E1: Growing Your Audience with Digital Storytelling | Billy Somerville
Welcome to the digital stage. I'm Andi Graham from Big Sea, a marketing agency that helps nonprofits and cultural
Warren Wilansky:citizens to their communities, and information seekers with the answers that they need. Join us as we explore the future of cultural engagement, talking with innovators crafting unique digital experiences that inspire and transform the way that we connect with our communities.
Andi Graham:We are here with Billy Somerville on the digital stage, and Billy has been working with Big Sea for, oh, gosh, 5, 6, 7 years now through a couple different spots. Yeah.
Billy Somerville:Years. I've lost count. A couple couple agencies and and many years. Yeah.
Andi Graham:Yeah. And now you are the marketing director. Am I right with that? At the, Tampa Bay History Center. So welcome to the show.
Andi Graham:We're glad to have you.
Billy Somerville:Thank you. I'm glad to be here.
Andi Graham:We're very excited to talk with you, but tell us first a little bit about the Tampa Bay History Center and sort of what makes it unique and interesting.
Billy Somerville:Oh, well, the Tampa Bay History Center is located in Tampa, Florida for those of you listening. And it was actually formed in 1989, a very small group that was in Hillsborough County. And our mission really is to tell the story of historic Hillsborough County, which believe it or not, covers around 15 counties across West Central Florida. So we have a pretty large geographic region that we focus on in our gallery space and in our research.
Andi Graham:Must be an interesting place to talk about history. Absolutely. Time in an interesting state.
Billy Somerville:I I I yes. And we kind of we walk the line between what's happening now and what happened then, and we try to try to show some, you know, similarities.
Andi Graham:Mhmm. That's interesting. One thing I've been noticing that you've been doing a lot lately, and, you know, we watched you go through COVID and all of that. And, you recently started talking about all the live streaming that you're doing of all your programming and events. Can you tell us a little bit about how that came to be and sort of what you're doing there?
Billy Somerville:Well, you know, it's the age old story of COVID made us pivot. And, we are, you know, continuing with that because it was so successful, and it really did fulfill one of our core values, which is accessibility. We live stream and record all of our public lectures that are free and open to the public every month, and we put them on our YouTube channel, which is at Tampa Bay History Center. And every month, we get hundreds of people that tune in live and hundreds more that watch online afterwards. So it's a great story of how we're able to share what goes on inside the history center with everyone, on any device.
Andi Graham:I think it's an interesting topic because we don't think a lot of the times we think about the live streaming as a replacement for the in person events, and we forget that it's all it's also a lot about accessibility and expanding your mission and your footprint, into a world of people who wouldn't otherwise be able to step foot inside. So I I love that. Did you feel like there was a high barrier to entry to get started with that?
Billy Somerville:I think that it was more of a barrier of a mindset. So, you know, we were used to kind of doing things, okay, this is gonna be take place in the classroom or that we're gonna need 60 chairs for this lecture. When in reality, you know, we could open it up to many more people just by recording it or live streaming it. One of the sites that we're working with is off-site, from the History Center, which is on Water Street in downtown Tampa. And just a few miles north, we have another location that we're activating the space in.
Billy Somerville:And from day 1, we've been able to record and stream those programs, and we're able to triple the capacity for that program. And it's actually at a historic location, which can only fit around a 120 people max. So it's it's kind of a tight space, but we're able to reach, you know, 400 on on YouTube. Hi, Billy.
Warren Wilansky:I have a question for you actually. You know, not being local to Tampa Bay myself, I'm always curious, like, how do you feel your mission to reach out outside of the local community? Like, are you are you finding that you're now starting be be able to reach, you know, in this post pandemic period, you know, people like myself who who may not have heard of the Tampa Bay History Center and now suddenly know about it and wanna learn more.
