St. Louis Bloggers Guild

Today, my son and I had a “mom and me” day. Being of a marketing/social media mindset, I had to wonder, as we ambled through the doors of a local museum, “Is this place taking advantage of any social media tools?” Then I wondered, “What attractions in St. Louis do?”

So I conducted a quick search. Most area attractions at least have a website in this day and age. But more and more are joining the social media movement as well. The proof is on Facebook. You can easily become a fan of places like The Magic House, St. Louis Arch, Six Flags, The St. Louis Zoo and the City Museum. If you check Twitter, you’ll find  that The Missouri History Museum, Missouri Botanical Gardens, St. Louis Science Center and the Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum all have accounts. The Contempary Art Museum St. Louis even hosts a podcast to engage audiences and generate interest.

Like many other entities, local museums and other attractions are adding social media tools to their marketing arsenal because they see the many advantages to this method of communication.  Not only can they increase awareness of the institution itself but they can also generate some positive buzz and relay information of interest (Food served? Hours? Open on holidays?).

As most institutions will attest, they are having to do “more” with less funding. Standard accounts for most networking sites are free. So museums and other local attractions can easily target those most receptive to their information by generating followers or fans on social networking sites. Messages are kept concise so if people are interested, they can always click on the attraction’s homepage for more information. Plus, institutions can add events or schedule changes quickly and easily.

From my quick search, most local attractions seem to be using one social networking tool at a time instead of a combination of tools. But some savvy institutions outside of St. Louis are using various tools in tandem, favoring certain sites for certain objectives. For example, museums and local attractions can garner some interest by posting photos of events on Facebook. But Twitter “has the ability to enhance everything. Like with Facebook, museums can post links to exhibitions and visitors can respond. But unlike Facebook, Twitter can be easily used during exhibitions or talks,” say Elishka Flint and Claire Solery, the writers behind the blog Museum Strategy.

Using social media tools to promote events can also be a great way to grab the attention of the local news media outlets or influential St. Louis bloggers. And at a time where “Social networks and blogs are now the 4th most popular online activity ahead of personal email” and “Member communities are visited by 67% of the global online population,” other local attractions and museums are sure to follow suit.