Analysis of Findings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The recommendations in this report are based on information collected through internet-research and a local study conducted alongside the Indiana State Museum. The findings from this research were used to develop recommendations for increasing pre-registration results for Indiana State Museum events. These include:

• Applying data-analytics to help better relate to the target audience and their journey.

• Utilizing social media and email marketing effectively to engage customers.

• Focusing on web design, in order to make the registration process more appealing and convenient.

• Enticing costumers to register early with early bird incentives and the fear of missing out.

 

Apply Data-Analytics to Understand Target Audience and Their Journey

Data-analytics are key to understanding your target audience and the journey that brings them to commit to your event. Such an understanding allows you to focus your marketing on those most likely to be affected.

 

Event marketing experts insist that an “account based marketing strategy can be particularly valuable,” in implementing an effective event marketing campaign (Solaris & Cross, p. 19, 2018). Rather than trying to appeal to everyone, target your marketing toward a defined audience, in order to ensure that your marketing content will be meaningful to those who are likely to attend your event. Since account based marketing requires specific knowledge about your target audience, we turned our attention to learning how data-analytics could be applied in the a museum setting.

 

Museums are no stranger to data-analytics. The Art Institute of Chicago and the Dallas Art Museum are well known for their exceedingly successful data-analytics programs. However, most museums do not have the same access to resources as these big city institutions. In order to scale applied data-analytics in a way that is compatible with limited resources, Dr. Andrew Simnick – Senior Vice President for Finance, Strategy, and Operations at The Art Institute of Chicago – first recommends, “Ask the questions that matter most” (Simnick, 2017). But what are the questions that matter most?

 

Establishing Key Questions

To get a better grasp of the questions we should be asking, we turned back to our marketing sources. In a panel discussion hosted by Bear Analytics, called “Getting Real With Data,” Katherine Matthews – database manager for the Entomological Society of America – asserts “It’s important for us to tailor our messaging to let them know we understand their needs” (L'Italien, 2017). From this we concluded that it would be important to ask the question:

 

 

 

• What are the target audience’s needs and desires with regards to Indiana State Museum Events?

 

 

 

In the same panel discussion, hosted by Bear Analytics, Matthews also stated that her team “put a lot of effort into investigating the natural timeline that people fall into” (L'Italien, 2017). This led us to look for more on how the Indiana State Museum could match their marketing to this natural timeline. We found that the timeline could be described as the buyer’s journey. For each stage of the journey, marketing should be designed to guide the target audience to the next, similar to the idea of a sales funnel (Adams, 2018). Taking this into account, we concluded that it would also be important to consider:

 

 

 

• At what stage in the journey is the target audience?

 

 

 

After establishing the previous two questions, it seemed logical that the methods used for delivery of marketing content would play an important role as well. So, we returned once again to our marketing sources looking for insight, this time stumbling upon an eBook, authored by Julius Solaris – founder of Event Innovation Lab – and Becki Cross – managing director of Event Northern Ltd. They write that “Choosing the right tool for engagement is as crucial as getting your message right” (Solaris & Cross, 2018). In order to select the most effective combination of delivery methods, they recommend profiling your target audience. While they suggest a plethora of question to consider, they all really boil down to:

 

 

• What are the best channels for engaging your target audience?

 

Answering Key Questions

Now that we have identified these three key questions, our next step is to learn how to answer them. You could survey your target audience, simply asking them what the best channels are for reaching them or what their needs are. But Katherine Matthews, mentioned earlier, and fellow panelist Ryan Brown – Vice-President of Sales and Event Services for National Trade Productions – advises against relying solely on self-reported data, because people tend to be bias, even when it comes to reporting their own behavior and preferences (L'Italien, 2017). For this reason, most of your questions should be answered from raw data.

 

To learn how to derive insight from raw data in a manner suitable for museums, we scoured the American Alliance of Museum archives. There, Elizabeth Merritt - founding director of the Center for the Future of Museums (CFM) and American Alliance of Museums (AAM) – recaps a CFM conference on big data. She reports that data gathered from every visitor touch-point can be combined to create “a rich portrait” of your target audience (Merritt, 2014).

