Creating Confident Messaging
If you want to have authentic messaging that gets visitors into your museum doors you need three things: Clarity, Consistency and Confidence. I believe these “3 Cs” are the keys you need to unlock authentic messaging that is as unique and will set you apart from the rest. As a museum, you are asking for your audience’s most precious commodity, their time. Your authentic messaging will lead them to know, like and trust you and want to plan some time to spend with you. Your authentic messaging is one part of “brand love,” which is the idea that they will not only visit your museum but they will want to visit again and bring a friend. It will also lead them to want to invest in you; whether that is through a museum membership, a donation or in the gift shop.
Today we’re going to talk about Confidence…
To me, being confident equals being visible. A lot of times I hear from clients, “We need help with our messaging.” But usually the real problem is that they are actually missing a “position.” Positioning is the bold, courageous move to declare yourself a unique space that sets you apart from your competition. For example, “We are THE place to learn about ____” or “We are the best _____ museum.” And I know being visible can feel hard. It really isn’t! It might take time and patience but being clear and consistent along with taking a brave position in your messaging really does work. Good Public Relations is thoughtful, organic and grows slow but the results are long lasting.
Here are my top 3 ways to work on your confidence when it comes to your messaging.
Be sure you have a way to receive feedback in your “visitor’s journey.” Don’t be afraid to collect that data. Ask for email addresses. Ask for exit surveys. And don’t stop there! Reach out to your visitors if there is anything negative in that feedback and talk to them about it. Hear them. Don’t just make them feel heard, actually hear them. Word of mouth might be slow to spread but trust me, it will spread and the PR ramifications of a bad review has a significant and lasting impact on your reputation.
Take time to look at your “case studies.” How can you improve on your process? How can you refine it? A confident museum staff is always taking time to see how they can improve the “one thing” that they want to be known for.
Make sure you have a one liner and share that message everywhere you use your words for your museum. Don’t have a one liner? Sit down and write one with your staff.
Want to learn more about creating confident messaging along with the other two “C’s”— Clarity and Consistency?
I talk a lot about messaging with the lovely museum people on my email list. Click the link below to join:
