Sharing, Promotion & The Ripple Effect

#bHereMainSt

#bHereMainSt @MuseWeb

Selwyn RampProject Director

Heather SheltonDigital Curator

Selwyn@MuseWeb.us@SelwynRamp

Heather@MuseWeb.us@MuseumsAgo

www.MuseWeb.us/be-here-main-streethttp://www.slideshare.net/MuseWeb/be-here-main-street-project

Last Webinars Covered:• Cultural Storytelling• What Makes a Good Story• Platforms for Posting• Creative Commons Use• Free software and tools

Find slides and video versions of those on MuseWeb’s YouTube and Slideshare.

I’ve created and edited my stories,

now what?

Good Content Outlives Technology

"Quill" (CC BY 2.0) by sure2talk

"Books!" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Kirrus

"typewriter" (CC BY 2.0) by plaisanter~ Photo by Hans Hillewaert. Wikimedia Commons. CC 4.0, International

"Rosetta Stone - British Museum" (CC BY 2.0) by bortescristian

Good Content Outlives Technology

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Place the content where people are: around town, in local library, at a restaurant, at a café, bar or even grocery store.- but also online!

Try to use the content in a variety of ways: both digital as well as in the physical environment.

Use content to market for your organization or community: placing ‘bites’ can lead people back to the whole story.

Make sure your content is accessible for a variety of users: consider your audience, or perspective audience.

YouTube SoundCloud InternetArchives

https://archive.org/

Post Your Stories Online (Archiving)

SmithsonianInstitution

museumonmainstreet.org

What’s NextAfter

Posting Online?

It’s time to promote and share your stories.

If your stories are never heard or shared, or seen,

why were they told in the first place?

Marketing/Promotion vs. Archiving

• Some sites like YouTube can not only help you archive your story, but their built-in commenting and sharing capabilities are also a well-adapted to promotion too! SoundCloud also has social sharing!

• Other platforms are purely for social promotion because it’s not intuitive how to retrieve/search for a particular topic later on. Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook fall into these categories.

• BUT, Facebook’s “Memories” post make you feel like your content is being saved for future generations. Marketing gold!

Using Social Media

Pick a platform you’re familiar with to start. Make sure you have a

complete profile, describing you/your organization + mission.

Tell friends when/what you’re sharing and ask them to share as well!

(reshare)

Tag or call out to people who helped with creation.

Don’t be afraid to bring attention to great content!

Let students spread the word on platforms they use!

Today’s social networks are ideal places to share stories with everyone!

Strategies for Great Posts • Tie content into current events that are trending: Immigration, Water Quality,

100th anniversary of . . .• Use the “Awwww” factor: Elicit emotional responses• Amazing! Cite something amazing that happened as a result of this project• Make it quirky: Local diner serves up crunchy insect feast• Brag on your town: We have the cleanest water in the country• It’s unbelievable: Believe or not, the smallest animal in the world lives here.• Ask questions: What do you think about this local controversy? We have ideas.

Make sure to use hashtags that relate to #storytelling and the #bHereMainSt or other projects

What is a hashtag?Hashtags are ways to categorize posts. They’re search terms.

• Use a # symbol before your search term• Don’t separate letters. They are all one string: #TuesdayMotivation• Search for hashtags that have already been used if you want to join an

existing conversation: #DowntonAbbey• Make sure hashtags you use don’t have unintended implications• Don’t fall victim to funny hashtag letter mashups!• One famous example: #susanalbumparty (British singer Susan Boyle)• Was supposed to be Susan Album Party

• Many sources out there for how to properly use hashtags! They are the key to getting your content seen in a sea of social media posts!

Sample Posts

Sample Posts

Go Visual

Beautiful pictures never disappoint.

Ask a student or local photographer to document your process or the locations in your stories.

Social media posts with compelling images generate MUCH more interest than those without!

Shoot pictures of people involved in your project!

Audience & Timing1. Think about your audience? To whom does your story appeal? Are those people already

part of your existing followers, or do you need to reach out to people outside your network?

2. Follow anyone whom you believe has shared interests.1. Example: Follow @LocalHistoricalSociety on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube, etc.

Reach out! “Hi @LocalHistoricalSociety, check out these student videos about our favorite historic tavern. Priceless!”

3. Think about timing. If your interested in sharing with other students or teachers . . .1. Post outside of school hours2. Post stories to coincide with school events. Have a story about football? Post it

before the big game on Friday night.

Scheduling Did you know that Facebook allows you schedule posts in advance? Other free platforms such as Hootsuite and Tweetdeck permit you to schedule

other types of posts in advance, such as Twitter or Instagram.

Use this feature so that you can post when your audience is online.

Even if that means posting at night or on the weekends!

Short Links & QR Codes

Many versions out there, all do about the same. Simply search online for:“shorten URL” “QR Code Generator”

When adding web addresses to print materials, try creating a memorable link or even a bar code that takes people right to the story!

Get Physical

Identify 2-3 amazing things that happened as a result of this project Inform local press outlets Inform anyone who was mentioned or cited in a story Host a film- or audio-story screening in the town square, library, high school

Print fliers about the event and post in store windows Promote on social media

Host your own version of the Oscars in your town; Present (donated) awards Invite local business leaders and politicians

Take a group picture of all storytellers and interviewees to post on social media and send to local news outlets

Local promotion: Make sure your own community knows about it!

Community InvolvementAsk local restaurants and businesses to support the project by posting tent cards or fliers at the cash register with a link/QR to story

Create pro-quality print materials like window decals or fliers using E-Z Print tools like VistaPrint or Moo.com. Also check out www.museweb.us for ideas and resources.

Ask Around

Regular visit

Physical markers

Fun Design

Ask storytellers about places that they work, visit, or worship. Could these locations host meetings, post fliers, cards, or share your stories?

See if you can place a sticker, stoop tile, or erect a plaque, or info sign with information about the research you discovered? Think about: “On this spot in 1936 …”

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Archiving Locally

1 Contact your local Library, museum or historical society and inform them about your project.

Contact a state library and/or university archives that may have collections about regional history and county history.

Ask whether they might be able to “accession” the collection of stories based on the topic or region.

Create a one- or two- page document to explain the context of the project, who the storytellers were, the year, the county, etc.

Connecting Communities

Promotion & Evaluation

• Evaluate: What worked well, what didn’t?

• Use “content” for promotion and marketing

• Ensure longevity of content

Funding & Planning

• Determine need for future funding

• Use content as examples for request for future funding

• Start planning cultural stories as part of regular operating projects

Repeat! Repeat! Repeat!

• You now have equipment, resources and skills:

• Look for additional free resources at Museum on Main Street & MuseWeb.us

Ripple Effect: The Road Ahead

Questions?

#bHereMainSt @MuseWeb

Nancy ProctorExecutive Director

Selwyn RampProject Director

Nancy@MuseWeb.us@NancyProctor+1 (301) 642-6257

Heather SheltonDigital Curator

Selwyn@MuseWeb.us@SelwynRamp+1 (202) 510-7789

Heather@MuseWeb.us@MuseumsAgo+1 (804) 741-1978

Contact Details

www.MuseWeb.us/be-here-main-streethttp://www.slideshare.net/MuseWeb/be-here-main-street-project