“The best introduction to art is to stroll through a museum.” — Jeanne Frank.
Museums have long been a lifelong lens on humanity. They offer us art, and art imitates life.
However, the 21st century presents new challenges. Attention spans are shrinking, with a 2024 study suggesting the average person focuses for just 8.25 seconds, even less than a goldfish!
Therefore, museums must think outside the box to keep their visitors engaged and hungry for future exhibitions.
In this article, we will share the secrets to bringing museums to life for the modern visitor. Let’s begin!
The M In Museums Stands For Management
The concept of management stretches back to our very roots. Even our caveman ancestors strategized hunts and preserved food—a primal form of resource management.
In the 20th century, Frederick Winslow Taylor, the "father of modern management," optimized these strategies with specialization, efficiency studies, and employee incentives.
Museums, too, require thoughtful management. Our core content—the paintings, artifacts, and sculptures—traditionally resided in static displays. Today, however, the 21st century offers a fresh avenue: the digital realm.
Museums are no longer strangers to the digital world, and with good reason. As of April 2024, a staggering 67.1% of the global population, or 5.44 billion people, are internet users. Even more impressively, 62.6% (5.07 billion) actively use social media.
This digital landscape presents a powerful opportunity for museums to expand their reach far beyond their physical walls. Take the National Portrait Gallery in London, for example.
Director Nicholas Cullinan recognizes that visitor numbers to the physical location are just one piece of the puzzle. He highlights that a whopping half of their 1.2 million social media followers and 42% of their five million annual website visitors come from outside the UK!
“These are people who are unlikely to make a visit but are able to engage with the content we share."
So, with such high numbers at stake, how does a museum manage its content?
What we have found to be helpful for a lot of museums that we have collaborated with in the past and continue to work with - has been an organized, intuitive, and well-designed Content Management System (CMS).
Intrigued? Perhaps you're wondering what a CMS can do for your museum. Let's delve into the features and benefits of this powerful platform.
Harnessing the Digital Wave with Museums22’s CMS
The rise of Covid-19 presented a unique challenge for museums. With physical doors closed, institutions scrambled to connect with audiences in a virtual world. This is when we collaborated with the National Gallery of Modern Art to launch its app.
This app bridged the physical distance between NGMA's three campuses in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. Visitors could now explore diverse galleries in multiple languages, and leverage comprehensive audio guides—all from a single app interface. With over 12,000 active users, the NGMA app continues to thrive in the digital age.
While this success story emphasizes the importance of an app, this is what the behind-the-scenes look like in Museums22’s custom backend dashboard.
Your Brand, Your Story: Brand Your App with Your Identity
A museum's identity is unique. The CMS lets you publish your museum’s content as you want your visitors to see it on your apps.
This is part of your setup process, where you place your content and designs across your app interface and decide on the visual presentation of your mobile app.
Once your initial setup is complete, the dashboard allows you to manage the following processes:
Museum administration and management settings
User Dashboard to see app usage data
User analytics dashboard to see detailed information and analytics about app usage
Meet the Mastermind: Roles & Permissions
The second step is establishing a clear hierarchy. The backend dashboard, which includes the CMS, allows museums to create designated roles for different users, ensuring everyone has the access they need to contribute their expertise. Admins hold the reins, assigning roles and wielding more control over the overall content.
Language Management: Bridging the Gap
Language is no longer a barrier. The CMS dashboard lets museums host and manage tour languages within their app. This opens doors to a global audience, allowing visitors from all corners of the world to explore the museum's treasures in their own language.
Tour Management and Museum Info
First impressions matter. The CMS dashboard empowers museums to curate information about themselves and their tours as it will appear on the museum app. This includes setting up audio guides, GPS tours, virtual tours, and curated digital experiences. There are also options for museum teams to configure their social media pages and profiles on websites such as TripAdvisor. Teams can also create and curate points, configure the museum map tour, and make the map interactive.
But the magic doesn't stop there. The "Copy Tour" feature allows museums to easily host existing tours in multiple languages, ensuring everyone can access the museum's stories.
A Digital Gallery: Gallery/Web & Gallery/App
The CMS dashboard allows museums to transcend physical walls. They can upload their galleries online, accessible through a simple URL. This creates a virtual museum experience for those who can't visit in person. Additionally, museums can curate a gallery specifically for the app, allowing visitors to explore with the flexibility of filters based on floors, sections, and rooms.
Showcasing the Masterpieces: Exhibitions, Events & Gallery Management
Exhibitions are a museum's heartbeat. The CMS dashboard allows museums to not only showcase their current exhibitions within the app but also list and insert invitations (think RSVP URLs) for upcoming events. This keeps visitors engaged and informed.
Similar to exhibitions, the CMS dashboard offers tools to list events within the app. But the connection doesn't end there. Museums can leverage the power of notifications to send pop-ups and keep app users informed about exciting happenings.
Navigating the Halls: Section Management
Think of the CMS dashboard as a digital architect. It allows museums to create a user-friendly map within the app, managing their branches or museum sections within the museum experience. This makes it easier for visitors to locate their favourite collections and exhibits across the different museum sections and floors.
Keeping Track: Purchased Tours & Transaction History
Transparency is key. The CMS dashboard provides museums with a clear view of all purchased tours and a complete transaction history, including financial details. This ensures smooth operations and financial accountability.
Engaging the Audience: Send Notifications & Newsletters
Communication is a two-way street. The backend, or M22 dashboard, empowers museums to send targeted notifications directly to app users, keeping them updated on new exhibits, events, or special announcements. Additionally, museums can create and distribute custom newsletters, fostering a deeper connection with their audience.
Promo code Management: Make Promotions a Breeze
The Museums22 dashboard takes the hassle out of running promotions. Create and manage promo codes for various marketing initiatives, from discount codes for student groups to special offers for social media followers. Track the success of each campaign using built-in analytics, allowing museums to optimize their promotional strategies and maximize their reach.
Social Share: Manage and Upload Your Social Media Posts
The Museums22 dashboard goes beyond the app. The Social Share feature allows museums to upload and schedule social media posts directly from the dashboard. This streamlines social media management and lets museum teams manage their social media presence from a single interface.
Empowering Information: Essential Pages in Your Museum App
Information is power. The M22 dashboard allows museums to create essential pages within the app, such as FAQs, About Us, and Privacy Policies. This ensures transparency and provides visitors with all the information they need for a smooth and informative experience.
Art, Analytics, and Action - The Importance of Data Analytics for Museums
A feature-rich Content Management System (CMS) dashboard empowers museums to curate engaging digital experiences. However, great experiences are only half the equation. To truly thrive in the digital age, museums need another key ingredient – data-driven insights.
Imagine approaching a museum visitor and peppering them with questions about their experience. While feedback is valuable, it's not always practical or comfortable. This is where analytics dashboards step in.
At Museums22, we believe an analytics dashboard is an essential companion to any CMS dashboard. But why is data so crucial?
Studies reveal the power of data-driven decision-making: organizations that leverage data are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, 6 times more likely to retain them, and 19 times more likely to be profitable.
So, what kind of insights can a museum glean from its analytics dashboard? And, how do you benefit from it? Let’s break it down.
User Management: Know Your Audience
The user management feature provides museums with a detailed breakdown of their visitors. This includes contact information, demographics, interests, and app usage patterns.
The feature also provides a comprehensive view of the different exhibits the visitor has engaged with during their visit to the museum.
Activity Logs: Uncovering User Behavior Patterns
The Activity Logs function as an activity log, tracking all actions within the Museums22 CMS dashboard. This provides museum teams with a complete view of every action performed by users in the backend.
Heatmaps: Track Your Visitors
The Heatmap feature presents a quick data visual that lets museum teams understand the overall preferences of museum visitors by tracking their interactions with different exhibits.
This helps museums understand visitor preferences, and can help the museum management make better decisions for choosing exhibition topics and the nature of exhibits.
Media Library: Organize and Manage your Uploaded Media Files
The Media Library acts as a central repository for all the museum's audio, video, and photo assets used within the app. This provides the museum team with a comprehensive view of all museum assets stored within their app.
Tour Data: Unveiling Visitor Favorites
The Museums22 CMS dashboard doesn't just help museums create amazing tours – it helps them understand which ones resonate most with visitors. The Tour Data feature provides valuable insights into user engagement with different tours within the app. This empowers museums to refine content, optimize tour length, and ensure a consistently engaging experience for all visitors.
Step Into The Future Of Virtual Museum Experiences
If you think your museum is the only one facing challenges with visitor engagement, retention, and revenue management, you’re wrong. Here's the truth: The solution lies in embracing the digital revolution.
The process is one that includes learning new things. However, Museums22 offers a user-friendly platform that guarantees a smooth and streamlined transition.
Begin your journey today. Book a free demo with us to discover the potential of a digital you!
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