 

5 Types of Data Crucial to Answering Key Questions

We examined every aspect that could affect event turnout and laid them out into five types of data crucial for answering our key questions. These include:

• Attendee demographics – knowing your audience is important for understanding their needs and desires.

• Engagement through email, website, and social media – knowing how your audience interacts with you is key to understanding how to reach them with your marketing.

• Event registration activity – knowing how and when your audience registers for events is crucial for learning how to tailor your marketing to their journey and making sure it is convenient for them to register.

• Event attendance and activity – knowing which types of events attract the most interest and what part of the events interest those attending most is important for marketing events in the most appealing way possible.

 

Data Collection

Collecting all this data may not require development of new systems. To collect all necessary data, using as few resources as possible, consider learning “how to use the data already embedded in their core operating systems” (Ross, Beath, & Quaadrgras, 2013). Demographic info can be generated from visitor info, such as zip codes, collected during registration, using United States Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (Merrit, 2014). Email marketing software and online analytic tools can extract valuable information on how your

target audience is interacting with your emails, website, and

social media (Solaris & Cross, 2018). Similarly, online

analytic tools could be used to track registration activity.

Event attendance can be measured at admissions, and interest

in different aspects of the event can be measured by staff,

placed at various stations, using a tally-counter to count the

number of attendees interacting with each activity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although we warned about relying too heavily upon self-reported data, conducting surveys can be a valuable tool for collecting demographic information and assessing visitor experience. We recommend conducting surveys before and after events to measure both attendee expectation and satisfaction. Whatever insights are gleaned from the surveys should be checked against data for any inconsistencies.

 

For tips and resources for applying data-analytics to understand your target audience and their journey, refer to the appendix.

 

Tailor Marketing Content to Match the Target Audience’s Journey in 3 Stages

 We sought to learn more about how ISM could tailor marketing content to the target audience’s journey. Similar to a sales funnel, the journey sets up individual steps that build on each other in order to arrive at a desired result.

 

 

 

Research shows that 9 to 16 interactions may be necessary in order to get potential attendees to commit to your event (Solaris & Cross, p. 45, 2018). Even if the number of interactions you have with your target audience is far fewer, try sending out new marketing content for each stage of the journey.

 

Chris Adams – Founder and Managing Director of Adams Hamilton – a company involved with content marketing and technology strategy – writes about that journey and how marketing should differ through each stage. The different stages of the journey correspond roughly with those of a sales funnel, which go as follows:

 

Awareness Stage

In the awareness stage, corresponding to the top of the funnel, your target audience is not yet aware of your event. This is the time to grab their attention by creating a narrative for how your event will gratify their needs and desires (Adams, 2017). Ricardo Molina – Co-Founder and Director of Brightbull Marketing – adds that at this stage you should “Make it clear who should attend and why and – most importantly – how or where interested parties can register” (Molina, 2015).

 

Since at this stage your target audience has no commitment to you, their attention is not guaranteed, so make sure to keep your message concise and focused on the specific needs and desires of your target audience. If you lose their attention, they will not enter the funnel nor begin their journey (Adams, 2017).

 

Consideration Stage

In the consideration stage, or middle of the funnel, you now have the attention of your target audience. This is the time to demonstrate to them the true value of your event. Convince them that you understand what they want and that your event will lead to satisfaction. The more personalized your message seems, the easier that will be to do. Be sure to emphasize your event’s distinct offerings and how they surpass the competition (Adams, 2017).

 

Since at this stage your target audience is interested in your event, they will be more willing to listen, meaning your message can be more detailed. Although you have their attention, it is still important to specifically address their needs and desires (Adams, 2017).

 

Decision Stage

In the decision stage, bottom of funnel, you have maintained your target audience’s interest long enough for them to know the premise of the event and how the event will benefit them, but they may not be comfortable committing to your event for fear of missing out on something else (Adams, 2017). Now is the time to close the deal.

