How Museums Can Work With Social Media Influencers?

A creator partnership can introduce a museum to people who already follow someone with a relevant interest or perspective. This guide explains how to choose a collaborator, make an approach and agree the work, rights and measures before a campaign begins.

Define the audience and outcome

The Louvre welcomed 10.2 million visitors in 2018, 25% more than in 2017. Its own announcement linked that record year to several factors, including the recovery of tourism and the Delacroix exhibition, while also noting the visibility brought by Beyoncé and JAY-Z’s video. The example shows the scale of cultural attention a collaboration can attract; it does not isolate how many visits the video generated. See the Louvre’s 2018 announcement.

While endorsements from Béyonce and Jay-Z don’t pop up left, right and centre, the same principle can be applied on a smaller scale to any cultural institution. What influencers offer is a unique ability to connect with their audience in the way that institutions can’t always produce on their own. Followers trust influencers, not necessarily because of their fame or celebrity, but rather the personal connection they feel through accessing the influencer’s content on a regular basis. A museum can explore that connection through a partnership, while recognising that trust and interest differ across creators and audiences. 

You want to target audiences who can be converted into visitors, and influencer marketing could be a great way to do just this. Instead of throwing your message out for anyone to hear, influencer marketing enables you to deliver your message directly to a small, but invested market. Influencer marketing can generate organic, collaborative content that sparks higher rates of user engagement than a blanket marketing campaign. Moreover, your message comes from a trusted source (the influencer) directly to their following (your target market). With the right research, you can choose an influencer whose following with a genuine interest in what you’re offering. 

Choose a creator for relevance and trust

Choosing the right influencers to work with is the most important part of this marketing model. You’ll need someone who reflects your brand and whose following will be invested and interested in engaging with your institution. First, you’ll need to know your brand and your target audience. What audience are you trying to reach and on which platforms? What are your strongest platforms, and is your message relevant to new platforms? Keep that audience and the outcome you want in mind when choosing a collaborator. 

Follower bands such as macro, micro and nano are approximate industry labels, with definitions that vary and overlap. They are less useful than the fit between the creator’s audience and your programme. A large following does not guarantee that a post will reach those followers, while a small account does not automatically mean high trust or engagement. Consider geography, subject interest, previous work and the quality of audience responses. Focused micro-influencer partnerships can be a useful starting point.

Consider an influencer and their celebrity carefully before approaching them. You’re entrusting the reputation of your institution to a third party. You need to be certain the relationship you’re building with them is what you’re looking for, and that the influencer really represents your institution and your values. 

When choosing influencers to approach, you might want to consider some of the following questions: 

• What is the influencer’s area of expertise? 
• How does your institution align with the influencer’s audience and image? 
• Does this influencer and their audience use the same channels and platforms as your audience? 
• What does a typical follower of this influencer look like? Is this follower likely to be interested in your institution? 
• What is this influencer’s reputation? Are they generally well-liked? 

Before we dive into how to find and approach influencers, let’s quickly consider platforms and content types. As mentioned above, you should consider platforms as carefully as you would consider which influencer you want to work with. The platform and content type their audience accesses should align with the audience you’re looking to target. 

Choose the format around how the audience uses the channel: short video for a focused story, a carousel for a sequence of details, a longer film for a conversation, or a written article for depth. Check the creator’s current formats and account capabilities before agreeing deliverables, rather than relying on a fixed list of platform features.

Research collaborators and make a personal approach

You’ve now honed in on your target audience after careful consideration and planning… You know what platforms and content they engage with…. So, now you’re at the stage where you’re ready to find influencers that speak to this target audience and have created a solid trust with them. Here are a few ways you might think about finding the right influencer for you: 

• Look at the creators your intended audience already follows, including contributors to relevant local or specialist publications.
• Review a sample of their work and the discussion around it. Check whether the subject, tone and audience geography fit your programme.
• Ask colleagues and community partners for relevant suggestions, and consider publishing a clear call for paid creative work through your own channels.
• If using a discovery service, check its current coverage, fees and vetting process. A database listing does not replace your own assessment.

How a Museum Should Approach Influencers

Once you have a relevant creator in mind, make a personal approach that explains why their work connects with your programme. Be clear about the proposed work, timing and whether a fee is available.

