Museums and Millennials: 7 Effective Content Marketing Tactics to Attract Young Visitors
How do museums attract visitors?
Or rather, how do museums attract youngsters?
That’s one of the biggest pain points many art institutions struggle with, especially these days.
Due to the pandemic, the attendance rate has dropped by 77% worldwide, with a revenue loss of 80% compared to 2019.
This unfortunate situation has also impacted the relationship between museums and Millennials, making it hard to stay relevant to the latter.
This calls for a change!
To better connect to Millennials, it’s essential to understand Gen Y has different perspectives, desires, and expectations from the more traditional, older audiences that typically attend museums.
Millennials look for special moments to share with their loved ones and want to experience things worthy of their time, energy, and money.
That’s why an engaging approach is the best way to grab their attention and bring in more young adult visitors.
But how do you do that?
Everything starts with authentic, interactive, accessible, detailed yet simplified content that reflects what Millennials crave the most - deliver it on the right digital channels with a strategic plan, and you’ll win them over!
In today's post, I’ll show you seven content marketing tactics to effectively attract this generation and build long-lasting connections.
Let’s get started!
Why Are Millennials Important for Museums?
Do Millennials like museums?
According to the 2010 Millennial Marketing survey, YES!
They enjoy museums just as much as theaters, city parks, or sporting events, with over two-thirds considering them of great value. However, the same research highlights they spend a small portion of their leisure time at museums.
The reason?
Well, most Millennials prefer special events, interactive learning, social experiences, and personal approaches they don’t often see happening during a museum visit. Hence, they end up choosing other leisure activities.
Source: Gensler
A great way to change this is by integrating edutainment into your strategy and using content marketing to provide it in multiple, creative ways.
But to get the most out of it, you need to deeply know your Gen Y audience to align your marketing goals with their interests and values.
Bear in mind that Millennials…
Are a highly lucrative market (in 2020, their spending power was estimated at $2.5 trillion annually).
Do thorough research before buying (they check out online reviews and consider user-generated content a trustworthy source of information).
Are tech-savvy and multi-device consumers.
Prefer visual content over text-only content (they’re more likely to share and trust it).
Are affected by FOMO (they need to keep up to date with all things online).
Are loyal to brands who share their same values (83% expect this from companies).
If you focus on their behavior, you’ll understand what drives them and ultimately create valuable, entertaining content that generates continuous interest and delight.
7 Content Marketing Tactics to Increase Engagement Between Museums and Millennials
At this point, you should have a clear picture of who Millennials are and why they’re important for your marketing success.
They’re not easy to target as their preferences and needs constantly evolve. But with time, consistency, and the right content strategy, your endeavors will pay off. (You’ll know how to cater to their expectations/goals and develop deeper relations.)
Ready to explore seven content marketing tactics that help boost engagement between museums and Millennials?
Let’s do this.
Create High-Valuable Content
To achieve higher engagement with the millennial audience, your content must be:
Informative
Educational
Direct
To the point
Simple
Helpful
Experiential
Fun
Entertaining
Authentic
Millennials appreciate thought leadership and expertise. If your content resonates with them, they feel motivated to engage with it, share it with others, and keep the conversation going.
They start trusting and seeing you as an authority.
Hence, you build a real brand-consumer relationship based on loyalty, utility, and great value.
Authenticity is more important than ever. (Social Media Today)
Whether it’s blog posts, videos, social media posts, or other content types, listen to their needs, make them feel important, and speak their language.
Combine high-quality content with in-depth audience research, and you’ll stand every chance of converting your young following into repeat visitors and customers!
2. Ditch Pushy Marketing
For a solid relationship between museums and Millennials, the old, traditional marketing is not the route to go.
Millennials hate the hard sell, and the rise of internet ad blockers (globally, 42.7% of internet users use them) confirms their desire to consume online content without being interrupted and bombarded with annoying ads.
Sponsored campaigns are impersonal and only brand-focused, meaning they wouldn’t trust your promotional content and would quickly dismiss it.
To avoid reputational risk, get rid of pushy marketing and shift to compelling content that speaks to your young audience instead.
Millennials expect to feel involved before any purchase decision, make their own online choices, and see content created with their interest in mind.
That’s why personalized, customer-driven marketing is key.
To genuinely engage with Millennials and make your museum more appealing:
Focus on storytelling rather than hard selling.
Give them a reason to share your content (make it educational, fresh, original, useful, and visual).
Collect feedback from them to improve your content strategy (analyze their comments, mentions, shares, likes, etc.).
Put them first and connect organically (don’t be pushy or salesy).
The benefits?
The more they enjoy your content, the more likely they are to purchase your services, visit your museum on site, and spread the word with others - over time, they may even become loyal followers and excellent ambassadors for your brand!
3. Use Storytelling
Storytelling is a powerful tool to successfully market your museum to Millennials.
Not only does it play a key role in boosting your online presence but, it also…
Connects people and brings a human feel to your institution.
Offers a unique way to establish an emotional interaction with the audience.
Sets you apart from the competition.
Makes your brand more memorable and trustworthy.
Helps you attract and convert your target audience into visitors/customers.
This works perfectly with Millennials, who look for personal and uplifting connections with brands - including museums.
Source: Contently
For effective storytelling:
Set your tone of voice for a more impactful communication (Will you be conversational and casual? Or serious and professional?).
Highlight your museum’s core values and mission through authentic, fun, and experiential stories.
Simplify your message to make it accessible to your audience.
Figure out what Millennials’ interests/preferences are and create stories around them.
