what you will achieve with digital engagement andwhen they met. organisations that were saved, financially or how you will get there. It also gives pointers about otherwise, because of their digital successes. how it influences other aspects of your organisationFour years later, we’ve been introduced to each and – more importantly - is influenced by yourother’s families, travelled the world helping organisation’s peculiarities, existing ways of workingclients, spoken at each other’s conferences and and employees.exchanged at least a thousand emails. Newcastleand Amsterdam may not be far away, but if it hadn’tbeen for the blog Jim kept and the social medianetworks that made the conversations possible,we would never have met.Why digital engagement? Because it’s one of thebest opportunities we’ve had in decades to reallyreach and engage other people, work with them onideas that are bigger than us and generate valuetogether. Digital engagement makes things possiblethat wouldn’t have been possible in the past, or atleast very difficult. 3

Digital, Online, Physical Digital media, social institutionsA social institution is an We like to say that digital is where the online The discussion about digital media has changed aorganisation that has put world of information and the physical world of lot in recent years. When Jim and Jasper met at thein place all the strategies, people meet. It’s an exciting place full of rapid first MuseumNext in Newcastle in 2009, the firsttechnologies and processes developments, fresh insights and rediscovered museum director was still to sign up for Twitter andthat are needed to values. It’s also a complex place: to understand engage in conversation with the public on socialsystematically involve all it you need to know about tons of things, from media. At the 2013 MuseumNext and CultureGeekstakeholders to maximise smartphones to big data, from social media to conferences, directors energetically engaged inco-created value. the semantic web. the discussion about the strategic implementation of mobile devices. Much has changed, and for the We believe the digital world offers tremendous better if you ask us! opportunities for institutions working with heritage, culture and the arts to connect with audiences The biggest and most promising change we see in and achieve our missions. Yes, there are serious cultural institutions is that digital media is inspiring challenges, but an institution that strategically them to be more social. The audience is becoming embraces the digital revolution will be better off. more than a customer, the institution more than a The world has changed and it’s time to change provider of education and entertainment. Together, with it. all stakeholders work together to create something truly worthwhile. The digital world excites us. We also know, however, it is not always easy for professionals and A social institution is an organisation that has organisations to figure out the best way to approach put in place all the strategies, technologies and digital and online media. That’s why we composed processes that are needed to systematically involve this book. It summarises over 10 years of experience all stakeholders to maximise co-created value. A working with institutions from all over the world. social institution understands that its audiences, The objective is to help you design and implement employees, friends, managers and trustees all work successful and sustainable digital engagement together to achieve its mission and objectives. This strategies that will make you and your organisation is often by using digital tools, but also over coffee in thrive in the digital age. Good luck! your cafeteria. Not all institutions active with digital media are social institutions. Those who thrive in the digital revolution have understood that ‘social’ is more than a set of tools; it’s a way of working. In this book we will help you design the strategies, technologies and processes that you will have to put in place to make your institution more social. 4

Bottom up, or top down? How to use this bookDigital media have been praised for their potential 1 A s a toolbox to design your organisation’sto create bottom-up change. Someone starts a digital engagement strategy.Twitter account and next thing you know a lifelongdictator has been replaced. And yes, if you have 2 A s an instigator for a discussion with youra good idea, good timing and a whole lot of luck, colleagues about more social institutions.magic can happen with digital media that moves up (Pro tip: buy or print a physical copy and leavethrough the ranks. it next to the coffee machine.)On the other hand, our institutions are often 3 As inspiration for the design of an audience-hierarchical. Nothing happens without four centred project or campaign.signatures and they take at least six weeks to obtain.By then, the funny-serious response on that blog 4 A s ammunition in your ongoing discussion withpost has lost its charm. But once you have the peers and colleagues about digital media.senior level buy-in for an idea, nothing can stopyou in unrolling the most ambitious of strategies. 5 A s a tour behind the scenes of organisations like yours. (This book is based on practice, notSo, where does a digital engagement strategy start: theory, so all examples come from real life.)bottom up or top down? 6 A s the basis for an internal training programmeThe answer, obviously, is both. It wouldn’t be fair to on modern communication, media andsay you can do this without support from high-up technology.in the organisation. Your director doesn’t have tounderstand the ins and outs of Instagram in order to 7 A s a starting point for your own researchbe successful digitally, though. All you need is the or theory about digital engagement.trust from higher ups that you will not make a mess(and that you may even make some money andnew members).Trust comes from knowing what you talk about andhaving an answer to most questions. Trust comesfrom making your boss enthusiastic with goodexamples. Trust comes from having support fromyour colleagues. This book will help you with all ofthis, so you can develop a digital strategy that startsbottom up, top down, left to right and any otherdirection you want. 5

Part BThe Digital Engagement FrameworkA framework for digital engagement The Digital Engagement Framework (DEF) is based on years of designing and implementing innovativeThe Digital Engagement Framework helps you to communication, marketing, audience developmentdesign the strategies, processes and technologies and new media strategies around the world.to systematically engage all stakeholders with yourinstitution in order to maximise the value you co-create. As with any framework, it is a simplificationof the real world. ReachAssets Guidelines Audience Channels Trends Metrics Engagement Objectives Vision 6

Asking the right questions You will also need creativity and project management The DEF helps you ask the right people the right skills to turn the framework into fresh ideas and questions at the right time. You could say thatYou need three things to develop a successful action (we’ll help you with that as well.) Thirdly, you developing a digital engagement strategy is mostlydigital engagement strategy. First, you’ll need need to ask and answer the right questions. Q&A. There are 10 different types of questions,support of your team, their energy and enthusiasm, ranging from visionary to operational. We will talkwhich is why we like to use the Digital Engagement you through each type and show how others haveFramework (DEF) in participatory design projects answered them.(see part H).Assets Reach • Where can you find your new audience Audience (online)?Assets are the valuable or Audiences are the peoplespecial things, people or Reach is about making a first connection with • What communities are they part of? you exist for, both thosequalities you own or do. you reach and those youWe distinguish tangible new audiences or existing audiences for a • How do you relate to these communities? don’t reach yet. We like toand intangible assets. make them specific. new activity or channel. • Which assets can you offer your new• What makes you • Who do you reach? stand out? audiences? • Who visits you• Why do people • How can you connect with them? frequently? choose you? • Who have a formalised Metrics Channels Guidelines• What do you sell? relationship with your• What are your values? Metrics help you measure Channels are where you share your Guidelines tell you how we will work. organisation?• What can you give away? success and monitor progress content, reach and engage people. • Who only knows• What experience • What are your core values? about you? • What are your KPIs? • Which technologies, media • Who is responsible for what? • Who knows about you, do you offer? • What is success? and tools will you use? • How do you respond to but doesn’t visit you?• How are you different • How will you report? • What new groups • What content will you share unexpected developments? would you like to reach? from your competitors? • What are the specifics Engagement • What can you offer your audience to of each group Engagement means developing the stay interested? • How can you involve your audience in what you do? relationship between you and your audience. • How can you activate them to become Only reached audiences will engage. an active advocate for your organisation? • How can you work together to co-create value? • How can you build your communities?Objectives Vision TrendsObjectives are the measurable and specific things Vision tells you what your future looks like Trends describe developments that affect youryou want to achieve with digital engagement organisation, its audiences, assets and vision. • Why does your organisation exist?• What do you want to achieve with digital engagement? • How will your organisation be different in 15 years time • What are important developments in your industry,• What are your organisation-wide goals and objectives? locality, organisation and market segments• What do you need to achieve to make the entire because of digital media? • How will you make the world a better place? • What new technologies and media do you see coming? organisation more social? • What will people say about you in the future? • How will society be different in 5 years time? 7

The four building blocks of digital engagementWe like to group the questions of the Digital Each building block consists of one or more elements.Engagement Framework into four main building Each element asks one main question. All theblocks. There is no fixed order in which to address answers from all the elements from all the buildingthem, although we like to start at the bottom and blocks together provide an outline for your digitalwork our way to the centre. engagement strategy. Simplify this result and you’re as good as done. 3. Engagement strategies2. 4. 2.Assets and Technologies and processes Assets andaudiences audiences 3. Engagement strategies 1. The organisational basis 8