Billy Somerville:Yeah. We're in a unique position because when stories break, for instance, locally, sometimes they do go national. And and one of those stories was about black cemeteries and how they were erased in the 19 fifties. In 2019, the History Center was instrumental in really uncovering a lot of the cemeteries locally that had been covered up or built upon. And we we did so through our extensive map archive.
Billy Somerville:We have roughly 8,000 or so maps in our collection, and 6,000 of those are digitized and available online. So getting back to this story, we did a program 2 years ago with doctor Antoinette Jackson on our free lecture series, Florida Conversations, and we streamed that live and have posted that to YouTube. Fast forward 2 years later, there's new, you know, new, gravesites that are being discovered, new work that's that's being uncovered. And we're able to to really show that content and direct people to that content again. So, it does have a national stage, especially with organizations that are working across different states.
Billy Somerville:For instance, doctor Jackson's work is is multistate at this point. So they're working at a national level, and we're able to help provide information to them.
Warren Wilansky:I love that because, I mean, it just you know, it it enables you to kind of affect other communities and have communities to kind of share in their knowledge and their expertise and and and and grow the whole, you know, cultural center as a whole. Absolutely.
Andi Graham:When I think about the people who are watching from home, I'm thinking it might be an older population. Is that the case?
Billy Somerville:I just looked at our analytics today, and, you know, it's it's interesting because the typical museum goer you think, you know, is more of a lifelong learner, someone that, maybe has more time on their hands. Maybe they're retired. But we are actually seeing our demographic shift, and visitors to our website are now skewing younger. So we're kind of reaching those 34 to 22 year olds that, we may have missed before. And we're also seeing an increase in organic search results, and also referrals to our blog.
Andi Graham:That was gonna be my next question was how do people find out about, like, the live streamed events and especially the folks who know that they're not able to attend from an accessibility perspective. How are they finding the digital content?
Billy Somerville:Yeah. So we do a great job at really getting earned media, and then pairing that with organic social. You know, we we try to make sure that we're accessible on all platforms, and, we've chosen YouTube as our our go to just because it is on every platform. I can
Andi Graham:watch it
Billy Somerville:on my Amazon Fire TV. I can watch it on my phone. And it does show up in in search results very easily. So that's really been how we're kind of reaching folks. And we also see a great, response in our email newsletters.
Billy Somerville:We have a a very active and engaged list that we email on a regular basis. We make sure that, they know and value our emails as as not just your typical newsletter, but something that you're gonna wanna open and click through.
Andi Graham:I love that because that's my advice to so many of the nonprofits that we work with is to send more emails. Sure. I talk about it all the time. They always think, well, we do our enewsletter once a month, so we've got it covered. No.
Andi Graham:That's not enough email. Not enough email. Gotta do more.
Warren Wilansky:You can definitely do more than once a month.
Andi Graham:Yep. For sure. So digital formats, how is that helping you expand your audience? I mean, is that how you're reaching the younger audience? Or do you think it's just a sort of word-of-mouth or things are trickling out?
Andi Graham:They're seeing the the earned media? It's a hard thing to do.
Billy Somerville:Yeah. I think we're seeing a big response, on YouTube in particular. Our subscribers have jumped significantly over the last year. We've also doubled the amount of emails that we're sending out, by the way, in in the past 2 years. Yeah.
Billy Somerville:And, I would also say that our educators, so our our population of teachers that plan field trips to the history center, we try to provide them with, really good content that they can use in their classrooms. So whether that's a lesson plan or a virtual field trip, we try to make sure that they know they can bookmark us and find something that's aligned to state standards. So as an institution, we're we're trying to see what is the value that the end user is getting from it. And that's been really the the recipe for to success, is making sure that we have that end user in mind.
Warren Wilansky:I was just gonna ask, actually, you know, tied to that, one of my one of the things was that came to mind for me was what kind of updates do you see coming up for your website? Obviously, teacher resource is a fantastic one. What are the things that you have planned coming up in the near future that we can look forward to on-site?