 

This may be achieved by mitigating any concerns your target audience may have and showcasing aspects of your event which are most likely to excite them (Adams, 2017). In the words of Molina, “reinforce[ ] the benefits of signing up to your event, or provides new information – for example on guest speakers, or networking opportunities, and personali[z]e wherever possible” (Molina, 2015).

 

With your marketing content gradually becoming more detailed as your target audience advances in their journey, at this stage your message should be focused almost entirely on the details. Adams warns that “Light, top-of-funnel or editorial content could possibly even turn them off at this point. They may feel like you’re avoiding a detailed value prop because you don’t actually have one” (Adams, 2017).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data from our local study suggests that most people prefer to register for ISM event either at “3 or more weeks in advance” (23%) or “2 weeks in advance” (23%). Since respondents say they would like to be ready to commit to ISM events 2 or more weeks in advance, we recommend tailoring marketing content as follows:

• From the release of new events to the public, until about three weeks out from the event, tailor your marketing to the awareness stage.

• During the third week out from the event, tailor your marketing to the consideration stage.

• At two weeks out, up to the day of the event, tailor your marketing to the decision stage.

 

While your marketing should adapt to each stage of the audience’s journey, marketing content should always address their needs and desires. If the target audience is interested in a certain type of experience, describe the event in a manner that appeals to those interests. Data from our local study suggests that most people are interested in attending ISM events that offer the following:

• Fun (4.69)

• Learning (4.35)

• Something for the whole family (4.21)

Scores are based on a weighted average, with higher scores

representing a better overall ranking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Improve Email Marketing Effectiveness

Email Marketing Findings  

We looked for ways to effectively use email marketing to promote events and increase pre-registration rates. In doing so, we found, from the Proquest Database, some consequences of not effectively email marketing and how it not only affects the consumer but the company as well.

 

When email marketing, be sure to balance capturing the subscriber's attention to create senses of anticipation and urgency, with being sure to not overwhelm them with an overabundance of emails. It is vital to the success of the pre-registration rates, and the event itself, for email subscribers to be consistently informed and reminded on upcoming events and how to sign up.

 

Challenges in Email Marketing Stems from Overutilization 

Excessive email marketing can become frustrating to the subscribers, prompting them to begin sending your emails directly to their spam. Scholars and Associate Professors of Business Information Technology at Virginia Tech Alan S. Abrahams,  Jason K. Deane, and Tarun Chaudhary all agree that “firms constantly teeter along the slippery slope of spam.”

 

Email marketing can lose its effect when subscribers begin to regret “opting-in” because they feel that they’re inbox is overflowing with emails from one company. In which case, the subscriber may turn on spam filters. This thwarts the success of the email in making sure the customer knows what events are coming up and how to sign up quickly. Once spam filters are active, the consumer is making it clear that they are not interested in the company’s email.

 

Limitations to Email Marketing  

When the consumer unsubscribes from the company’s email list, they are not wanting to receive any emails from the company and this negatively impacts the registration and attendance of the company's events.

 

Associate Professor of Mykolas Romeris University, Kiskis Mindaugas, agrees with Abrahams, Deane, and Chaudhary. Mindaugas provides a customer’s standpoint on excessive email marketing, stating that “direct electronic marketing is an impediment to usual activity, particularly in the cases when a consumer does not wish to receive any advertisements, is unable or unwilling  to make use of it.”

 

Always try to limit the amount of emails sent to subscribers in order to be respectful of the trust built with the customer. In doing so, there will be a higher positive impact on the customers anticipation for emails on upcoming event and increase pre-registration rates by creating urgency.

 

The emails that do succeed should have more emphasis put on the upcoming events and how the customer can sign up easily. Otherwise, the customer will believe that the email is useless to them, and in some cases, will begin to project that same feeling onto the whole company. Providing purpose to customer is more important than making sure the customer is constantly seeing newsletters and events.

