In March, businesses and organizations across California were rocked by the COVID-19 outbreak and stay-at home orders. As the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) was required to close its doors temporarily, we worked quickly with its marketing and operations team to develop strategies to help the museum engage with the populations that it connects with on a daily basis. We landed on an idea that would showcase MOPA’s leadership and embrace an innovative way for people to access the museum’s art – completely virtually.

Turning the Lens, a play on words to show the museum turning the camera on itself, consists of weekly educational shows on art and photography led by MOPA educators. We developed three shows, each reaching an important segment of MOPA’s audience and serving a different purpose.

• Through My Lens
  This youth show features youth focuses on photography programming and arts learning. It also arms youth with themed lessons to inspire them to participate in MOPA’s Annual Juried Youth Exhibition.
• MOPA In Focus
  This show focuses on adult learning in the form of a conversation, where a MOPA hosts takes viewers through artworks from MOPA’s permanent collection.
• Winescapes with Artists
  This exclusive show for donors emphasizes current affairs and exhibitions, and how art helps guide our understanding of the world. Featured hosts include MOPA Chief Curator Deborah Klochko and a special guest from the art world.

Bringing the museum from brick and mortar to completely digital was no easy feat. We learned a lot from the planning stages through the first few weeks of show implementation.

Continuous analysis is key

Building a successful virtual strategy won’t happen overnight. We worked with the MOPA team to offer qualitative and quantitative analysis of each show, each week. This included anything from adjusting the background setup of a show’s host, to shifting the day and time of sending the promotional email. This helped us develop recommendations to improve the shows for the following week to increase viewership and engagement.

Partnership marketing plays a big role in increasing viewership

MOPA has a large following in San Diego and beyond. In order to increase viewership and sharing of the recorded videos, we needed to activate community partners. For example, we worked with the AjA Project, an organization in San Diego offering photography-based programming to youth and communities, to share our shows with its audiences. Establishing this mutually beneficial partnership helps bring more attention to the content, while also offering something meaningful to your partner’s audience.

Be ultra-clear on your strategy from the beginning

Due to the circumstances surrounding COVID, we moved quickly to create and implement our strategy – knowing that MOPA’s community was eager to interact with the museum despite its temporary closure. After the first couple shows, we realized that we could pre-record shows rather the offer live content each week – increasing the capacity for MOPA staff and still reaching our goals.

A flywheel is your best friend

MOPA’s marketing team produces great content for the museum’s online community. We worked with the team to ensure that we utilized all steps within our marketing flywheel (email, social, website, landing page, etc.) to promote the shows and continue engagement of shows once they were recorded. When determining your strategy for a virtual program, think through your goals, audiences and resources to determine the best approach for your business or organization.

Have a plan B and C, because…technology

Going completely digital increases the risk for technology mishaps. In one of our shows for Winescapes with Artists, MOPA’s executive director led a discussion with a member of the art community, who just so happened to have poor connection from doing the livestream from a coffee shop. It’s best to have alternative talking points or materials prepped in case technology gets the best of you. And remember, tech malfunctions happen ALL THE TIME – the more you can remain calm and even infuse humor into the situation, the more likely your audience will stick around to see what you have planned next.