Case Studies:The Digital Engagement Framework in practiceRoyal Ontario Museum, Copyright Brennan Caverhill, www.caverhillphotography.comToronto, Canada ‘Working through the DEF has‘At the Royal Ontario Museum we were just allowed me to think about howgetting started on our digital strategy and I was to involve multiple people fromtasked with gathering resources, references and across the institution in thiseventually putting the document together. As I huge endeavour and how bestwas doing my research I came across the Digital to structure a collaborativeEngagement Framework (DEF) and thought it effort at completing this task.’was a fantastic tool to help organize our efforts,’writes social media coordinator Ryan Dodge. Ryan Dodge, Royal Ontario Museum‘Working through the DEF has allowed me tothink about how to involve multiple people fromacross the institution in this huge endeavour andhow best to structure a collaborative effort atcompleting this task.’ Ryan has planned a thoroughprocess that includes workshops and discussionsand should result in a document that can becirculated to staff and senior management.He believes that, ‘A digital strategy is one ofthe most important documents an institutionshould possess but it has to be in line with themuseum’s overall strategy, mission, and vision.The DEF has helped me think about how thisdocument should fit within this but also howit helps deliver on our goals to help connectpeople to their world and to each other.’Thanks Ryan! 9

State Library New South Wales, The Loo Palace,Sydney, Australia Apeldoorn, the NetherlandsThe State Library of New South Wales is a Former royal palace, The Loo, which doubles as awonderfully energetic organisation flowing national museum and one of northern Europe’s mostwith ambitious ideas. Late 2012 they organised beautiful gardens, recently had a change of directora workshop around the Digital Engagement and direction to reverse declining visitor numbers andFramework in light of their Innovation Project, prepare the institution for success in the 21st century.which includes structured trials and experiments Amongst other developments, they completelywith services such as Pinterest and partners such revamped their online strategy in a process basedas Wikipedia. around the Digital Engagement Framework.Mylee Joseph of the Innovation Project writes that, At the palace, the DEF was used in a number of‘In our environment, the concept of connecting workshops to bring together ideas from peopleassets to audiences is particularly useful.’ The from all over the organisation. It helped themlibrary’s assets are diverse, including ‘collections describe potential and simple ways in which to(physical and digital), physical spaces, exhibitions, connect with new audiences, or build deeperevents, online services and staff expertise’ while the relationships with existing audiences. The worklibrary’s audiences are many and varied. resulted in an online strategy as well as operational briefings for the developer of their new website,The DEF especially helps the library to describe CRM and other digital tools.digital engagement plans for particular eventsand campaigns, to communicate these plans to With the help of the ascension of a new king earlyinternal stakeholders and decision makers, and to in 2013 and a series of well-planned exhibitions, Theshare these plans with the external stakeholders Loo Palace is experiencing a successful year. Theiron projects. From where we are, their structured DEF-inspired online strategy is also showing its firstapproach, high energy and creativity makes the results, which we hope will prepare them for manylibrary an example for others around the world. more years of high visitor counts!Well done!‘In our environment, the ideas ofconnecting assets to audiencesis particularly useful.’Mylee JosephThe Innovation Project CC By -JvL- 10

Example:Digital engagement in a circusAs far as we know the Digital Engagement Framework has never been used by a circus, whichmakes it safe for us to use as an example. Like many examples in this book this framework is notnecessarily exhaustive, but meant to show you how to use the DEF in different situations. Use itto your benefit and please do scribble, doodle, scratch and highlight to make it look better!Assets Reach • Connect with local bloggers to reach younger audience, Audience offer behind-the-scenes and make option for a fancy night-out.• Animals Not Coming• Tent • Put shows up as ‘theatre’ in local listings • Young couples/• Clowns • Pro-actively respond to mentions on other blogs: give• Open Trucks groups of friends feeling of contemporary organisation • Movie/Theatre• Few shows per location Metrics Channels Guidelines goers• MAGIC • Ticket Sales • Facebook/ Tumblr • Animals first! Tricky• Cheap tickets • FB fans and engagement • Local community • Varied Shows • Online audience • Mood of blogs, tweets, • Dialogue on Mondays websites/blogs • Traditions uncertain/don’t mentions etc. • Listing sites come• Tradition Coming Engagement • Create special online press events to generate • Generation visitors shareable online content. (parents and kids) • Invite school kids to photo sharing contest • Passers by (for the • Build Facebook presence for when we return animals) after a year around the day to day of the circus • Animal fans • school classesObjectives Vision Trends• Sell 25% of tickets online We make circus a contemporary • Focus on animal welfare• Create a more positive attitude towards alternative for a night out in • More (cheap) competition the 21st Century. • We’re ‘old fashioned’ us & circus in general • Families have smaller budgets• Build a loyal following of 5000 people 11

Part CThe organisational basisThe organisational basis Urge and enthusiasmThe basis of any digital engagement strategy are Most people are reluctant to change. Fortunately! Enthusiasm is about wanting to change. It meansthe elements ‘vision’, ‘objectives’ and ‘trends’ which Imagine if your workspace was redesigned every your team pours their energy into anything thatform the core building block, the foundation on day, procedures changed, the coffee machine works towards a better future. You will needwhich you can build your strategy. These three moved. Unfortunately, this means that when you this energy: in our experience it can take yearselements help you define the playing field and give start a process that might change the way things for a digital engagement strategy to be fullydirection for all other things you will do with digital go, your colleagues might not be your best friends. implemented and successful. There are manymedia. For different reasons, we like to start any ways to stir enthusiasm (one of them being yourprocess with these three elements (although you Two key words at the beginning of a (strategy personal ability to do so) and a nice starting point isdon’t have to, if you really don’t want to!). development) process therefore are urge and the vision of your digital engagement strategy. By enthusiasm. Use your time and energy in the envisioning a better future together, everybody onYour vision and objectives are usually internal affairs, first place to make people understand (or better, the team will feel more involved in this future andeither set by senior management or the result of discover together) the need to change now and start to realise their own role in helping to achieve it.discussion with your colleagues. Trends are defined make them want to do it together. The elementsboth internally and externally and require you to trends and vision are perfect to create urge andlook beyond the confines of your organisation. enthusiasm.Spend time on the foundation of your strategy Urge is about feeling the need to change. Trends(that’s an order!). Check your assumptions, show changes in society, technology, politics andinterview colleagues and invite experts, involve your elsewhere that have an impact on your organisation.visitors and read through all the documents your Talk about these changes with your team, inviteorganisation produces. Also, spy on the competition a trend-watcher to give a presentation about theand partner with universities and think-tanks to future and try to define what the changing worldmake sure you are spot-on when it comes to setting means for you. If you do this well, your colleaguesa bold vision, translating this into objectives and will also understand why your organisation will haverecognising trends. to change. 12

Social leadership in the digital revolutionWhat kind of people develop and implement • Don’t send information but engage We believe anyone can be a social leader withinsuccessful digital engagement strategies? in dialogue. his or her institution. It’s all about realising the same rules apply everywhere, such as that theMany of the professionals we’ve met that were • Know your audience, their ideas, way to successfully engage your audience onsuccessful in turning their organisation into a more their fears. Twitter is the same as the way to get your team ondigitally-savvy, social organisation share the same board, and vice versa.characteristics. They’re ambitious in their goals but • Implement systems for listening.humble in their team. They listen more than that they While this book is about reaching and engagingtalk. They work on building relations as much as on • Focus on service and making the audiences through digital media, you can applydelivering projects. They try new things, even if there’s lives of others easier. its lessons to your own life to enhance your sociala risk of failure. They work hard but don’t complain. leadership skills (and really, to any aspect of running • Be responsive. your organisation).There are many ways to label such professionals.We like to call them ‘social leaders’: leaders who Social leaders are not appointed; they’re self-made.understand that to be successful in the digital Social leaders can be anywhere in the hierarchy. Inrevolution you need to apply social media best an institution in the transition to being more social,practices to every area of your work: they hold pivotal positions. They’re well connected, but not necessarily online. 13