Sending an email is the simplest way to make contact with an influencer about a potential partnership. However, depending on the level of influencer you’re looking to work with, they could be inundated with requests to partner every day. Many of these requests may be spam, irrelevant to them, or just plain uninteresting. You want your request to stand out from the pack. This is relationship marketing after all, which is by nature a two-way street–you know why you want to work with them, but now you need to make them see why they want to work with you. Here are some simple guidelines on best practice for first contact: 

• Keep your email short and sweet. They might receive a hundred requests per day, so they don’t necessarily have time to read a lengthy proposal.
• Be clear and upfront. Explain clearly what your institution does and what you’re looking to achieve. Ideally do this in the first paragraph of your email so the influencer gets an immediate sense of whether or not this is something they want to engage with. 
• Personalise your email. You might be contacting a range of influencers to see who will be the best fit, but that doesn’t mean you should take a one-size-fits-all approach. Make sure the influencer knows why you chose them specifically. 
• Suggest content ideas. It’s a good idea to offer suggestions of what you’re thinking might work, but ultimately the influencer knows their audience best. Don’t be too prescriptive and leave room to work together on campaign ideas. 
• Write like a person. There’s a time and a place for institutional voice, but this isn’t one of them. Write like a human connecting with another human. 
• Add value for them. Make sure you highlight what value this partnership brings them, even if the partnership you’re proposing isn’t monetary. 
• Make saying yes easy. Don’t ask them to fill out a form or get back to you with ten content ideas; instead, just ask them if they’re interested and available. A simple yes will do. 

If you’re not able to get an influencer’s email, you can also approach them through direct message on their social media platforms. However, treat the direct message as a launching point. Give the influencer your elevator pitch and ask if you can contact them via email or phone to discuss the partnership further. 

If you don’t hear back from an influencer right away, don’t be discouraged and feel free to follow up with them. They’re wading through hundreds of emails–pushing yours back to the top of the pile doesn’t hurt. When following up, be sure to strike a balance between gentle reminders and constant spam. 

Decide the partnership format

You’re in–an influencer has agreed to partner with you! Now you need to set expectations and guidelines for your campaign, including what kind of campaign you’re hoping to run together. Here are some examples of different campaigns: 

• Reposting their content on your channel. This is the simplest kind of partnership which can be achieved with a simple direct message or email asking for their permission. Agree the specific channels, credit and duration of reuse; permission to repost does not automatically include paid advertising or other adaptations. 
• Co-created content. Your institution and the influencer will work together to produce content that can be posted on both your channels.
• Event or product marketing. You’re trying to drive traffic to your institution, be it a particular exhibition, show or specific event. You can ask the influencer to post about the event to their followers and/or invite them to attend themselves.
• Takeovers. The influencer takes over your social media channel(s) for an agreed amount of time. This encourages their following to engage with your channel, drawing in new followers and engaging their audience.

Dependent on your campaign, the next step will be to create a campaign plan. Work with the influencer to determine a timeline, goals and key performance indicators for the campaign. Key performance indicators are wide-ranging, but can include impressions, views, engagements, click-throughs, increase in followers, and/or sales. Make sure you’re agreed on messaging and delivery of the campaign. Give good examples of similar posts that align with your brand, while leaving room for influencers to tailor content to their audience. Review the content the influencer is producing before it’s posted. Include specific requirements, guidelines, payment schedules and consult with your legal team or advisor before solidifying your campaign plan and contract. 

Agree the brief, fee and content rights

Budget for the work: research, visits, production, editing, publication and any agreed reporting. Discuss fees with the creator rather than assuming a smaller following means free labour. Separate an invitation with no obligation to post from a commission with specified deliverables.

Record who may reuse the content, where, for how long and whether paid-media use or adaptation is included. Agree collection access, filming permissions, credits, accessibility requirements, review stages and a named staff contact. The National Gallery’s commissioned creator programme offers a concrete example of supporting paid creative work.

Make commercial relationships clear

Agree appropriate advertising identification before publication, including how gifted access is treated under the relevant rules. UK campaigns can use the ASA’s influencer-marketing guidance; requirements vary by jurisdiction. An informal visual style does not remove the need for disclosure.

Here are a few helpful tips to consider as you develop your campaign plan: 

• Be transparent. What are your expectations for the campaign? What key performance indicators are you using to measure its success? 
• You’re working with a person, not an agency. Influencers sometimes get a rap for being difficult to manage. You need to set up clear guidelines but remember that this isn’t a purely transactional interaction–you’re building a relationship with the influencer and their following. 
• Strive for continuity. Relationship marketing isn’t transactional so be sure to stay in touch with influencers and maintain your relationship. You may want to work with them again. 

Measure response and develop the relationship

Review the partnership against the audience and purpose you agreed. Distinguish views, interactions and clicks from bookings or visits, and ask the creator what they learned from their audience. These questions can inform the next collaboration.

• Know your brand and your target audience. It’s the easiest way to target the right influencers to partner with. It’s also the best way to find key influencers–by using platforms and accessing content in the same way your target audience does.
• Choose the right influencer, not the one with the largest following. The largest following does not necessarily equate to the best engagement. Find someone who speaks to your audience and who has a deep engagement and trust with them. Quality over quantity! 
• Approach and work with influencers in an engaging, personable way. Influencer marketing is relationship marketing. You’re working with a personal brand that aligns with your own–create a similar level of trust in the influencer as the influencer’s followers have them. 
• Be clear and upfront with influencers. As person-to-person as this interaction may be, it’s still important to have clear guidelines outlining the goals and key performance indicators of your campaign. 

Start with a relevant collaborator and a manageable brief, then use the results and the working relationship to decide what comes next.

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