 

According to our survey, email marketing is the most popular preference for many ISM members and visitors. This survey was created to capture the opinion of ISM event attendees on how ISM promotes events and what the people like and dislike. The purpose of the survey was for us to understand what ISM visitors want from the ISM, and use that to support our recommendations. The top three preferences were:

 

• Email

• Facebook

• Community Calendar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Therefore, since most of your event attendees and visitors prefer email marketing, then it's important to use email marketing to the fullest by giving the subscribers plenty of information in the limited emails sent. This information will more than likely include information on upcoming events and how to register. Honing in on the subscribers who also attend ISM events can increase pre-registration rates since those are the people on the lookout for new events.

 

Balancing Social Media Platforms

As shown in the survey, the Indiana State Museum event attendees are diverse in their social media preferences. Although email marketing is the top chosen social media preference for learning about upcoming events, the other platforms were highly chosen and the clients seem to be well balanced in their social media.

 

Therefore, we suggest trying to invest in other social media platforms too to limit emailing and not defer email subscribers since those subscribers are also linked to other social media sites. Seek other social medias such as facebook, Instagram, and the local news to keep the upcoming events, and how to register easily and quickly, in the public eye. If you bend with your customers and be diverse in social media, then you can potentially reach a higher volume of clients and to effectively advertise events and how to pre-register.

 

Implementing New Email Marketing Tactics  

Moreover, we suggest for you to try and limit the frequency of emails sent and be considerate of the consumer. If you try this technique, research has shown that the consumers will be less liable to ignore or begin to directly send your company’s email to their spam. This, in turn, proves to garner more clients attention and could potentially increase awareness and urgency around upcoming events.

 

Strengthen Social Media Platforms Presence

Social Media Findings  

We searched for ways to use social media in order to promote events and give customers reason to want to belong to the company family. Including the customer allows you to create a bond with them, leading to better promotion of events and increase in pre-registration rates through persuasion and engagement.

 

Engaging, not Persuading, with Social Media

We used the Proquest Database to find articles and research on social media marketing. According to Research Scholar Sajjad Husain, Assistant Professor of Administrative and Financial Sciences Dr. Ali Ghufran, and Dean of Research and Studies Dr. D.S. Chaubrey, “consumer outreach to marketers and other sources of information is much more likely to shape their ensuing choices than marketers' efforts to persuade them.”

 

Engaging people through social media allows you to give them the power to participate in the company’s social media. Persuasion is not always the strongest tactic since typically people expect for companies to try and persuade them.

 

Success in Social Media Networking  

Once the customer is engaged, then that shows interest. Use the attention of the customer to not persuade them, but direct them to upcoming events. Once the customer notices the event, then it becomes much easier to get them to pre-register. The Indianapolis Children’s Museum created an app to engage members and the public. The app is easy to use and effective in engaging the customer while directing them to upcoming events. This shows how a business can use social media platforms to engage customers.

 

Applying Social Media Tactics

We suggest broadening social media sites to engage customers. Don’t try to persuade customers to be more involved. Instead, focus on engaging them is such a way, the customer becomes interested and wants to delve further into the company. If done correctly, this will lead to more attention from the customer to the events.

 

Designing Websites and Invitations to Increase Consistency

While attempting to increase registration, specifically pre-registration for events, organizing and creating websites and communication mediums that are as effective as possible are crucial. Email and website communication are key ways many attendees are informed about the event before the day of. Reaching a broad range of ages and technological skill is important to understand while designing invitations, advertisements, and the main website that hosts an event. Creating a simple, yet elegant, interface for invitations and event information ensures valuable information is known by potential attendees.  

 

In the research, we found that following a consistent and simple design pattern is the most efficient method to create an effective marketing promotion. According to Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing and the Center for Student and Civic Engagement at Penn State University, “You just have to stay consistent with your headings, paragraphs, bullets, etc.” (Penn State, 2018). Creating a consistent marketing invitation lessens reader confusion and strengthens reader attention.

 

Templates will serve as an efficient and time saving technique for creating a consistent style and mood throughout multiple correspondences. This format will become familiar to frequent readers of the Indiana State Museum invitations and announcements. This technique can be transferred across multiple platforms such as email, print flyers, and social media. The content of each will be the only thing that changes for each invitation and correspondence. This allows the creator of each correspondence to focus more time on creating a persuasive and entertaining content rather than focusing on making a new layout and design for different promotions.  