Element 1: The vision of your digital engagement strategy A good vision gives both the direction in tells you where all your digital efforts will lead which all your efforts lead you and the energyYour digital vision you. Not today, not tomorrow, but one day in a to do so. It’s important to understand that it better future (We like to look 3 to 5 years ahead). doesn’t matter if you’ll ever achieve your vision.How will you change the What matters is what you do to achieve it.world with digital tools? A vision is usually a bold statement. YourHow do digital media alter organisation probably has an overall vision, which So, what’s a good vision? It’s a short statementyour way of working? may go by another name (e.g. mission). This your team knows by heart and can explain inWhat bold and daring vision of overall vision may or may not include a mention of more or less the same way. Here are some visionsthe future do you have? digital, online or social media. It’s likely to include a of world-renowned institutions, followed by how reference to either your assets or your audiences. they could be read as digital vision statements. Regardless, your organisational vision is a good place to start thinking about your digital vision.Sydney Opera House (mission 2013) This includes the Australians who are physically (or financially?) too remote from the physical place andThe Sydney Opera House embodies beauty, inspiration and the liberating therefore can be reached digitally.power of art and ideas. It is a masterpiece that belongs to allAustralians. Didn’t we say a bold vision? It doesn’t say where and it feels like it doesn’tEverything we do will engage and inspire people through its excellence, matter. This can be done digitally very well.ambition and breadth. We will strengthen our central role in Australia’slife and identity.(Source: http://d16outft0soac8.cloudfront.net/uploadedFiles/SOH_ENTERPRISESTRAT_A5_FA_INTOUCH_RESUP_1.pdf) 14

Source: http://www.tate.org.uk/research/publications/tate- Tate doesn’t see digital as an isolated department.papers/tate-digital-strategy-2013-15-digital-dimension-everythingTate (Digital Version 2015) Making money! (Usually money is not part of a vision as it is part of the DNA of organisations,Through embracing digital activity and skills across the organisation, Tate aims but for a not-for-profit like Tate this is a reallyto use digital platforms and channels to provide rich content for existing and interesting gesture.)new audiences for art, to create and nurture an engaged arts community andto maximise the associated revenue opportunities. We will achieve this by This goes well beyond the walls of the institution.embracing digital activity and developing digital skills across the organisation..The National Theatre London (Vision) It might not be the truth, yet, but it is an ambition.The National Theatre strives to be a national centre of theatrical arts, central to Bold!the creative life of the country and unmatched in the world for scale, range of If you want to be unmatched in the world onrepertoire and audience reach. audience reach, you’ll have to be creative in reaching audiences. This is a clear starting point for a digital vision.Source: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/discover-more/about-the-national-theatre 15

How to define your visionAsk yourself: Your vision is the shortest possible summary ofhow is the world different because of you? What will hundreds of exchanges with colleagues, the generalbe lost to the world if you disappeared tomorrow public, funders, stakeholders and everybody else(be honest)? What would you like to achieve if you involved about why your organisation exists. Trycould do anything? to get to the core. Why, why, why?“We need more visitors.” Your vision is always about bigger things thanWhy? your organisation, things bigger than today and“We need to keep our funders happy.” bigger than the bottom-line. A vision is always aWhy? collaborative effort (but not necessarily democratic:“So our revenue sources don’t dry up.” it needs an edge.)Why?“To be able to continue with our work and keep the Sit down with your team and draft a vision byvenue open.” looking at the future and asking each other why. TestWhy? your assumptions with your senior management,“People should be able to enjoy arts.” influential stakeholders and both people that are yourWhy? audience and those that are not. Keep on refining.“Because art makes our community stronger.” Once your vision starts resonating with most of yourSo you’re strengthening your community stakeholders, you’re close.through art. 16

A vision of more social institutions A social institution is an organisation that has put in CC By-SA Branden Kowitz place all the strategies, technologies and processes thatIn 1997 James Heskett and others published the are needed to systematically engage all stakeholders tobook The Service Profit Chain. It describes why maximise co-created value.some organisations consistently outperform others.What the authors found is that there is a strong Skilled & Systematically To co-createrelationship between loyal and satisfied employees enthusiastic engage yourand loyal and satisfied customers, which in turn Valuemaximises the value an organisation generates. Employees AudienceThe idea caught on with consultants around theworld and they started restructuring organisations which strengthens the organisation and thereby its employeesto strengthen the relationship between customers,employees and value. 17 17A couple of years later, social media startedreinforcing these ideas and broadening their scope.Random employees became customer relationsworkers on Twitter. Customers become employeesin crowdsourcing projects. Value is openly discussedon platforms like Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com)and Indiegogo (www.indiegogo.com).The Service Profit Chain and the books it inspiredcombined with social media create the foundationsfor what is now often called a ‘social business’. A socialinstitution is the not-for-profit version of this idea.In a social institution employees and the generalpublic work together to maximise the value theinstitution generates. Every stakeholder makes hisor her unique contribution to the general goodand there is an honest value exchange betweenindividuals. Value in such an institution, by the way,is seen as much broader than just money.We believe the future of culture, heritage and thearts lies in embracing the best practices of socialinstitutions. Such institutions are a hub for learning,excitement, inspiration, fun! for all people and by allpeople. They are audience-centred, participatory,open, welcoming. A social institution understandsthat all it needs is its audience and its employees.The rest comes from them. Digital media are anessential tool in any social institution.

Element 2:ObjectivesYour digital vision is a bold statement for the Example objectives: • Increase the amount spent onfar future. Objectives translate this vision into our website per visit to 0.20tangible outcomes on a short to middle term. • Create an online Q&A platform for Euros in one year’s time.What, exactly, will you achieve with digital media? local heritage that weekly connects 200 people from the region with • Connect with members from theObjectives should be specific enough to make 5 people on staff in 3 years time. online DIY movement with 2 projectsdecisions about their success. Usually they per year, reaching at least 10,000talk about increasing, growing or maintaining • Launch a new website in six months members with each project.something, whereas it is also possible to make it that brings the organisation up-to-your objective to start or stop doing something. speed on the latest developments. • Inspire at least 5 designers to create new material with ourAlways make a distinction between objectives that • Increase online ticket sales digitised classic posters.are meant to take you from 0 to 1 (e.g. starting by 15% each year.customer service on social media) and those thattake you from 1 to infinity (e.g. growing your artcommunity or terminating your old mobile app).Make sure there’s a balance between the two, soit’s not all new stuff, but not all old stuff either.For objectives we like to look at 3 to 5 yearperiods and break them down into yearly steps. Allobjectives lead to your vision. When it turns out tobe impossible (or too easy) to achieve an objective,don’t be afraid to alter them in the process.Your list of objectives can be virtually endless, butwe suggest you keep it concise: you’re going tohave to monitor and report on each objective! 18

Element 3:Trends A digital engagement strategy is never isolated Trendwatchers are people trained to discover from developments outside of your organisation. trends that will impact your organisation, but if Populations change, Google and Apple launch new you’re unable to afford one, keeping your eyes and products, the government updates its policies and ears open is a good alternative. Visit conferences, the 300-year-old tree across the street from your go to network sessions, read blogs and local venue suddenly blossoms twice a year (climate newspapers and follow some key reporters, change). We call these developments trends and its politicians and thought leaders on social media crucial to recognise influential trends when you’re to get a sense of where things are going. working on your digital engagement strategy. Each trend poses either a challenge or an There are two types of trends: opportunity for your organisation, and very often sustainable trends which cause change but both. If you’re facing a challenge (e.g. changes do not disrupt your market or value networks* in funding structures) try to find a corresponding and disruptive trends that create new markets opportunity to turn it into something good for your and value networks and occasionally replace organisation (e.g. more direct relations with your old systems (sorry music stores, travel audience will allow for a new membership scheme). agencies). Obviously, sustainable trends are more predictable than disruptive trends and less shocking to your organisation * Value networks: The internal and external networks of people, stuff and resources that help you do business by moving tangible and intangible value around. E.g. the funders that pay for your projects, but also the providers that build them, the goodwill from local government, the connection with a university for fresh ideas, etc. 19

