A Short History of Social Media at the AANM
Posted by Devon Akmon | Filed under Technology, Work
I was recently asked by the fine folks at Museum Identity to write a short (300 word) piece on how the Arab American National Museum uses social media. My write-up will be included in a forthcoming article on the ways that social media is being used by museums. Here is what I submitted for inclusion. I’ll provide an update later when the article is published. I’m looking forward to learning more about social media usage from other museums around the world.
Similar to other institutions, the Arab American National Museum (AANM) began using social media in a rather piecemeal fashion. The community-based museum opened to the public in May 2005 and, with a relatively young staff, immediately began finding ways to incorporate social media into its outreach strategies. The nature of social media lends itself well to an institution so rooted in its community. Usually, a staff member would propose using a particular social media platform, present to staff on how it could benefit the institution, and adopt the day-to-day management and oversight of it.
In September 2009, the AANM hired its first Social Media Marketing Coordinator. Shortly thereafter, the Community Foundation of Southeastern Michigan (CFSEM) launched its inaugural Challenge—Arts and Culture, which sought to help raise much needed funds for the 75 cultural arts organizations that make up the Cultural Alliance of Southeastern Michigan. Recognizing the importance of individual giving via the Internet, the CFSEM online Challenge required institutions to use social media as a primary tool for raising funds. The Challenge lasted approximately 12 hours, and the AANM placed fourth among all institutions, raising over $300,000 in unrestricted funds (see our Challenge video here).
Currently, the Social Media Marketing Coordinator manages the oversight of all social media tools at the AANM. At this time, the Coordinator is developing a social media strategy for the Museum. In addition, the Coordinator works within the Marketing and Communication Department to produce online messages while also monitoring conversations relevant to the AANM.
The AANM is currently utilizing several social media outlets: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Delicious, blogs and iTunes U. Further, the AANM is developing other social media tools for collecting community history and building community (e.g Wikis). Lastly, social media tools are now being used within exhibits to enhance visitor participation.
- Devon Akmon
Tags: Technology, Work
One Response to “A Short History of Social Media at the AANM”
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A Short History of Social Media at the AANM | Devon Akmon » bookmarking Says:
January 4th, 2010 at 8:50 AM[...] An interesting post today. Here’s a quick excerpt: I was recently asked to write a short piece on how the Arab American National Museum uses social media for a forthcoming article in Museum Identity. Voila! Read the rest of this great post Here [...]