Billy Somerville:Yeah. So now that we've got the core of the website updated and it is responsive in all the best ways, and it's something that we're really proud of to show off, We are working on the user journey from the point of sale. So our CRM, how that ties into it, that user journey. So when when they click the ticket tab, what is that shopping cart experience like? And that's really what we're drilling down to now.
Billy Somerville:We've got several vendors lined up, and we're trying to make sure that that experience is is optimized, is as user friendly. And for all of us online shoppers, it is a one click, you know, purchase. So I think from that standpoint, we are kind of targeting that and getting getting to the point where we're able to show really online sales convert.
Andi Graham:I'm curious about your integrations because a lot of our clients come to us with you know, they've got their fundraising in one tool and their ticket sales in another tool, and they might even have an e commerce platform somewhere over here, and then, their volunteers are using this over here. So what tools are you using? And are they all integrated?
Billy Somerville:It's that is a great question. And I know that from many years in the nonprofit world, it is extremely hard to find a one size fits all solution. I honestly don't think one exists. I would be shocked. Everyone's situation is unique, but between your CRM, your volunteer, management, c r all of that, is needs to talk to itself.
Billy Somerville:And I've worked at organizations where we spend a lot of time making those connections happen. And it's it's not necessarily a fast process. It's not something that is going to be the flip of a switch or, okay, we're gonna sign up with this vendor. There's there's a lot that goes into the back end. So I would say that from our standpoint, we try to make sure that our point of sale is all in the same database.
Billy Somerville:So whether that's our membership, we have a museum store for instance, whether you're buying tickets and walking on to the visitor services counter or you're buying tickets online, we want that all to be in the same system, and and obviously processed the same. But all of those other components have to feed into that as well. So that's really our next step is making sure that from a user standpoint, from a member standpoint, they don't see a difference. We may know that there are 3 different tools at play, but we wanna make sure that the member knows that they can go to that portal, and they can update their information, and and keep giving to the institution that they love.
Andi Graham:Keep giving.
Warren Wilansky:Yeah. That's a great approach. That's a good great way to see it because, you know, also, organizations change, software changes. So if you can be swapping in something in or out, but always maintaining the central database, then you're setting yourself up for, like, a good future, you know, for the website or whatever platform you work.
Billy Somerville:Yeah. I've worked with organizations as we've transitioned from one tool to the next, and and it is not an easy process. It's not. We're not gonna sugarcoat it. But the the benefits far outweigh, the cost and time and energy because you're gonna have a product at the end of the day that's gonna work well for not only your team, but for your donor.
Billy Somerville:And I think that's where the difference is. You know, even something as simple as as email automation, you've got to make sure that that is in sync with your donor database so that, you know, your records are correct, that donor preferences are being honored, for instance. Yeah. All of that's really important. And and, you know, I think as marketers, we are really in a tough spot when it comes to making sure that the organization is set up, for the future.
Andi Graham:Yeah. It's it it is tough because everybody there are people, and we hear their voices loudly when they're upset with getting emails they didn't sign up for. And then there's people like me who just hit the delete button or move on through and, you know, you got my email. I'm putting it out on the Internet. So that's what I'm expecting anyway.
Andi Graham:So it's funny. But, yeah, being having that sensitivity up front, I think, especially with donors is really important. You mentioned membership a little bit, and I'm curious how you're converting visitors to members right now. What does that flow look like? Do you have a process?
Billy Somerville:Yeah. We we have a pretty formal process, on our membership team. And, we're now working on getting that to to work online as well. So, you know, when you visit the History Center, you're going to hear about our membership program and all the fantastic benefits that, it offers year round. What we're working on now is really getting those, folks that maybe have stepped foot in the door, our warm audience, and, you know, taking them to the next level as far as engagement goes with with, you know, becoming a member for member for the first time or just renewing.
Billy Somerville:And that's really our next step as well with, making sure that that our online tools are optimized and really ready to go.