How to recognise trends? • They institutionalise focused trend scouting A good professional working with digital media does all these things for his or her own field, following keySome organisations always seem to be on top of • They monitor a broad range of external factors blogs, attending conferences and going to meet-change, rather than lagging behind. They respond ups. Together with somebody who is more focusedto trends while they’re happening instead of after • They encourage internal sharing of ideas and on audience development and societal changes andthey’ve happened. Research by the Industrial information. a colleague from finance, you have a good start ofResearch Institute in 2012 that corresponds a ‘trend team’, meeting monthly to discuss the earlywith our experience in the field has shown such • They regularly look at macro trends beginnings of what could become mayor trends.organisations share a set of characteristics Give timely notice to your director and before • They have a global focus you know it, you’ll be on stage as an international thought leader! • They network with external partners such as universities, business and competitors 12 Disruptive trends according to McKinsey 1 Mobile internet (far more than just 7 Next generation genomics another way to go online) (our DNA as Lego) 2 A utomation of knowledge work (think 8 Energy storage (never out of battery) computers answering the phone when you call for directions and way, way beyond) 9 3D printing (easy and accessible production, everywhere, but also algorithm based design, 3 T he internet of things (not just humans are developing structures the human mind online; your fridge will be too, soon!) cannot conceive) 4 C loud technology (access to everything you 10 Advanced materials (super strong or super light might ever need, only when you need it) or super cheap or ...) 5 A dvanced robotics 11 Advanced oil and gas exploration and recovery (the end of physical labour) (it’s what makes the world go round, still...) 6 A utonomous and near autonomous vehicles 12 Renewable energy (...unless we manage to tap (and the end of driver’s licenses) into renewables on a grand scaleCC By-SA Ted Eytan http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_ technology/disruptive_technologies 20

Case Studies:Responding to trendsThe city as muse for Ageing populations?Museum Rotterdam Graffiti grannies!Museum Rotterdam has a long history of Seniors and street art seem like an uncommonparticipatory projects that break down the walls combination. Fortunately the Finnish artist andof the museum and reconnect with actual life in ‘unruly art educator’ Veera Jalava thought differentlythe city. In a long-term experimental project called and when confronted with an ageing populationCity as Muse the museum used anthropological and the idea of graffiti workshops for seniors, shefieldwork practices such as participant observation decided to see where this combination could go.and in-depth interviews to unearth trends and What happens when grannies and graffiti meet?hidden stories in the city. In 2010, they workedwith a women’s group who lived and raised their What happened was the K65 crew. K for thechildren in an area scheduled for demolition and Finnish word for forbidden (kielletty) and 65redevelopment. In 2011 the museum worked for the minimum age for participation in thewith informal care givers throughout the city. crew that dedicates its time to street art. K65 fights prejudices about elderly people andIt only takes one look at Museum Rotterdam’s street art, develops the ability of seniors toFacebook wall to see the museum is connected read the urban environment and gives themwith the people of the city it serves, mostly alternative options for participating in society.by listening and focusing on what is relevantin the city. Even though the museum had to The project went from Finland to Norway andleave its building because of budget cuts, its success shows how challenges (negativetheir presence is felt throughout the city. conceptions about street art with ageing populations) can be turned into charming(Read more in the CAMOC newsletter of projects. Thanks for the inspiration, Veera!December 2012; http://camoc.icom.museum/documents/CAMOCNewsletter2012_04.pdf) (Read more on this blog by Veera; http:// www.mustekala.info/node/3158) Museum Rotterdam 21

Part D Assets and audiences: the key ingredients of your strategyAssets and audiences Assets and audiences are the key ingredients ofThe quality of your digital engagement your digital engagement strategy.strategy depends on the quality of yourunderstanding of the key ingredients. Often The main role of your engagement strategy and,we see organisations taking a too narrow in fact, the raison d’être for many organisations, isor simplistic view of what they have to offer to bridge the gap between what you have to offerand who they’re doing it for. The best ideas (assets) and the people who might be interestedcome from broadening this view. in this (audiences), meaningfully, if possible. 22 Yes, this is very much about marketing, but before we dive into that loaded term in the next part of this book, let’s spend some time on the two elements that it’s all about. Although assets and audiences are usually quite easy to determine, it’s worthwhile investigating them thoroughly. The quality of your digital engagement strategy depends on the quality of your understanding of the key ingredients. Often we see organisations taking a too narrow or simplistic view of what they have to offer and who they’re doing it for. The best ideas come from broadening this view. If you play it smartly, you can even have your audience help you determine your assets. Your knowledge about your assets can be used to connect with new audiences. Remember that in a social institution, everything works together to get the best possible results!

Element 4:AssetsWhat makes you stand out? Your assets are everything you have to reach out to and connect with your audience. ForGiven the choice between you and anything now, don’t worry about their potential. Theelse, what do you have to offer to convince key is to find as much of them as possible.people to pick YOU? (As with cooking, if you have a choice of ingredients, the final result will be better.)Assets are all about your strengths and theworthwhile things you have or do. You can probably list quite some of your assets easily. Check out your guestbook, the commentsGood coffee? Yes, that’s an asset. Clean toilets? on your website, the photos people share on socialYes. Ten thousand hits to your website on some media, see how you’re categorised on listing pagesobscure search word? Yes, that as well. Your great (e.g. ‘good burgers’) and eavesdrop on visitors tocolleagues? Even them. find more assets you might not have thought of. Small assets and big ones combined, we usuallyYour assets are not just tangible things but - easily find one hundred for each organisation.importantly! - also intangible stuff like friendlyfront desk staff, shelter from the rain, a night Go find yours!out or the sense of being part of a community.Assets, also, are your products: tours, magazines,productions, everything you are already doing.Some of these things might have a second lifeonline, with more reach as an app or doublethe impact when published as a blog. 23

What does your audience expect from you?There’s often a discord between why we (the So, your audience might come to learn, but in fact It also depends on whether you’re a world renownedprofessionals) think people come to our museums, they don’t really care? opera house or local historical association, havetheatres and festivals and why they actually do (or a restaurant or row of vending machines, sell outdon’t). Having been in hundreds of organisations over the regularly or don’t know what to do with your space. years, our only honest answer to the question ofFor years, pundits and professionals alike have been why people visit (online and physically) is that we That’s why it is essential to get all your assets down,telling us the educational experience of culture, can’t say for sure. It, well, depends. from the very first to the very last. You wouldn’t beheritage and the arts is a key reason for people to the first institution in the world to turn somethingvisit. They want to learn. Discover identity, their It depends on whether you’re talking about local, overlooked for years into a mayor draw for theroots, reflect on important themes in life, find regional or international audiences, experienced public.meaning. versus first time visitors, families or a lone businessman (from experience we know they like * Colleen Dillenschneider: Entertainment vs. Education,Interestingly, when you look at other research*, the good coffee and free wifi), a school class or group accessed 31 August 2013. http://colleendilen.com/2013/07/31/educational experience ranks well below mundane of friends, unemployed or CEOs. entertainment-vs-education-how-your-audience-really-rates-the-issues such as parking, cleanliness and employee museum-experience-data/courtesy in impact on the satisfaction of yourvisiting audience.CC By-NC CJ Buckwalter CC By-SA Benjamin Thompson 24

CC By-NC-SA J.S. Clark CC By-NC Peter KimFrom assets to content • Good coffee, apart from the occasional latte • The sense of community is something tricky toNot all assets are immediately transferable to digital art for your social networks, good coffee can translate into content, but think of photo galleriesmedia. They first need to be transformed intocontent. ‘Content’ refers to photos, images, scans, be turned into positive reviews on sites such of events, videos and interviews with visitors.metadata, blog posts, videos, tags, audio files andall other online representations of your assets. Turning as Tripadvisor. • Tours are one of our favourite starting places to findassets into content requires creativity and usuallysome form of digitisation. • Clean toilets mostly avoid content creation social media content. Tour guides usually know theOne asset can usually generate many pieces of (complaints). They can also be a place to best anecdotes and stories, which can be digitised.content, often in different formats. Also, not allassets are best used for the content they generate: disseminate content, e.g. with a screen for A good tour itself tells a story, which can be madesometimes their use is different as can be seen inthe examples below. waiting visitors. available for download as PDF for people visiting on • Search engine traffic to a specific keyword helps their own or on Google Streetview. you distinguish popular content and can help you • Magazines themselves are a collection of content. improve all your other content. When available digitally (and what magazine • Friendly front desk staff are content generators. content isn’t nowadays?) this content can be Their anecdotes, experiences and the feedback shared elsewhere as well, maybe as a blog, a series they receive can be turned into blogposts, videos of newsletters or by linking to it from social media. and updates. • Productions in the sense of plays, exhibitions, • Shelter from the rain gives you a reason to be lectures, concerts, etc. are one of your main listed on websites describing indoor activities. We’ve sources of content. Take pictures, make videos, also used this specific asset in Google advertising. interview visitors and turn the press release into lively social media updates. • A night out as an event is content for your social networks and helps you get on listing websites. 25

