Have you ever said or heard someone say, “Let me put my marketing hat on for this project”? While speaking with our clients, we hear many questions and concerns regarding marketing. Many times, marketing is an after-thought. It becomes an “other duties as assigned” task to someone’s already full list. Short- term solutions, such as hiring an intern for a season, can help marketing efforts. Often though, these measures are taken when there aren’t enough resources to hire someone full time. How can a site without a marketing person on staff reach more potential visitors, encourage repeat visits, and create high quality marketing content?

The good news is that many of the sites that use the interpretive approach for their exhibits have valuable information available for marketing content. The bad news is they may not have linked the two.

An interpretive plan brings a sense of identity to a site. It clarifies the site’s purpose to staff members, board members, and visitors. The plan guides a site in future projects, linking to its history, significance, and mission. The interpretive plan can also be used to develop an outline or plan for a marketing strategy.

Having been in the sales and marketing world for many years, we see how an interpretive plan establishes many factors that can also help with marketing efforts. Those areas include:

Goals and Objectives-Knowing what the site wants to accomplish

SWOT Analysis-What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?

Market Analysis-Who are the visitors or who should be visiting?

Central Theme-Main message that the site wants the visitor to walk away with

Subthemes-Messages that support the central theme

Implementation Schedule-A timeline for projects

Current Available Resources-What does the site own or what can it use?

Starting to market a product or site without a plan is a complete nightmare. Inevitably, you will be throwing ideas out to see what sticks. This trial and error type of marketing can work, but it could be years before you see any results. At the minimum, the interpretive plan creates guidelines and gives direction that can translate into marketing efforts.

The central theme of the exhibits can easily help feed your marketing content. When brainstorming ideas for exhibits, there always needs to be a connection back to the central theme; a marketing plan can also use the central theme in creating content. In this way, your interpretive plan creates a guideline to connect with, and not confuse, potential new visitors through all messaging from a site, including marketing messages.

The one area that may still be a challenge to figure out is the marketing channels. There are so many ways to reach people today. One site may only use a website to market to its intended audience, while another site may use every social media platform. The best way to find out which marketing channels are working and which are falling short is to ask visitors how they heard about your site.

While this tip does not create a complete solution to all marketing concerns, hopefully it can help alleviate some of the anxiety and confusion. The next time that you are asked to put on your marketing hat, start with the content that your site has already developed. Be inspired to create meaningful marketing content using your interpretive plan as your guide.