Demand-Driven Museum Story Inspiration

When considering where to find museum collections story inspiration, we’ve reviewed how the flexibility of hybrid and online-only exhibits can serve as inspiration. We have also reviewed past, present, and future exhibitions as thought-starters for sharing stories online. Finally, in our previous post we dreamed big with stories that would be impossible to tell via in-person exhibitions.

It is now time to look at the numbers and consider taking inspiration from what our visitors are most interested in. This demand-driven approach can be incredibly informative and can offer fodder for stories in perpetuity. 

Where to Find the Numbers

Various numbers can help inform and inspire our story strategy. The first and most easily gathered numbers are the in-person visitor statistics. The second largest area of data to consider is within the museum Collections Management System (CMS) and/or website—depending on how the collections are published online. There can be additional worthy sources for numbers unique to your museum and I encourage you to explore what kind of statistics you have available to you.

The In-Person Visitor Numbers

Most museums gather statistics on how many people come through the museum doors as well as which galleries receive the most foot traffic. These numbers are useful in order to adjudicate the success of a new exhibit and evaluate the interests of its audience. The numbers also help influence future museum exhibit topics and how stories may be laid out in the next exhibit production.

The Online Collection Numbers

Statistics that indicate the interests of online visitors are available in a couple of places. For online items, the museum CMS  can offer statistics on the number of views, online visit duration, number of downloads, etc.

If, instead, the objects and/or galleries are published via the museum website, the website’s administrative backend should be able to furnish similar statistics on how many times an item is viewed, a link is clicked, an item is downloaded, etc.

Additional Numbers to Consider

There are many areas of our work where a look at statistics can be eye opening. While numbers of visitors (in-person and online) are important, this is not the only consideration. Reflect on your work and the collection to reveal additional areas where statistics could be helpful.

For example, perhaps it would be useful to know which objects have had the the least amount of time on display. Perhaps you can discover an area of the collection that has never been displayed in its entirety or within its cultural context.

Creative Connectivity

While the numbers can reveal popular items and even popular storylines, you may need to do some creative connectivity to craft a full story with this demand-indicative data. Think of it as reverse engineering: you have a popular items list and you are now tasked with creating a story by using the majority of those items.

Depending on how your brain works, this could be really fun or a daunting prospect! If you are in the overwhelmed camp, I recommend making it a fun team exercise, or creating a competition for the best story.

What Stories Will Your Data Uncover?

Numbers as inspiration can work really well, especially if you are just beginning online storytelling. However, keep in mind that you are not married to the numbers.

As collection stewards, you know your collection really well and have a great sense of the stories waiting among your objects, waiting to be told. Inspiration can come from anywhere and there is no wrong way to be inspired.