Dominique VAN DOKKUM
(Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Keywords: Social media, public, low budget
Abstract:
The possible ways to connect with your public have improved significantly over the last few years. The internet has brought us many new ways to stay in touch and social media make it possible to connect with whoever you want, whenever you want, from wherever you want. It seems almost unnecessary to stress the importance of having a Facebook page or Twitter account when connecting with your public, but to have something does not mean you automatically know how to use it – especially when you are on a low budget. So how do you use social media when you do not have the time to do it yourself and lack the funds to hire somebody to do it for you? This was a question the Archaeological Museum of Haarlem – a very small museum located at the Dutch city of Haarlem – faced the past year and which it has been trying to solve by making use of one thing it did have: volunteers. From having, but not using a Twitter account and Facebook page, we tried to improve the connection with the public by training the volunteers in using social media, hoping to also improve the amount of visitors we receive daily, as well as the experience people get when visiting the museum. We hope to present to you a way to make an easy connection with your public which is not only fit for the small budget, but which does not require a lot of time either.