A common mistake many venues and destinations alike make is that they focus on being a place to visit instead of creating a community for their visitors to join. Despite facing tough competition for attracting attendance from other industries, museums are a great example of an organization that can benefit from creating a community through its events.
Check out these four tips for leveraging events to build a community:
A museum is foremost an artistic, historical and cultural pillar in the community. Before a museum can enter the tourism market, the organization needs to interact with the community. This allows your museum to earn its position as a notable organization in your city or town.
One way to do this is through newsletters or an events guide. You can stay connected with your guests by sending consistent newsletters outlining upcoming events, exhibits, special promotions or extended hours. By giving them inside information, you help nurture relationships outside of the walls of your museum.
Hosting events at your museum will create a draw for individuals who wouldn’t have necessarily visited otherwise. In a city’s entertainment circuit, museums are competing with clubs, restaurants and hotels.
Throwing events at your museum will help your audience see you as a true contender for socializing options. In addition to having a full house, you’ll also be able to increase your revenue.
Whether your museum is a small organization with a unique niche or a major institution, your venue and exhibits deserve to be in the spotlight beyond your normal hours of operation. Hosting special events during the evening or breaking up the day’s options with an event is a smart way of getting people to your venue, not to mention it’s fun. It also gives you an excuse to flaunt your thriving organization and entertainment contributions to the community. Get buzz for your event by choosing a hashtag and encouraging attendees to share photos through Twitter or Instagram.
Partnering with a local nonprofit is the ultimate way to achieve all three of the aforementioned goals of your museum’s events. Through a charity partnership you can show off your venue and exhibits, enhance your positive image in the community, pull in new groups of visitors and share in cross-marketing opportunities with the nonprofit organization.
To find out how Localist's event calendar software can help you manage and promote your events, and create a thriving community, schedule a personalized demo.