Element 5: Online communities (1)Audiences For your digital engagement strategy, we make An online community is a group of people a distinction between the audiences you already that regularly come together around a sharedPeople reach (digitally), and those you don’t. We like to say goal, shared interest or shared set of values. that your strategy should spend an equal amountAt the core of any digital engagement strategy of time, resources and energy on both groups. Online communities exist everywhere, aroundare people. We do what we do because we every imaginable topic, on all suitable platforms.want people to connect with culture, heritage Not all audiences are equally important for the They can be large (thousands of members, suchand/or the arts. We want people to discover, success of your digital engagement strategy. Your as on the literary platform GoodReads) or reallyhave fun, learn, grow, think, participate, share vision or objectives might prioritise some audiences small (such as the Facebook group for yourideas. Regardless of what anyone might say: and trends might impact your approach to others. project team). They can be institutionalised orwithout people our work would be worthless. anarchistic. They can be prosecuted or for-profit.Not all people are automatically your audience, When talking about audiences, try to be as specificthough. And not all audiences are digital as possible. Put a label on each group that is self- Most people with an internet connectionaudiences. Or will be, for that matter. To some explanatory. Local design students, dentists, seniors are either consciously or unconsciously apeople, one of the great virtues of culture, with their grandchildren, dog owners, the police. member of one or more communities. Andheritage and the arts is that they allow you to Group the small groups to make loose bigger ones: so are the people in your audience.break free from the digital chatter of daily life. dentists and the police are both professionals. Once you’ve defined the main groups that makeCC By-NC Amit Gupta up your audience (both the audience you reach, and the audience you don’t) we recommend you to see how these groups might relate to online communities. What are the shared goals, shared interests and shared values of your audience? Local design students want to become designers, dentists are passionate about teeth (we hope) and seniors with grandchildren value safety, a comfortable place to sit and high-quality service. (Of course, these are just examples.) Thinking about your audience as a potential member of an online community helps you to develop meaningful digital activities for them. It’s the first step towards making sense of channels, activities and the processes leading to a successful digital engagement strategy. 26

Things to know about 21st century audiences2.8 billion 17% mobile web traffic 30people online in 2013 (http://mashable.com/2013/08/20/mobile-web-traffic/) times an average worker checks their (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 86% of all web traffic will inbox, per hour! Global_Internet_usage) be video by 2016 (http://www.statisticbrain.com/ (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_ attention-span-statistics/) paper_c11-481360_ns827_Networking_Solutions_White_Paper.html) 28% of words are read on an average webpage (ibidem)83% 73% 1.22 8 seconds £ Trillionof internet users have did so to save time the average attentionbought something online in online sales in 2013 (ibidem) span in 2012 (4 seconds(http://www.statisticbrain.com/ (http://www.internetretailer.com/2013/06/27/12-total-online-sales/) trillion-global-payday-e-commerce) shorter than in 2000) (http://www.statisticbrain.com/ attention-span-statistics/) 20% 2.5 Billion 57% of time spent on 5.6 hours per day spentof committed relationships Pieces of content shared on facebook per day media is spent online with digital mediabegan online (http://www.internetretailer.com/2013/06/27/12-trillion-global-payday-e-commerce) (https://www.globalwebindex.net/ (ibidem)(http://www.statisticbrain.com/ online-time-now-exceeds-offline-online-dating-statistics/) 12.8 Billion media-consumption-globally/)Where people mostly lie about Google searches per month 58% of Americans 62% of gamers playage, height, weight, incomeand physical build (http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press_Releases/2013/7/ play video games with others comScore_Releases_June_2013_U.S._Search_Engine_Rankings) (online or in-person)(ibidem) (http://www.theesa.com/facts/ pdfs/ESA_EF_2013.pdf) (ibidem)In summary: Yes, audiences are digitally active, spend money and are social online,but the competition for their eyeballs is fierce. Nothing comes for free online! 27

Using digital tools to researchyour assets and audienceIn the ideal world you have all the time andresources to thoroughly research your audienceand assets. In the digital world, you can usesimple tricks to get a quick insight: CC By-NC-SA David Haasser 1 Read through your reviews on Tripadvisor, 5 Install a short (preferably 1 question) and non Yelp and other reviewing platforms. What intrusive questionnaire on your website that polls kind of people write the reviews? What did people why they visit in week one, who they they expect beforehand? What did they are in the second, their location in the third and appreciate about you? whatever else you want to know in later weeks. 2 U se Google’s advanced search to see who links 6 Do keyword research using free tools such to your website. What do these websites say as Google Trends and see how popular your about you? What is their audience? How do they perceived main assets are online. Which ones categorise you? (Use tools such as Alexa to get have most potential? to know a little bit about the external website.) 7 Check reputation management services like 3 Check your website’s statistics: which search Klout and Kred to get an insight into your social terms in the long tail lead people to your website media status. How do others perceive you? (look beyond the top-10)? If you have an internal What categories are you influential in? Does this search engine: what are people searching for match how you want to be seen? (and thus expecting to find) on your website? 4 C lick on the ‘likes’ icon on your competitors’ Facebook pages and consider the demographics of their fans. How do you compare to them (older or younger, more local or international, etc.)? 28

Part EDigital engagement strategiesReach and engage Engagement is about strengthening existingIt is time to turn the careful research of your assets relationships and enteringand audiences and your thoughtful ideas about into a value exchange withyour organisation’s future and the trends that your audience.influence it into action. It is time for you to designthe actual digital activities that will help youachieve your objectives.It is time to reach and engage your audience.The elements ‘reach’ and ‘engage’ in the DigitalEngagement Framework are a continuum (as youwill discover shortly). You need to reach peoplebefore you can engage them and you need toengage people before they can help you generatevalue. We make the distinction because activitiesfocused on reach tend to happen away from yourorganisation’s channels, whereas engagementoften happens on your own channels.Reach is about reaching out, connecting withnew audiences.Engagement is about strengthening existingrelationships and entering into a value exchangewith your audience.Together, reach and engagement describe howyour digital engagement strategy connects yourassets with your audiences in order to achieveyour bold vision of the future. CC By-NC-SA Exploratorium 29

Phases of engagement, from reached to activatedReach Interest Involve ActivateThe phases of engagement CC By VVBADThe development of your audience from occasionalpassers-by into highly enthusiastic advocates alwaysfollows the same phases. First, people are reachedby your organisation. With some effort from yourside, they might become interested in you. Buildingon their interest, you can involve them. The involvedaudience, finally, is close to being activated to helpyou create more value for more people. Seeing thisdevelopment as different phases, each of whichrequires a different approach from your side, greatlyhelps you design smart digital media activities.Pro-tip: plot your existing audiences on the phasesof engagement. What would be the next step forthe different audience groups you distinguish?Can you put names on some of the people thatare already activated? 30

Conversion Conversion from one phase to the next.Your digital engagement activities will focus Find your audience Provide great content Invite to participate Acknowledge contributionson converting audiences from one phase of Determine their channels Be reliable Inspire Action Empower your audienceengagement to the next. You will have to do Actively approach them Keep delivering Facilitate Connections Follow Upthis all the time, as every person develops athis or her own pace through the phases, and Reach Interest Involve Activateat any given time there will be people in eachphase of development. 1000 100 10 1Not all people you reach will one day becomeactivated. As a rule of the thumb we say youwill convert 10% of people to the next phase,meaning that out of every 1,000 people youreach, 1 will eventually become activated. Well-designed activities aimed at niche audiences cangenerate much higher conversion rates, genericnewspaper advertisements will fare much worse. 31

Assets, audiences and engagement CC By-SA Marcel OosterwijkThe red thread through the different phases of Content (the digital translation of yourengagement are your assets (obviously). Digital asset) helps to stimulate engagement.content (blogposts, videos, polls, infographics)are the translation of an asset into something Contentyou and your audience can work with in thedigital realm. Content, therefore, plays a key Use your content Deliver high-quality Provide ‘conversation Give content torole in each phase of engagement. to flirt with well-timed and pieces’: content bloggers (etc.) your audience relevant quality people connect with and open up yourPassively, content lets people discover you (SEO. advertising) around the world own content.(SEO) or you use it actively in advertising toreach your audience (which creates newcontent: advertisements).It is your content, the quality of it and the rhythmin which you publish that interests people.People will be involved with each other andyour content.You need to activate your advocates with theright content to help them do their work (e.g.give bloggers access to high quality images).The ability to creatively turn an asset into contentthat resonates with your audience might be oneof the key characteristics of a successful digitalmedia practitioner. Reach Interest Involve Activate 32

