Museums have great stories to tell and knowledge to share, and more and more people are turning to YouTube to learn through video. Here are some tips to make your videos and channel approachable and discoverable to a general museum audience, based on research conducted on 35 art museum YouTube Channels and examples from the wider YouTube educational community. As seen at MW2015 (plus videos to watch!) To read full paper, go to: http://mw2015.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/art-museums-and-youtube-current-practice-and-potential-strategy/

1. Museums and YouTube
Tips for making a YouTube channel
that is awesome (!!!)
Emily Robbins
@EmBRobbins

2. 0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
Over 10,000
1000 -
10,000 Less than
1000
Subscribers
Museum channel subscribers:
most don’t have many

3. 3 Types of Videos
Inward – About the Museum
Installation, event profiles, behind-the-scenes
Outward – Education/Entertainment
Mini docs, artist interviews, lectures, performances
Promotional – Short ads
Exhibition promos, event promos

4. Outward Does Best on YouTube
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Recent videos All top videos Over 100,000 views
Outward
Promo
Inward

5. View Patterns
GradualSpike
Spike, then Gradual

6. Promos tend to spike
• Pushed to museum audiences
Inward and Outward videos gain views gradually
• Most views come from YouTube discovery
22.2
8.9
72.7
77.8
84.4
18.2
0
6.7
9.1
Inward
Outward
Promo
Both Gradual Spike

7. Top Videos: 67% gradual
Over 100,000 Views: 83% gradual

8. Video titles may or may not be
familiar/understandable to general
audiences
Unfamiliar elements:
• Lesser-known artists’ names
• Exhibition titles
• Museum program titles

9. 75
64.7
27.6
16.7
19.1
22.9
8.3
16.2
49.5
Over 100,000 views
All top videos
Recent Videos
Unfamiliar Museum name Familiar phrases
Unfamiliar titles are common
Top videos have titles with familiar phrases
Museum name does not = high views

10. Do branding and organization help?
Few museum channels have whole channel
branding
Some have series – branded playlists
• Playlist with 5 or more videos
• Consistent branding/style

11. 0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
No Organization Some
Organization
Slight Use of
Series
Series Used
Average Subscribers
More branding = more subscribers

12. 0
50
100
150
200
250
No Organization Some
Organization
Slight Use of
Series
Series Used
Average number of videos with over 20,000 views
More branding = more views

13. “Outward” content rules
Familiar/understandable titles do
better
More branding = better

14. Branding
ASAP Science
Sixty Symbols
SciShow

15. Brand channel around show, not
institution

16. Channels feature each other…

17. …and form social networks

18. Popular video formats make clear what
you will learn
• Lists
– “20 amazing facts about _______”
– “10 reasons why ______”
– “Top 7 _______s”
• Answering a question
– “Why does _____ happen?”
– “What exactly is ______?”
• Broad Topics
– “World History: War”
– “Surrealism”

19. Video Examples
(Yay, let’s watch some movies!!!)
WARNING: Videos are fairly long, between 7-15 minutes. (Do note: that whole
“people online have short attention spans” thing isn’t always true when you have
content people really like.)

20. Personality draws you in
Emily Graslie’s personality adds to the ordinary “explain a museum
object” video
• She interacts naturally with interview subjects
• Good alternative to everyone having to make camera-eye-
contact
• Shows museum employees having fun at their jobs

21. Acknowledging audience spurs participation
PBS Idea Channel discusses cultural criticism using internet pop
culture.
They asks viewers for their thoughts, and feature good comments at
the end of the next video.
• Check out these long, thoughtful comments!
• The chance to get featured encourages comments
• Featuring conversation at the ends encourages people to watch to
the end

22. Videos can be jumping-off points for
activity
On The Art Assignment, artists set a project for the viewers
Two hosts give art-historical background
Responses to assignments are posted on Tumblr and in videos
• SO participatory. Much participation.
• BUT also provides easy-to-understand art knowledge
• Shows that the ideas behind art are accessible to everyone

23. Takeaways
• Have personality
– Be fun, human, approachable, enthusiastic
– Be a peer to your audience, not an authority
• Have identity
– Consistent style, consistent content
– Have a focused goal for your channel

24. Takeaways
• Have a value proposition
– Educate, inspire, share knowledge, offer insights
– Entertain: convey that your subject matter is exciting
– Go beyond institutional promotion
• Learn about search engine optimization
• Foster channel communities

25. Advice from The Creators on YouTube
• Be authentic
• Be relevant
• It doesn’t have to be glossy
• Collaborate with others
• Listen to your audience
• Don’t expect engagement, ask for it