Andi Graham:Are you producing any content that is specific to members?
Billy Somerville:We have now started a monthly blog post where we talk about what is featured this month as far as a member benefit. And then as museums and institutions, we have different reciprocity agreements with each other, and we're a part of different organizations like CIRM and NARM. If you're a Smithsonian affiliate, for instance, there are different benefits. So we try to make sure that every month our members get that blog post and they see that, hey, my member card is good here and here and, you know, and diff for different discounts and visitor passes.
Andi Graham:Oh, that's a great side benefit of the the cross member. I've seen those, like, on city passes and things like that. I hadn't considered that. That's a good idea. So I'm curious.
Andi Graham:We talked about tools and tech, but you didn't mention the names of any of the tools or any that you would want to are there any that you think are particularly I mean, we can talk about the big behemoth that powers all, but let's talk about the fun stuff that's come out recently. Is there any neat new tech that you're playing with that you think is worth sharing?
Billy Somerville:So I think that we're all, you know, kind of in the sandbox with chat gpt and learning all of the fun things that it can do, myself included. And, you know, from a marketer standpoint, it's this, you know, shiny new tool that we can use. I think from an institution standpoint, we've kinda gotta look at that and see, okay. What is generative AI, and and what kind of content does it produce? Is it accurate?
Billy Somerville:Is it something that we need to flag? So those are all conversations that continue to happen. And and as institutions become more familiar with it, I think that,
Warren Wilansky:keeps coming up here, and MB, maybe you can talk to it a little bit more, is the idea of kind of cross, you know, cross pollination cross pollinating different ideas. I'm stumbling with words, but that that happens. But, you know, this idea of, like, learning from different institutions and learning from each other. And, you know, I'm sure that as people start to share their findings or or their successes, people will start to use these tools better and better.
Andi Graham:Funny you should say that, Warren. We have a huge research study coming up. We do. We did we did a big survey in the fall, and we've had a research study that I actually just got to approve. Users are using AI right now and then some tools and tips and tricks on on using it.
Andi Graham:My biggest go to is if you're not already on the chat gbt teams version, you should be. It's $5 more a month, but it's also protective of your data. So you're not actually feeding the public LLM, so that when you're putting things into it, you're it's you can be reusing some of that data, but it's not feeding into the the public sphere, which is nice. So, but that's that's one of my favorites. So, Billy, I have a question.
Andi Graham:What other museums and institutions do you follow that you think are doing some really cool things in the digital space?
Billy Somerville:So my new favorite account to follow, and and
Andi Graham:I'm gonna write this down.
Billy Somerville:I work for a history matter. But there is a new campaign that is about to launch nationwide, and it's called made by us. So Mhmm. Their website, it's history made by us dot org. And they really are looking to fill that gap, that void, and museum goers where, you know, you go on a field trip, and then we don't see you again for, you know, 25 years.
Billy Somerville:But they're really trying to engage that post college, you know, crowd, that is is still active and and local and civic minded. And, obviously, this is an election year, so there's there's lots going on there. So this their mission is really unique, and I would encourage everyone to follow them made by us, because they are really championing organizations around the country that are connecting local history to national events, and in a meaningful way.
Andi Graham:Oh, I love that. I'm gonna go look them up.
Warren Wilansky:So I, a question I had, you know, do you have any tips specifically for digital marketing, you know, to increase donations, ticket sales, anything along those lines? Any kind of tips you wanna offer to people who are who'd be watching right now?
Billy Somerville:Yeah. So I would say that my background too has been in creative services. It went then I worked for, a TV station for a while. I as a print design. And now here I am doing, you know, digital marketing.
Billy Somerville:I say that you've always gotta ask. If you aren't asking your donor for what you need, then what is the call to action there? What is, how is your mission going to be sustainable? So I feel like you've always got to ask, even if it's if it's a uncomfortable ask for you. And and kinda know your audience.
