Why it's the perfect time for museums to reach out to new international audiences online

With travel restrictions and quarantine measures currently in place, it’s easy to think that there’s no point in working on your foreign visitor experience these days... it may seem like there are other aspects of the business that need to be prioritised.

But how about reaching out to the billions of Internet users, instead? We desperately need awesome alternatives to binge-watching.

Translating your museum content, compelling information about your collection, your exhibition collaterals and social media channels into different languages will make you stand out and stay top-of-mind - and accessible to the non-English natives. And, well, there are lots.

Make your website irresistible, take visitors on virtual tours that actually engage.

For the UK, as much as for the rest of the world, French visitors can be a huge help in this regard. Indeed, French people are good at many things, making art, delicious food, keeping a chic & blasé look on their faces… They are culture-thirsty all the time, but few have a level of English that can deeply interact with English exhibition and artwork descriptions... Sorry, but it's true!

According to a 2016 survey, they actually rank the lowest in the European Union for proficiency in speaking English.

I know, I was surprised, too...

And, as you can guess, speaking an ‘okay’ amount of English definitely isn’t enough for a rich, fulfilling experience and to grasp the richness of a collection. It’s so easy to lose interest in a text when it doesn’t appeal to your deeper understanding.

On the other hand, reading or listening to a text in your mother tongue sparks interest and captures the imagination. It takes you on a journey. That’s why providing specialised French translations can be a huge asset.

But why is now the perfect time to translate your museum content into French (or in any language, for that matter)?

Though visitor numbers are low right now, taking advantage of COVID-induced tourism downtime to produce high quality French content places your institution beyond other museums and galleries when it comes to taking care of your visitors.

It means you’re doing that little bit extra to provide a meaningful experience for them that they will truly appreciate - IRL or online.

You'll open up to thousands more visitors, and we know that word-of-mouth is the greatest tool out there. Give them the experience in their mother tongue, and they'll have a much more enjoyable time, meaning they are more likely to share and recommend your institution around them!

The French are eager to travel. But for a while, still, this might mean travelling through their computer screen.

Additionally, this might be a good time to assess your existing content or translations, making sure they are compelling, informative and enjoyable to read (and mistake-free, wink!)

There are so many options to reach your international visitors’ markets online.

And it'll just be a great way to prepare : when travel restrictions subside, and the United Kingdom experiences a wave of French tourists flooding in (COVID-allowing...) to get their art and culture fix, your museum will be the one they turn to!

Want to know about other ways to prepare for the post-COVID art world?

Perhaps you want to bounce around some ideas and discuss which marketing and translation needs would attract more French online visitors right now, or when the time comes?

If that’s the case, drop me a line and let’s make your museum, heritage site or cultural organisation the go-to place for French visitors online!