The museum compared to other institutions
How much trust do museums enjoy compared to other organizations? Museum employees should be pleased.
Audio guides are an excellent way to offer visitors a positive experience in the museum. How can you effectively integrate an audio guide into the visitor experience of a museum? For audio guides to be engaging, it is important to adapt the content and structure to the museum experience. We have summarized our learnings from working with 60+ museums: Here are some tips museums can consider when producing audio guides.
Before you start creating an audio guide, it is important to define the target audience precisely and determine the thematic focus; think about which stories you want to emphasize and how these can promote understanding and appreciation of the exhibition.
Determine from which perspective your audio guide should be written. How will the museum audience be addressed in the audio guide? The length of the audio guide tracks should also be carefully planned to ensure that the information is comprehensive without overwhelming visitors. Consider the accessibility of your audio guide by integrating different languages or accessible formats.
Choose content that is not only informative, but also engaging and tells stories that appeal to visitors emotionally. Use original sources, expert interviews and historical context to increase the authenticity and depth of your audio guide content. People remember stories better than abstract facts. This is not just about conveying information, but about storytelling and entertainment.
Consider the use of music and ambient sounds to create an immersive atmosphere that enriches the exhibition. Make sure the content is current and regularly updated to ensure the accuracy and relevance of the audio guide. Integrate interactive elements, such as thought-provoking questions. These allow museum visitors to delve deeper into certain topics and discover the museum.
Divide the guide into individual chapters that last no longer than 1.5 - 2 minutes. Longer chapters impair concentration and should be shortened or divided into several chapters. Focus on the essentials and avoid too many details. Stories and anecdotes are more effective than dry facts. Rule of thumb: About 120 words correspond to about 60 seconds of audio.
You can either create an audio guide script that serves as the basis for the recordings or simply prepare notes and speak freely. Both help to ensure a coherent narrative structure. Experiment with different narration techniques and formats to find out what best suits your museum and the works on display.
Ten years ago, the audio guide would have been made accessible with expensive rental devices or apps. With modern technology, both are no longer necessary. Web apps allow visitors to access the guide directly without downloads - a QR code scan is all it takes and the audio experience begins.
Even nationwide WLAN is not mandatory. All you need to do is provide a Wi-Fi hotspot or mobile phone reception at the entrance. The tour is automatically preloaded when the first QR code is scanned.
On the other hand, it must also be easy for the museum to create new audio guide content and adapt it on an ongoing basis. Smart analysis tools can be used to analyze how museum visitors use the audio guide and which areas of the exhibition are particularly popular (and all this with data protection-friendly tracking tools). This makes it easier for you to create an audio guide for museums.
To ensure that the sound of the recordings for your audio guide is as good as possible, it is worth following a few steps. Here are a few basic tips for the audio guide: Very good results can be achieved in a quiet room with no background noise (background noise such as traffic noise, loud ventilation, air conditioning or other distracting noises). Choose a room with little reverberation / echo. A room with carpeting, curtains or furniture can reduce reverberation.
You have two options: Either you work with professional speakers, or you record the guide yourself. If you record yourself: Choose your preferred recording app. The pre-installed Voice Memos app (iOS) or dictation device (Android) is ideal for this. On the iPhone with the Voice Memos app, click on the three small dots (top right) to save the file and then select "Save to files".
We recommend the following points for recording: Hold your smartphone at as constant a distance as possible. We recommend a distanceof approximately 20-25 centimetres (7-10 inches, to reduce breathing noises). If possible, mount the smartphone or place it on a stable surface (e.g. stack of books). You can use intelligent tools to trim audio and improve the audio quality. Use the AI filter from Audio-Cult to reduce background noise. This allows you to improve the audio quality and ensure a consistent volume.
Test the audio guide extensively before it is shared publicly to identify technical errors or inconsistencies in content. Consider how the audio guide can best be integrated into the overall museum experience, for example with clearly visible QR codes and instructions.
The QR codes can all be generated automatically with Audio-Cult, for example (for each object as well as the entire tour). To arouse the public's curiosity, it is worth placing questions or information next to the QR code to arouse interest. A larger poster (e.g. A3 equivalent to 11" x 17" or larger) is worthwhile at the entrance to draw people's attention to the audio guide offer. Also in the exhibition space: If a specific work, object or room is described, QR codes are helpful directly on site.
Actively inform visitors about the availability of the audio guide. On the one hand on site by informing staff, on the other hand via your website and social media. Offer training for staff so that they can effectively support visitors in accessing and using the audio guide.
Implement a simple and intuitive way for visitors to give feedback directly via the audio guide web app. With Audio-Cult, for example, this can be done through a simple rating system and comment fields.
Analyze the usage data of the audio guide to understand which parts are listened to most often and where visitors may drop out prematurely. This data can provide insight into which content is particularly appealing or where improvements may be needed.
Check the content of the audio guide to ensure it is up to date. With the Audio-Cult audio guide creator, you can make changes to the museum guide flexibly and independently. In this way, you can ensure that the audio guide is up to date and remains appealing.
By applying the methods discussed here - from careful planning and selection of content to integration and continuous improvement through feedback - you can develop an audio guide that not only informs and entertains, but also significantly increases the satisfaction of your visitors.
Take the opportunity to complement your museum with a well-designed audio guide with an exciting offer.
How are great audio experiences created?