Case Studies:Structured engagement in action Create Democracy Public architectureStatistics from the Democracy In 2009 Sumo designed a participatory and online What are the possibilities for public architecture?project showed that from the exhibition called Democracy. The idea was to This question was at the core of an online campaignnearly 15.000 people it initially democratically select the best design inspired around the launch of a book by the Museum ofinterested, nearly 12% became by the theme ‘democracy’. Designers and artists National History of the Netherlands in 2010. In theinvolved of whom 17% became used posters, illustrations, cartoons and many book and on specialist websites, people with anactivated and added value other ways to show their ideas and participate, interest in architecture were invited to share theirby contributing artworks. but that was not all. In the democratic nature of thoughts and best practices on a dedicated website. the project, the general audience was encouraged to vote for and comment on contributions. To trigger the audience to engage with the project, the website provided examples of good public The project reached its initial participants architecture from all over the world and opinion through the social media and personal networks pieces that were meant to provoke discussion. of the organisers, as well as through limited Selected bloggers were actively pursued to cover marketing efforts. It then interested the audience the discussion and project on their blogs. with a selection of thought-provoking and often nicely designed works about democracy. Of all the people reached with the project, 26% The democratic nature of the project invited became interested in the project at one moment interested visitors to participate, and to or another and of them 18% became involved, share their experience on social media. starting discussions and contributing thoughts. A handful of people (12%) were activated and Statistics from the Democracy project showed that took the discussion to their own platforms, from the nearly 15.000 people it initially interested, fitting perfectly with the expected conversion. nearly 12% became involved of whom 17% became activated and added value by contributing artworks. If you’re interested in discovering how we measure reach, interest and involvement, please refer to section F. 33

Online Communities (2)The phases of engagement do not only show the Understanding the dynamics of online communitiesdevelopment of an individual from a digital passer- and the development of audiences will help youby to an enthusiastic advocate for your institution. It focus on what is necessary to reach your objectives.also gives insight in the make-up and development If you’re planning to build a local art community,of online communities. who will take the leading, activated role? (The easy answer: you will, so plan your time accordingly.)Remember that an online community is a group Who will provide the content? (Again: you, butof people who regularly come together around a with help of a team of engaged members.) Whatshared goal, shared interest or shared set of values. content? (This is related to the shared goal,When they come together, however, they do not all interest or value of the planned community.)take on the same role. Online communities take time to develop. If you’veIn any community some members will take on found a niche without too much competition, expectthe role of leading activist, stirring conversations, to need at least six months (and much more for theinviting others to join the community, keeping the community to become healthy).rules and maintaining the community’s integrity.In your community, you are most likely the leading When planning an online community, at least haveenthusiast. Other members will contribute, post a clear idea about who will be the leading activistcontent, debate, answer questions. Still other and a plan to connect with them, the shared goal,members will mostly consume content. If the interest or value that will give the community acommunity is openly accessible, most people reason to come together regularly and the contentwill merely bounce by every now and then. This you need to build the community.is the difference between activated, involved,interested and reached.CC By-NC-SA Spelio CC By-SA Guian Bolisay 34

Case Studies:Online communitiesFoodies, chefs and Conscious about culture CC By-NC-SA Mart Museuman Italian museum Young people and new audiences need toThe staff at the Museo d’Arte Moderna e learn to appreciate culture. It’s an often heardContemporanea di Trento e Rovereto in statement by policy makers, pundits andnorthern Italy, like all good Italians, have a professionals. Young people should be forcefullypassion for good food. Their archives contain introduced to art, culture and heritage andfood-related objects and they often organise after a while they will enjoy it themselves.photo-friendly Mart Cooking events in whicha famous chef prepares food inspired by the A lot changes when you reverse this thinking. Overinstitution. And, as all Instagram and Pinterest the past few years the Dutch weblog CultuurBewustusers know: food works well in the digital age. (Conscious Culture) is proving that young people do appreciate culture, films, art, theatre, music,Early in 2013 the museum started a first experiment everything. What young people need is somebodywith building a community of food lovers with to tell them about it in their own voice, honestly,the apt name Progetto Cibo, or ‘Project Food’. and with room for surprising twists and uncommonThe asset they focused on most were the food views. CultuurBewust does this with reviews writtenrelated posters, magazines and other objects in by young reporters who approach topics withouttheir archives, which they published with well the preconceptions of the established cultural elite.written comments on a special Tumblr blog. In a short time the weblog managed to buildProject Food was an experiment, but after a loyal following of thousands of people andconsistently publishing content for some time, not all of them are really young. Their fresh no-more and more people started visiting the nonsense approach to reviews opens up theblog, sharing its content and interacting with sometimes inaccessible world of culture, art andthe museum. When such early beginnings are heritage to a general, inexperienced audience.reinforced with real life events and - later on -a call for engagement, a strong community Shared interest:will be built. discover culture.Shared interest: Leading activist:food. young reporters.Leading activist: Content:the museum’s archivist. reviews.Content:archival images related to food. 35

Element 6: CC By-NC-SA Paul MayneReaching new audiencesDigital engagement activities, part 1Everything starts with reaching your audience.For decades marketers have used a wide rangeof tools to get people to know about something,remember it and maybe, please, try it at least once.We call this all-important first contact betweenyou and somebody in your audience ‘reach’.Activities aimed at reaching new audiences arethe first part of your digital engagement activities.It’s not just entirely new audiences you need toreach, though. Your organisation’s name may beknown to your audience, but if they never comeor have a completely mistaken perception of whatyou do, you will need to reach them again. If ithas been years since they visited you, you willhave to reach them anew. And for your digitalengagement strategy, you will have to digitallyreach even the most loyal visitor if she/he has neverinteracted with you outside of the physical realm.At the same time you’re likely to accidentally reachaudiences digitally you would never have reachedphysically, for instance through search engines.Reaching your audience starts with knowingyour audience and understanding them.Reach, to us, is not a metric. ‘We reached 200kpeople online last month!’ Reach is the beginningof engagement and it is engagement thatmatters in the end. Reach can often be bought,whereas you need to earn engagement.That said, without reach, there canfollow no engagement. 36

Audience mapping and reach 8-12 year olds School Kids Young familiesInvite your colleagues around a big piece of paper or Young explorersa whiteboard with some markers. 12-16 year olds 1 Write down your organisation’s name at the centre of the Art historians Parents w/ child paper and draw a big circle around it, almost touching the 2 edges of the paper. Local Students 2 Equally spread out your main audience groups around the Theatre Students edge of the big circle. ‘Professionals’, ‘families’, ‘tourists’. Design Students 4 “I can call the editor Write down the names of each main group’s subgroups for a review” slightly closer to the centre of the circle. 3 freewifi.blogspot.com “We can buy a 3 For each subgroup, write down their main goal, interest or Creative work places featured article” 1 Bloggers values as separate topics still closer to the centre of the “US” circle. If different subgroups have similar goals, interests or values simply connect them with lines. Copy Writers coffee.tumblr.com 5 4 For each goal, interest or value: where do the members Good Coffee “Lets use our content Artists to start a board.” of the subgroup go at the moment to answer to their need to be connected? Be specific: write down names baristas 4a of platforms, locations, competitors, etc. This is a lot of work and it might mean you need to break out in groups Freelancers Inspiration Pinterest researching the subgroups online. Actors Design Boards4a If you really, really, really cannot find an existing platform Designers Writers or location, describe what it should be like (‘a weblogs Dancers listing day trips in the region’) and clearly mark it. This could be an opportunity for you to offer a service or build Creatives a community. 5 Then, connect your organisation with each of the platforms and locations. How are you related to these platforms? For instance: Do you (or any of your colleagues) know the editor of the platform and/or can you get to know him/her, e.g. by putting him/her on the press list for your next event? Can you join the community and become a trusted member? Can you pay to connect with the audience of the platform or location (content marketing, advertisements, etc.)? Can you add value to the platform with your unique knowledge and experience? 37