 

The content, unlike the  design layout, will change based on which platform is used. Julius Solaris of the number one blog worldwide for event professionals, EventMB, argue that just content needs to be changed for each send out (Solaris, 2019). This is efficient and effective at creating uniform look across all platforms.  

 

We surveyed over 50 attendees of the Indiana State Museum and their events to better understand how each attendee uses different platforms. Of all of the responses there were three main avenues that learn about ISM events and happenings, and they were:

• Email

• Facebook

• Community Calendar Listings

 

All three of these platforms will have consistent design elements such as:

• Prominent Indiana State Museum Logo in the same location at top of page

• Color of design elements

• Prominent photo in same location of page

 

This chart created from the survey we conducted shows the percentage of people who prefer to purchase Indiana State Museum event tickets online, by phone, or in-person at the door. This chart breaks down the three preferences and shows that the large majority of survey respondents, 70%, prefer to purchase tickets for Indiana Museum Event tickets online. The other 30% of respondents prefer to purchase event tickets in-person at the door, 23%, or by phone, 7%. This data shows that the majority of event tickets are purchased online, thus online designing and marketing should be at the forefront of every event planning process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having a constant online design pattern will create an enjoyable experience online, and reach more people than any other method of purchasing event tickets.

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Testing Numerous Marketing Outlets and Designs

It is crucial to test multiple marketing strategies to understand the most effective ways to incorporate these strategies in the overall marketing plan. When pushing out these new strategies, it is important to collect important data such as demographics. This data can be used to better design elements for future, more refined strategies (Ross, 2016).

 

Testing a variety of messages is an important step to complete before sending out the entire marketing campaign. This includes testing a variety of messages and design elements before creating a constant recurring theme. Important means to test designs and messages include:

• Emails of members of museum

• Surveys

According to Thomas V. Bonoma, a retired Harvard professor of marketing at Harvard Business School, “Identity problems are the most common policy difficulties and, paradoxically, occur more often in mature than in young business units.” (Bonoma, 2014). By testing multiple design and message strategies, the Indiana State Museum can create a unique and effective marketing identity among their core members, and new attendees.

 

Koray Cosguner, Assistant Professor of Marketing, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, provides us further insight into creating a fluid design and marketing strategies by explaining how “a customer’s email and purchase responsiveness might change over time” (Cosguner, 2018). Just how consumers wants do not stay stagnant, neither should marketing design and implementation. Sending out test emails, and testing a variety of email design elements, the Indiana State Museum can retain email interaction and satisfaction.

 

Designing Materials that Create the Right Impressions

Making a good first impression on the target audience of send outs should be of utmost priority. This lays a solid groundwork to build trust and persuasion upon as the main appeal of the event is described.  Developing tailored messages that fit the target audience will ensure that the readers are engaged, interested, as well as entertained by the material being presented. This increases the likelihood of that reader taking action on links provided in the correspondence, the event being advertised, or the call to action being displayed (Harper, 2018).

 

Creating a good first impression is created by including key elements of marketing design into each send out or advertisement.  Adding photography is beneficial to gaining and keeping attention for the main content. Photos should be relevant to the content material (Hanchar, 2018). If the content is promoting an event for a new exhibit opening the photos should be:

• Bright

• Modern

• Cheery

Cater media to the content to make an impact on the reader when it is seen (Hanchar, 2018). Other content to engage the reader can include:

• Videos

• GIFS

• Links to other online content

According to Damian Ryan, the founder and chairman of The Global Academy of Digital Marketing, these touches make a lasting first impression that keeps a reader on the invitation page (Ryan, 2017). With the increase in popularity of digital photo sharing sites such as Instagram and Pinterest, maintain a constant media contact is crucial to a strategic marketing  plan (Ryan, 2017).