Billy Somerville:Know what that ask should be. The right ask at the right time.
Andi Graham:I think that's super important. I have actually you know, I just moved to Asheville, North Carolina, two and a half years ago now. And I've been getting involved in my community, and I interact with, I'm a member of the AFP up here. I'm getting more and more engaged with the local nonprofit scene. And all the time, I'm thinking to myself, why has no one asked me yet to fill in the blank?
Andi Graham:And so now, of course, I've been invited to 16 different boards, and there's just like an influx of too many things. But it was a question for me. I'm seeing I see so many people that are just afraid to to to ask, and there's a lot of us on the other side who are saying, I wish somebody would just ask me because I don't know how to get involved in this stuff myself. So I think those are that's an important question. Hey, could you give us $5 more than you gave us last time?
Andi Graham:That would be great too.
Billy Somerville:I think I just heard all the development and advancement teams around the I think they for the marketing teams right now. So, you know, really, if there is a development professional on on your team or, maybe someone's in, philanthropy or a grant writer, those are the folks that I love to have lunch with and just ask them what the donors are. Talk to them about, what they're interested in, what matters to them. Because, obviously, you're gonna have your more higher tier donors that are are really looking at this as an as a community investment. And then you're gonna have your more transactional donors that's like, oh, I do wanna get the benefits of being a member of
Warren Wilansky:the
Billy Somerville:museum and use my membership at different institutions. Those are 2 different audiences. So really connecting with those coworkers and and making sure that all your colleagues are are on the same page is really important. And I know that for all the organizations that I've worked with, that's been the key, factor in our success is that marketing and and our digital marketing team is working with our philanthropy and our advancement team.
Warren Wilansky:To to kind of to to to, you know, to increase that engagement. How important is, like, storytelling in that process?
Billy Somerville:Yeah. I I think that your audience is going to want to learn something from you that's more than just that ask. Right? So how you how you kind of lead into that is gonna be with a story. And from donor appeals, to even just simple newsletters, I think we've gotta be, cognizant of of how we're curating those and what content we're using.
Billy Somerville:I know that even in for my monthly newsletter, I try to look for a theme or a way to kind of connect all of the dots when I know that a lot of it is just I need to make sure that I've got these tours in the newsletter. Well, is there something specific, a keyword that I can work in there? And then also in your program description, making sure that those tell a story as well, whether that's through direct quotes or snappy headlines. I think, you know, we're we're fortunate that we're a history museum, and we've got incredible content to share. But even if you're an organization that has a really great passionate mission, you can talk to your donors and also the people that you serve and find out what makes their lives different because of you.
Andi Graham:I love that. One thing I've been seeing a lot of lately that I absolutely adore is sort of the Museum Talk side of TikTok. Do you ever watch Museum Talk?
Billy Somerville:I do. And I think there's I I send some to our collections team Uh-huh. In the archive on a regular basis, and, we do have a chuckle about it just because, you know, we're all kind of this is a science to to, for museum professionals. So, you know, making sure that things are labeled in the session correctly is always important.
Andi Graham:It is. Do you, do you guys have a channel, a TikTok channel?
Billy Somerville:We do have a TikTok channel. And if you go to it, it is at Tampa Bay History, but you won't find anything because we just we're holding it. Yes.
Andi Graham:You're holding. That's a good good good idea, though. I just have been loving all the behind the scenes content that a lot of museums are putting out there and a lot of curators and collections people are just talking about learning about just how you move a painting from one spot to another is just so fascinating to me and, you know, how you handle things in the collection. So I love that stuff. I think it's opening up a world that people didn't know existed.
Andi Graham:And I hopefully, that's part of what's how you're attracting a younger audience too. I think it's neat people have access to to a lot more information about what's going on in the world around them. Alright. I have one more question for you. Well, I have a couple more.