Connecting through your assets CC By-NC-SA Myles Grant CC By-NC-SA John ThurmBroadly speaking, there are two types ofconnections between your organisation and theplatforms where your audience can be found:• Personal connections• Content connectionsPersonal connections are straightforward. Becauseyou know the editor/owner/curator of a platform youcan get your message on the platform. A personalconnection is also when you build a presence ona platform and become a trusted member. (Youyourself are the personal connection.)Content connections are based on the idea thatmost digital media platforms are in a constantstruggle to produce relevant high-quality contentfor their audiences. When connecting withplatforms and reaching their audience, this is yourfoot between the door: you have the assets thatprovide them with content.The simplest content you can offer is a relevant (andpreferably, slightly personalised) press release withhigh quality imagery. Exclusive content, previews,behind-the-scenes and all the traditional PR tricksare other types of content you can offer.Better still, use your assets in a long-running Q&Awith a platform. Imagine they write about a topicyou also know about and can use your assets toadd valuable content in the comments. This directlyreaches the people who read the comments andindirectly builds your standing and reputation in thecommunity. Do this consistently for a longer timeand your reach grows.To discover your options, go back to your audiencemap and put potential assets to each connectiongoing from your organisation to platforms. 38

Case Studies:Mapping the playing field for a festivalPerformers, visitors and opinion makers Bands PerformersIn 2012 we helped a new performing arts festival Singer Songwritersmap their audience and come up with a strategy Dancersto connect with them. The image on this page isa simplified and generalised version of what we Theatre groups Festival Die-Hardsdid for them, which shows how audience mapping Paintersfor your digital engagement strategy might work Line-upout for your organisation. (The actual map was thesize of a reasonably sized whiteboard, which is not Localsuncommon when we do this work.) Illustrators Festival “Team up with Fun pastime “Provide performers local competitors” with HD images” Performers’ Newspapers “Add to listings” Guardian cult. websites; portfolio Dance Television sites; myspace; last. lovers fm; youtube; art Performing arts school websites supplement & blogs; & forums; local “Provide w/ Telegraph cult. pages; competitions;... Theatre scoop” what’s onstage; listings “Live” experience lovers “Press preview” (festival info, last.fm,etc.) BBC; local news stations;... Power Tweeps Music Celebrities Being w/ friends Music lovers Opinion Makers Something to do Performers Visitors Young families Fans of performers Students 39

Element 7:Engaging audiencesDigital engagement activities, part 2 Strategies to interest people CC By-SA Kennisland CC By-NC-SA Mart MuseumOnce you’ve reached an audience (actively or Plainly put, your audience becomes interestedpassively) it’s time to develop your relationship when they cannot resist you or your asset. Theywith them. Why? keep returning to get more. You’ve got them hooked. (Well done!)Only engaged audiences enter into a value relationshipwith your organisation. This means they might buy You create interest by creating a consistent high-a ticket, but also contribute their thoughts, make a quality offer based on an asset that resonates withdonation, invite their friends, come back regularly, the audience you’re trying to get to.become a (digital) volunteer, etc. Consistent means that you can keep the offer up forAn engaged audience participates with your quite some time (at least the time of the activity).organisation. Participation lies at the heart of social This means you have enough high-quality contentmedia, web 2.0, crowdfunding, co-creation and a to share with your audience to stay front-of-mindton of other buzzwords of the digital revolution. without them opting out.‘Maximise co-created value.’ That’s why. • An expert blog with in-depth information.Engagement forms the next three phases in themodel: Interest, involve and activate. Remember • A newsletter with exclusive content.that with reach, engagement forms a continuumand that each individual member in your audiences • A puzzle or quest based on interactionmoves through the phases at his or her own pace. with your asset.Each successful digital engagement activity • A social media channel with audiencecombines reach and engagement, but has a contributions.primary focus on one or the other. • An ongoing behind-the-scenes video series.Engagement always happens with or because of anasset. People respond to a specific production or High-quality means the offer resonates with yourdiscuss a project around a cup of coffee in your café. audience: it helps them achieve a goal they might have, answers to their interests and fits their values.Engagement is hard work. It can take months to Text is written in their voice, images are worthachieve, but when it works it gives an adrenaline looking at, videos are well edited.rush, wonderful! An interested audience returns regularly to your website, subscribes to your newsletter, reads your social media updates and watches your videos. They’re might be waiting to be involved, if only... 40

Involve: invite, inspire, facilitate Activate your enthusiasts The step from interested to involved is The pinnacle of any digital engagement strategy, achieved by inviting, inspiring and facilitating if you ask us, is when some individuals in your your audience to participate. audience become highly enthusiastic advocates for an organisation. And yes, this does happen. In fact, Inviting means to ask people to participate and get it happens quite often. involved. Ask a question, fill in the blanks or request a photo upload. An invitation is always explicit. Once your audience is involved, the last thing you need to do to reach digital engagement valhalla is Inspiring means challenging people to get involved, activate them to become enthusiasts. This means for instance by posting thought-provoking content, you’re giving a little bit of control away so they can triggering lively discussions and encouraging share your story, spread their enthusiasm and share participation. in your success. Facilitating means to make it possible for people Activating starts with thanking people for to participate and be involved. This means participation, even overdoing it a little bit. It also technologically, but also because you’re open means you need to facilitate the people who want and accessible and understand the different to talk about you (e.g. allow for easy high quality needs of your different audiences. downloads of your press photos) and allow them to share you with their friends. The three actions combined often form the core of a digital media activity and its main Activating your audience is fun. Your ideas can go focus. The conversion from interested to viral when normal members of the audience start involved is a meaningful one to measure. sharing your organisation with the world. Digital media are designed to make this happen. It’s up to you to unleash this potential.CC By-NC-SA Macattck CC By-SA Paul Stein CC By-NC-SA Clint McMahon 41

Case Study:Stimulating return visits with digital tools Visitors as museum ambassadors at Museum Naturalis In 2013, Naturalis in the Netherlands asked Rui Guerra of INTK to do a number of experiments to increase their number of visitors. Rui quickly understood that the fastest way to achieve this was by having the existing visitors do most of the work and he embarked on a series of successful projects. Using the social web and digital tools he activated and empowered visitors to invite others to visit Naturalis. In the most charming experiment, visitors are encouraged to take a picture of themselves, replacing their own head partly with that of an animal. The picture is a discount coupon, which visitors can easily share on their own Facebook, Twitter or other channels using their own digital cameras or smartphones and the museum’s free wifi. Well placed text invites the friends and family of the visitor to buy a discounted ticket for Naturalis. The experiment involves visitors by allowing them to share a positive experience in a funny way and activates them to do so with a well-lit and recognisable photo opportunity, free wifi and a real benefit for sharing (discount). Good one, Rui and Naturalis!CC By Esther Herberts 42

Co-created valueBy carefully designing and implementing the right A well-designed activity for co-creating valuestrategies, processes and technologies, a social can go beyond this. Crowdsourcing andinstitution can engage all stakeholders to maximise crowdfunding projects are examples whereits co-created value. Co-created value implies that institutions and stakeholders work togetheran organisation can generate more value when to generate value. Your institution does whatworking together with all relevant stakeholders it does best, and the audience shines in their role.(including its audience!) than when it is on its own. In our experience, an act of co-creation requiresAt first, this sounds counter-intuitive. Why should at least an involved audience and preferably anothers work together with you, aren’t they already activated and enthusiastic audience, especiallypaying you (in money, time or kind) to deliver a when you’re talking about funding. (Rememberservice? it’s co-created value, so you both need to add!)Co-creating value, however, means that you On the other hand, whenever a stakeholder addsunderstand and recognise the value others already value (and this includes complaints!), he or sheadd to your institution and maximise their ability can be considered to at least be involved withto do so. A complaint by a visitor is a free audit, a your organisation. Turning a complaint around intopositive review on Tripadvisor or a birthday party an enthusiasm can be easier than creating enthusiasmact of PR, liking your Facebook page a desire for a from scratch, if you have the right strategies andmore profound relationship with your organisation. processes in place to do so.Value, value, value, created not exclusively by you,but together with your audience. Co-created value is a magical, wonderful thing. It’s the result of a successful and thorough change process towards a more social institution, not merely the objective of a single digital activity. Co-creating value is not easy, but when it starts working on a larger scale it is worth all the trouble.CC By-SA ColaBoraBora CC By-SA David Dugdale 43