Make your content relevant, timely, and relatable to evoke an emotional reaction from your audience.
Side note: choose the format Millennials appreciate the most (like blog posts, videos, or podcasts) and use your creativity to share remarkable content that makes your museum remembered.
Here’s an example:
4. Make the Most of Social Media
Social media is one of the strongest and most popular mediums to foster interactions between museums and Millennials.
It helps increase engagement, generate conversions, and promote your museum’s collections and activities beyond the on-site visit.
75% of Millennials say social media enables them to communicate with brands and companies, opening the doors to strong connections. (Sproutsocial)
When used strategically, social channels provide a loyal base of fans that will potentially turn into future visitors/customers.
But how do you make the most of these platforms?
To expand your online reach and brand awareness is essential to create interactive, experiential content that inspires and persuades Millennials to stay connected with you.
Through quizzes, polls, Q&As, giveaways or videos, you’ll…
Actively engage with them.
Form a strong bond.
Learn more about their behavior/likes/expectations.
Keep your brand relevant.
Pro tips: follow your competitors’ accounts to see how they communicate with their following, share your best content on your social media platforms (upcoming exhibits, behind-the-scenes, special interviews, etc.), and have constant conversations with followers to show you care.
5. Encourage UCG
User-Generated Content (UGC) is the real deal when it comes to attracting Millennials, increasing online visibility, and driving conversions.
It’s the most authentic form of content created by users (through photos, videos, testimonials, etc.) and reshared by museums to highlight their reputation.
Thanks to it:
Millennials and museums deepen their relationship.
You humanize your brand identity.
You foster your audience’s experiences.
Prospects start to trust you and get interested in what you offer.
The fact that 35% of Millennials consider UGC more impactful than any other content type comes with no surprise.
Screenshot from: Embed Social
Remember: with relatable, personalized content, you’ll boost your millennial audience’s participation and offer unique experiences tailored to them.
6. Collaborate With Micro-Influencers
Influencer marketing is another great tactic to strengthen the bond between museums and Millennials - especially when you collaborate with micro-influencers.
This type of marketing bolsters your museum’s long-term reputation and credibility, and increases your ROI.
Here’s how it works…
Micro-influencers have a loyal social following (an average of 10-100k followers) that sees them as experts in their niche. They have an authentic, personal relationship with their supporters - something that even celebrities struggle with - and stand out for their individuality.
What matters isn’t the size of the influencer’s following or their popularity, but how they genuinely express opinions on a specific brand.
Millennials care about their positive reviews and are more motivated to purchase if someone they follow and trust has enjoyed a brand’s product/service (influencers affect consumer buying behavior by 40%!).
Micro-influencers are incredibly relatable because they’re everyday people. (Anvil Media)
Working with niche content creators that suit your museum’s mission, values, and target audience will benefit you in many ways.
You’ll…
Improve brand awareness.
Increase traffic.
Grow your online authority.
Generate more conversions.
Influencers with a high number of followers have lower engagement than those with fewer followers. (Influencer Marketing Hub)
Do the following to get maximum impact with influencer marketing:
Thoroughly research (see which influencers line up with your brand identity and campaign goals).
Choose the right influencer (look at key factors like their social media activity, audience type, and content production).
Define the collaboration (How long will you work with them? Will you pay them or offer some incentives?).
Create content together (give influencers specific guidelines but let them express their creativity too).
Measure the results (keep track of your campaign performance, engagement rate, impressions, etc.).
Micro influencers’ support will bring incredible value to your museum, being knowledgeable in their field and knowing how to appeal to Millennials.
7. Share Social Issues
One thing museums and Millennials have in common is their philanthropic behavior.
They’re both sensitive to prevalent issues and strive to bring about change in the world for a better existence.
The Deloitte Global 2021 survey highlights how Millennials and Gen Zsactively actively seek to influence policy and business actions on important matters, like environmental issues, inequality, and discrimination.
That’s why Millennials connect well with brands sharing their vision and taking a stance on social and cultural problems (almost 50% of them are more willing to buy from a company if their purchase supports a cause).
If you create content around topics that directly involve them, you’ll be able to develop deeper relationships and be in sync with their social beliefs.
A few tips:
Use impactful content that tailors to Millennials’ vision and expectations.
Express your point of view on the latest social goings-on.
Show your social responsibility (What actions are you taking? What’s your policy about rights, diversity, inclusion, or accessibility?).
Explain what causes you support and the benefits coming from your audience's help to level up engagement.
By doing so, you’ll give authentic reasons to trust and support you.
Museums and Millennials: How to Build Better Connections With Content Marketing
So, what are museums doing to engage Millennials?
Truth is: connecting with younger audiences is hard if you don't know how to do it.
You need to take the right approach. And what better way to expand your engagement and reach than using content marketing?
With a thorough analysis of Millennials’ behavior and needs, you’re one step ahead in creating interactive, entertaining, personalized, high-quality content that attracts.
You’ll gradually increase your online authority and form loyal relationships that convert Gen Y into repeat visitors.
Takeaways to keep in mind:
Millennials appreciate thought leadership and expertise.
They look for authenticity and trustworthiness in the content they consume.
They want to feel valued and involved before any purchase.
They’re highly motivated to support a museum that shares their values and beliefs.
Build your strategy around these key factors, and you’ll successfully impact your millennial audience. 🏆
Not sure how to build an audience persona that works? Download the FREE plug-n-play audience persona template to easily craft your ideal museum visitors and customers!