Andi Graham:But number 1 is, as you're looking forward at new sort of exhibits or collections or things that are going on at the History Center itself, are you looking at how soon are you thinking about what the digital aspect of that might be and how you're gonna build that? Maybe it's on the website or what kinds of programming around it are gonna is gonna exist, that kind of a thing.
Billy Somerville:The age old question, does the March campaign come before or after the exhibit is conceived? I would say that our situation is pretty unique because our creative director works on developing the exhibit graphics with our curators. So we have really a front row seat to that process, and we are thinking about things very far in advance. And, I would say that that if you are a marketer at at an an institution, you need to definitely take your curators out to lunch and find out what's on their mind, what they're thinking about, and what those themes are going to be because your your comms calendar is is gonna have to up be updated as soon as they roll out their next, show. Yeah.
Billy Somerville:Now
Warren Wilansky:what's so fascinating about that is is that one of the best things about any kind of cultural institution, museum specifically, is telling stories is, like, the easiest thing that you can do. You have thousands upon thousands of stories that most digital marketers would die for.
Billy Somerville:Yeah. And sometimes it's hard to pick just one. Yeah. That our current exhibit is about Florida in the 19 twenties. And it is we do we talk about real estate and the housing boom?
Billy Somerville:Do we talk about redlining with real estate? Do we talk about fashion and pop culture in the 19 twenties or the mob scene in Tampa,
Warren Wilansky:which may
Billy Somerville:or may not have happened. So there's there's all sorts of stories that we could bring to light, and, you know, it's definitely something that we kind of have to pick. And and as this campaign evolves over a year, we definitely do try to touch on each of those.
Andi Graham:I love it. So if you had unlimited budget to do whatever you wanted to do with your digital assets, whatever that looks like, what would you do with it?
Billy Somerville:Well, this sounds like a a fever dream for any nonprofit marketer because an unlimited budget, where do you start? There's so much. I think that user experience. So I would make sure that my digital properties are all up to snuff and ready to go, for that next campaign. I I really want our museum goers, our our visitors, our members to really think of our website as a resource and something that's easy to use, easy to navigate, and something that they know they're gonna go back to time and time again, for new content.
Billy Somerville:So I would definitely make sure that the foundation for that is in place. And sometimes that's custom development. Sometimes that's hiring, you know, an agency to kind of work through that process with your team and have some outside insight. That's where I would start. But I think, you know, having an unlimited budget would definitely be, you know
Andi Graham:Team members. Yeah. Yeah.
Warren Wilansky:So you can kind of brainstorm out all the different things you can do because unlimited budget. Do you have a $1,000,000,000,000? Do you have, you know, a bill like, what is unlimited unlimited? You know?
Andi Graham:I know. You can fill that TikTok channel.
Warren Wilansky:Yeah. Or you can buy TikTok and turn it into only into only yours. Absolutely. I have one quick question, hopefully ties a little bit into what we're talking about here, which is, you know, are you now considering or would you be considering, like, any kind of experiences that don't tie back to the local community? In other words, there's tons of people out there who unfortunately might never make it to the history center.
Warren Wilansky:And are there is there an emotional connection that you are can try to make or wanna make with with those people that can become a part of a of a growing community, of a larger community that you might not ever reach in person?
Billy Somerville:Yeah. I think probably the audience that we reach the most that may not necessarily be local are cartography enthusiasts. We have a a large map collection that is online, and we just continue to add to the collection and are buying maps from all over the world, thanks to some very generous donors. And that is really something that sets us apart as an institution, and it also elevates us a little bit to that stage where, we are sharing those with the world and and do, contribute to research around the country, and internationally. That's fascinating.
Andi Graham:That's very cool. Well, Billy, thank you so much for spending a little bit of time talking to us about what you're doing at the Tampa Bay History Center. I think it's super fascinating.
Warren Wilansky:Awesome. Thank you, Bill. Having me. Yeah. Thanks
Billy Somerville:for thanks for joining. Awesome. Thank you all. Pleasure. Thanks.
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