Case Study:How one museum raised almost 100,000 EurosSuccessful crowdfundingat Palazzo MadamaWhen the Palazzo Madama in Turin had the unique With help of the local audience and support by Another surprising outcome of the project wasopportunity to buy the Servizio D’Azeglio, a rare set the media, the palace raised over 96,000 Euros that there was a direct link between the number ofof earthenware, they faced a considerable challenge. in a two month period. Most of the money was donations on any given day, and the amount of buzzFirst of all, the small museum and its team did not collected online (89,000 Euros). 1,590 people made the project generated on digital media. More tweetshave the 80,000 Euros they needed for the sale. a contribution, most of them between 10 and 25 and likes directly resulted in more donations.And secondly, they didn’t have time to raise it in the Euros although there were outliers contributingtraditional way. So, faced with the risk of seeing the more than 1,000 Euros! Crowdfunding is a popular, but difficult engagementcity’s heritage disappear into the hands of a private strategy. For every success story there are manycollector, they decided to do something new and In exchange for their contribution people received a failed attempts. Fortunately for the Palazzo Madama,audacious: raise the money by asking everybody. simple mention in the list of donors on the website their thorough planning and enthusiastic approach and in the museum on the label of the Servizio has paid off nicely. Congratulations!Based on the DEF, the team at Palazzo Madama d’Azeglio, free tickets for the Palazzo Madama orset up a crowdfunding campaign aimed at a local even an invitation to a special event. The exchange * If your Italian is up to it, see this link for more statsaudience and heavily supported with social media. of value was clear, but it was obvious that people http://www.slideshare.net/carlottamargarone/acquista-They set up a specialist website where people participated mostly for more subtle reasons than con-noi-un-pezzo-di-storia-per-to-crowdcould contribute funds, as well as an old-fashioned tickets or recognition. 56% said they contributed todonation box in the palace. save a unique piece of content and 53% because they enjoyed participating in a collaborative project*.CC By Fluvio Spada Sabina Arena, Fondazione Torino Musei 44

CC By-SA Thomas Angermann Fans, friends and membersCC By-NC-SA Ben Engagement is about structuring and developing the relationship between an individual and your organisation. Each next step in the phases of engagement makes the relationship more profound. If you plan the development of your audience well, you can have it coincide with a traditional tool your institution probably already has to formalise relations between individuals and organisations: the membership scheme. Of course being a Facebook fan is easier than paying an annual fee to be an official member, but the mechanics aren’t much different. Both are about a value exchange between individuals and the organisation. A ‘like’ in return for great content, a subscription for easy access, magazines and other perks. This means that your membership scheme should be part of the discussion about digital engagement: how do the two strategies align? When will you encourage your digital audience to become members? What are the benefits associated with liking your Facebook page? We highly encourage you to treat all your audiences equally and see their development as an ongoing process. Maybe an online visitor will need to become an enthusiast before her first visit, and then slowly be encouraged to become a member. It may take years, but one day she will make a huge donation, if only you plan and design accordingly. 45

Part FOrganising engagementThe organisational basisThe last pieces of the digital engagement puzzleare the most operational elements in the framework:metrics, guidelines and channels.This is about what you (and your colleagues) willactually do to make digital engagement happen(and how you will demonstrate that it has happened).• Metrics, or how will you monitor progress?• Guidelines, or how will you work?• Channels, or what tools will you use?These elements translate your ideas about reachingand engaging your audiences into a basic set ofprocesses and technologies that you need in orderto do so. It’s time to make things happen! 46

Element 8:MetricsMonitoring progress, Quantity, quality and telling Measuring engagementmeasuring success a convincing story Measuring engagement is different for everyMetrics are extremely exciting. No really, they are! We distinguish three types of metrics: digital engagement activity and the metricsMetrics help you prove your ideas are working or will be different as well. In this example possibleadjust them in time if they don’t. Metrics convince Quantitative metrics measure facts: number of metrics are given for each phase. Often thecritics and build cases. When applied rightly, visitors, visits, page views, time per visit, pages reach (etc.) of a project will be measured withmetrics can help you make informed decisions. per visit, fans, followers, mentions, likes, shares, a combination of metrics. Be strict and be number of sales, revenue ... consistent: What matters is not showing hugeHowever, metrics can also be a risk. We always numbers to your boss, but making sense of thesay that you shouldn’t measure because you can Quantitative metrics can be easily measured success of your digital activities in the long run.and stop there, but you should measure smartly with the right tools.in order to make decisions and monitor progress. Twitter followersMetrics without action only give you a false sense Qualitative metrics tell something about theof security. If you use metrics just to show numbers, impact of what you do: conversion rates, click 1 Reach Facebook Reachyou would be better not to use them at all. through on newsletters, percentage of visitors Website visitors that spend at least 5 minutes on your website,Use metrics to measure one of three things: loyalty, mood of the comments Qualitative Views on Youtube metrics are harder to measure and require1. Progress on any of your objectives. specialist tools or your time. Newsletter subscribers2. The development of your audiences from Anecdotes are not metrics per se, but give 10 Interest Retweets reached to activated. convincing examples of what you’re trying to Facebook likes achieve. An activated Facebook fan who starts Loyal website visitors3. The impact of digital on your institution. blogging about you, an rare connection with an Subscribers on Youtube outside community, a reply by an influential blogger, Newsletter clicksEach objective you’ve defined in the Digital to gather anecdotes you will have to monitor allEngagement Framework comes with at least digital activities well and be able to discover outliers. 100 Involve Replies on Twitterone metric. Facebook comments Quantitative and qualitative metrics help you to ContributionsCreate regular moments to discuss the outcome of monitor progress, make informed decisions and Video responseswhat you measure with your team and director, so allocate resources. Anecdotes help you to convince Replies and forwardsyou can act if you’re either not reaching objectives, critics, encourage your team, inspire others andor the development of your audience disappoints. generally create an optimistic feeling about your 1000 Activate ‘Follow Fridays’ institution’s digital engagement strategy. Shares & mentions Blog posts about you Non-commissioned virals Content contributions 47

Element 9:GuidelinesValues and actions Example guidelines Good guidelines:Guidelines decide the day-to-day of your 1 We always speak and write in a personal • Help decide on content.organisation’s digital activities in simple rules tone online. • Enable everyone to participate.like the ‘if-this-then-that’ rules of a computer. • Clearly define who does what. 2 We share as much as we can, but never talk • Encourage engagement.What to do when a visitor asks a question about money or partners. • Help avoid mistakes.on social media? And what if it’s impolite? 3 Four eyes on every outgoing piece of content.Who creates the content for the nextcampaign? And who checks the spelling? 4 Only the head of communication can pull content offline.When does your director get the lateststats? And in which format? 5 Every online question gets an answer within 8 hours.Guidelines make the processes you need tosucceed on digital media tangible and describe 6 Every external email is responded topreferred behaviour. Guidelines should be based within 24 hours.on your organisation’s values and fit the waysyou usually work. 7 When we discover a relevant online discussion, we tell each other.The simplest form of guidelines is a documentwith straightforward rules that are understood 8 When online discussions get emotional,by everyone. Quite often this is enough to cover we rather continue them offline.most of the situations and only specific projectswill need additional guidelines. 9 Everyone is responsible for building best practices. 10 We use common sense in everything we do. 48

Element 10: CC By-NC Thomas HawkChannels and content Channels are the combination of media and technologies thatEvery strategy boils down to doing things you need to make your digital activities happen. No matter howA digital engagement strategy is all about posting ambitious your vision and diversethe right content on the right channels (plus a the strategies to reach and engagegazillion derivative activities!). people, we recommend you toChannels are the combination of media and keep the number of channels youtechnologies that you need to make your digital actively maintain at any givenactivities happen. No matter how ambitious your moment limited.vision and diverse the strategies to reach andengage people, we recommend you to keep thenumber of channels you actively maintain at anygiven moment limited. Each channel takes timeand resources to keep up, two things that usuallyhave very real limits.Ending your strategy development process withthe element channels therefore functions as a realitycheck for your entire strategy: can we do what wewant to do with the time and resources we have?Channels can also be the start of your strategy, withone enthusiastic colleague opening a social mediaaccount and experimenting with digital engagement.Whether it’s the conclusion or the beginning ofyour digital engagement strategy, channels andthe content they require are the very heart ofanything you do digitally. Do them well. 49