 

Promote Incentives for Early-Bird Registration 

Early-bird registration incentives are helpful for a number of reasons. Firstly, they build excitement. Early-bird registration enables potential attendees to have more time to anticipate the event and discuss it with others. Early-bird registration incentives also reward people who commit early to attending ISM events, making them more likely to enjoy their experience and recommend it to others. Lastly, early-bird registration incentives enable the Indiana State Museum to have an earlier and more accurate estimate regarding how many people are likely to attend a given event. This analysis addresses multiple types of early-bird registration incentives that we believe that the Indiana State Museum can effectively employ to increase event pre-registration: Financial incentives, special perk incentives, and swag incentives.

 

a) Financial Incentives 

It is no secret that finances are a major concern for people when deciding whether or not to attend events. According to a survey by EventBrite and BizBash, two websites that specialize in event marketing and planning, “64 percent of planners say their most successful promotional method is the early bird discount” (6 Registration Incentive Ideas, 2018). Our survey results also indicate that finances are a top concern for potential event attendees. Question 6 of our survey asks “What would make you more likely to purchase program or event tickets in advance? (Check all that apply.)” This is a very important question for our research project. 57 people answered this question, which provides a fairly large sample size for analysis, and this visual reflects the results obtained by our survey. The numbers on the chart below describe how many individuals selected each choice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of all of the choices, the highest number of people (49) indicated that a “Discount for pre-registration” would be the factor that would most increase the likelihood of them pre-registering for ISM events. 14 people claimed that “Incentive such as first 20 people to register receive a gift” would increase their likelihood of pre-registering. This means that a large majority of potential event pre-registration candidates considered finances as a primary concern when deciding whether to pre-register for an ISM event. It follows, therefore, that the Indiana State Museum should offer more discounts for early-bird registration.

 

In their article Effects of Incentive Amount and Type on Web Survey Response Rates, Jared Coopersmith, Lisa Klein Vogel, Timothy Bruursema, and Kathleen Feeney write that financial incentives can be effective, but effectiveness can be limited “by factors such as incentive type, amount, timing, sample composition, mode of administration, and the demands of the request” (Coopersmith, J., Vogel, L. K., Bruursema, T., & Feeney, K., 2016, 2). This makes applying financial incentives a bit of a juggling act, since you are not always sure whether a financial incentive will cost more money than it’s worth. Jared Coopersmith, Timothy Bruursema, and Kathleen Feeney are all experienced mathematicians, and Lisa Vogel is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their research examined the effectiveness of “an early response incentive, a prepaid incentive, and a nonresponse conversion incentive compared to the effectiveness of a post-response incentive” (Coopersmith, J., Vogel, L. K., Bruursema, T., & Feeney, K., 2016, 11). Their research “…found no incentive strategies more effective than the post-response incentive, making this strategy preferable as it is the least costly” (Coopersmith, J., Vogel, L. K., Bruursema, T., & Feeney, K., 2016, 11).

 

Financial incentives can be a useful method for increasing event pre-registration, but financial incentives are not always practicable, especially on a large scale. For example, businesses can lose money if too many financial discounts are given. Therefore, swag incentives and special perk incentives are sometimes more feasible alternatives.

 

b) Swag Incentives and Special Perk Incentives

Over the course of our research, we found that swag incentives and special perk incentives are effective and frequently-used methods of increasing event registration and attendance. Swag incentives can be tremendously useful when trying to motivate people to register for an event. ‘Swag’ is a term used to describe free stuff given away at events to encourage people to attend and promote a given event/company/organization. Often company-branded merchandise, swag can serve as a form of advertising. For example, t-shirts with ISM logos on them are cheap and can increase ISM’s profit in the long run if the person wears the T-shirt and serves as a walking billboard for the Indiana State Museum.

 

As described above, multiple potential ISM event attendees (14) said that an “Incentive such as first 20 people to register receive a gift” would increase their likelihood of pre-registering when completing our survey. Special perks are also extremely effective for increasing event registration and attendance. According to John Rieck, a marketing project manager with years of experience working with marketing departments, “…branded swag incentives are sometimes better than offering money.” (Rieck, 2017, 1). Potential attendees are more likely to pre-register if swag is offered as a reward, and “Using event perks to incentivize early online donations and registration will engage them early in the process and ensure that they’ll be even more excited to attend” (5 Nonprofit Fundraising Incentives, 2018). 

 

People are more likely to recommend ISM events to their friends if they receive swag and special perks from pre-registering for events. According to a recent survey conducted by Museums and Galleries of NSW, an organization that helps museums, galleries and Aboriginal cultural centers create exciting experiences for visitors, “Word-of-mouth was the most commonly cited way people found out about a museum” (Marketing for Museums).  Therefore, it is essential that people feel like they got something out of their experience/pre-registration efforts. Swag and special perks can serve as powerful incentives for people to pre-register. 

 

Appeal to FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) When Marketing Events 

Fear of missing out, or FOMO, is a large incentive for people to attend events. If something fun and exciting is going on, people want to be a part of it. FOMO is a trending term that has recently made its way into the Dictionary. The Oxford English Dictionary defines FOMO as “anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website.”

 

According to a survey conducted by Eventbrite, half of millennials attend in-person events so that they can later share their experiences online, and "78 percent reported enjoying seeing other people’s experiences on social media” (6 Registration Incentive Ideas, 2018, 1). The fear people have of missing out can help event organizers draw in more people to their events. Sharing behind-the-scenes of the planning process, or photo or video recaps of an amazing event as part of your event promotion is a sure way to tap into FOMO – and boost attendance" (6 Registration Incentive Ideas). 

 

People like what other people like, and the data from our survey also reflects this trend. If an event is popular and likely to sell out, it increases the likelihood that others will register for the event. In Question 6 of our survey, 49 percent of respondents claimed that event popularity, or the “Potential for program or event to sell out” was a major consideration when deciding whether to purchase ISM event tickets in advance. Event organizers should make an effort to talk about how fun an event will be in their marketing efforts. They should include also show highlights from previous events and talk about how popular the event is and how it is likely to sell out.

 

Expend More Time/Resources on Reaching Less Reliable Demographics 

Audiences are not homogenous. Different techniques are needed to target different audience demographics. If a museum wants to draw in a diverse crowd, there should be activities and exhibits appealing to a broad range of people. We wanted to know what age groups are generally interested in events hosted by the Indiana State Museum. Question 10 of our survey asks the question “What is the age range of the programs you typically attend or are interested in?” The below graph indicates how many people selected each option when prompted to answer this question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our survey results indicate that the majority of event attendees (more than 75 percent) attend for family programs or for events geared towards younger audiences. Only 23 percent of museum attendees are interested in adult programs. Going forward, the Indiana State Museum can expend more resources marketing to adults. Adults have smaller and less-reliable attendance patterns, and expending resources marketing to them could increase event registration reliability.

 

Earlier in the analysis, we discussed the results of Question 1 of our survey, which is aimed at finding the preferred method of hearing about Indiana State Museum events among potential event attendees. Email was the most preferred method for hearing about ISM events, but not by a large margin. All of the other methods, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, the ISM website, and even local news and media, had multiple adherents. If the Indiana State Museum wants to draw in young adults to their events, it is particularly important for the Indiana State Museum to use a broad variety of mediums to inform potential event attendees about ISM events. According to research by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank that collects information on social trends and public opinions on a wide variety of topics, “…a majority of users frequent social media sites daily rather than weekly or less often” (Touloukian, 2018). This means that museums should post frequently about events to keep audiences, especially young audiences, engaged.

 

It is important to reach young people because they are most likely to keep up with technological trends and they generally have the most power to leverage social media to promote the things they like. According to the Change Conversations Blog, a blog where nonprofits, public agencies, and individuals can find information relating to quality marketing and communication practices, marketing to young people “…could increase your organization’s “brand awareness” and cause you to be seen by multiple new networks” (Touloukian, 2018). Young adults (ages 18-29) also use technology far more than younger and older age groups. According to research by the Pew Research Center, 88 percent of young adults ages 18-29 use at least one form of social media, compared with 78 percent of 30-49 year olds, 64 percent of 50-64 years olds, and only 37 percent of people aged 65 plus (Demographics of Social Media Users).