Did you know that YouTube is the second most popular website and second largest search engine in the world?
For our April SHSMG event we heard from Russell Dornan, at the time Digital Media Content Manager at National Museums Scotland (NMS), who discussed how the organisation is taking their first steps in developing their presence on the platform and why.
He covered the team’s approach and aims, how they secured buy-in across departments, how the videos went down with audiences and how this project feeds into their new long-term YouTube strategy.
Who’s on the National Museums Scotland Content Team?
The NMS Digital Media Content team consists of the Digital Media Content Manager and two Content Producers who work on the organisation’s website, social media, blog, editorials, and creative/storytelling/audio projects. There are also two Multimedia Producers in the wider Digital Team, who assist with video productions, the tech involved in online events, and audio projects.
What is Museum Makeup?
Earlier this year, NMS shared their short Museum Makeup YouTube series which is unlike anything which they had previously published on the channel. The videos feature makeup artist Yong-chin Breslin (winner of season 4 of the TV makeup competition, Glow Up) as she creates three colourful looks inspired by their Natural Science collections.
Russell was inspired to create the project after seeing a particularly gorgeous agate on the @scottishagates Twitter account and thought it would work well because it aligned with NMS values (creative, collaborative, forward-thinking, etc.) and showed their collections through someone else’s eyes. The aim was to attract new audiences by embracing contemporary themes to create compelling ways to make new connections.
The videos were also shared on Instagram as Yong-chin has a huge following on the platform and it meant that they weren’t gambling everything on YouTube which helped with getting buy-in from stakeholders.
How to Create a Museum Makeup Video
To get the ball rolling, Russell secured internal support from Assistant Curator of Earth Systems, Emily Brown. He then got in touch with Yong-chin, before taking it further internally.
Some of the challenges they faced when filming at their collections centre were: distractions; capturing “all the things”; and time-keeping, as it was unscripted, which was the feel they wanted, but that also meant they had to be really strict to avoid overrunning.
After the tours were finished, they filmed pick-up shots (also known as B-Roll). The actual makeover filming for the ‘Minerals’ video the next day involved setting up the space in the collections centre, using three cameras to cover all angles, editing over nine hours of footage and packing in pop-up definitions. The makeovers for the subsequent videos were filmed by Yong-chin herself once she was back in London.
When it was ready, the videos were posted to YouTube over three days (culminating with ‘Minerals’) and on a page on the NMS website which provided context, brought the series together, added to the project’s legacy and enabled the team to maximise the spread on all channels. They also coordinated the release with Yong-chin (who made collaborative posts on Instagram).
What Was the Impact of Museum Makeup?
The team created three separate films for each of the three collection areas (minerals, insects and birds) which stand alone, but also form part of a series.
They garnered over 150,000 views across three videos posted to Instagram, plus great engagement and feedback. They’ve also seen a small shift in their audience thanks to Yong-chin’s following, with more younger people now following the NMS.
On YouTube, they totalled 900 views on across three videos, but Russell noted that he wasn’t worried about this number and that it makes sense (more on that below).
What Was the NMS YouTube Channel Like Before?
Before Russell arrived, YouTube was used as a repository. It had become a place to store videos to be embedded on their blog and website. It included all manner of things, such as trailers for upcoming exhibitions, talks and talking head interviews.
While the content was a bit inconsistent, there were still some blockbuster videos consistently getting high views. But the problem was that these sat among random content. Russell decided that the team needed to cut through the noise and actually figure out what works for them on YouTube and why.
The Problem with Ads
The issue Russell is having with using analytics to determine what content was doing well is that the NMS YouTube channel is also used for video ads.
For example, the trailer for their recent Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder temporary exhibition trailer dwarfed their other stats, skewing their audience data.
Overall, just 2% of views on their YouTube channel are from subscribers, which is mostly down to the ads. It makes it impossible to look at analytics properly.
What’s their New Approach to YouTube?
Keen to revitalise their YouTube presence, Russell decided to move away from using the channel as a repository and chosen to focus on growing and developing the audience. The aim is to make the NMS YouTube channel a destination for people looking for rich content, like campaigns, talks, and trailers.
He noted that it’s still early days and that there are things they’re still learning on the fly, but right now their approach consists of three factors:
- Deciding on a new consistent format – Russell and his team have decided to go with series on the channel, such as Museum Screen Time, Museum Roll Call, and Behind-the-Scenes videos
- Experiments – while working on the series which they already know are popular, they also want to experiment with new content, like the Museum Makeup series. They’ve also been working on much longer Knitting Guides and short nuggets, to try to provide content which will appeal to different user needs and then see what works and what doesn’t
- Housekeeping – this means sorting out the channel with new thumbnails, a profile landing page, playlists, and content migration which includes moving outdated but useful videos to Vimeo where it can still be embedded in blog posts, etc.
It may sound drastic to shift much of their content off YouTube and essentially start with a clean slate, but Russell stresses that you have to be strict with the channel and rationalise why that video is there. They want the YouTube “shopfront” to be engaging and attractive to new audiences so if they’re not performing well, then it’s a good time to ask why and maybe clear the clutter. While one could argue that unwanted videos could still be kept on YouTube either privately or hidden, Russell wonders if restricted videos shouldn’t be taking up space there; Vimeo is better as it can be password-protected for members-only content.
The YouTube Experiment
Russell isn’t worried that the YouTube experiment hasn’t resulted in a spike in views just yet. He noted that when the Imperial War Museum in London decided to revamp their YouTube content, they didn’t see results for around two years. But like NMS, their focus was on creating high-quality series of videos and not instant engagement. Additionally, Russell wants to experiment with other kinds of content rather than being beholden to problematic platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
Some questions that Russell is currently considering are:
- Do YouTube ads need their own account to stop muddying their analytics?
- What formats might work for the stories the NMS collections have to tell?
- What are viewers looking for?
- Should they give people content we know they like already, or things we think they might like?
- When it comes to repurposing their YouTube content, should they offer paid/entry-level opportunities for someone who lives and breathes internet culture to experiment with TikTok rather than trying it themselves?
If you’re thinking of getting started on your own YouTube journey, Russell recommends that you:
- Find a format or series that you can deliver and is unique to your organisation
- Create a series in one go and then release over time – it doesn’t have to be super long
- Repurpose content on social media platforms and promote elsewhere (like on a legacy page of your website)
- Think about how your channel appears to newcomers
- Don’t be intimidated – although you’re competing with content creators who are perfecting their skills and there’s an expectation for the quality of YouTube content to be high, that is so much more achievable now with free tools available such as Canva. The learning curve isn’t as steep as it used to be. You just have to spend more time on it
- Prepare a business case if you’re having to make a pitch to higher-ups for a budget to make a YouTube series. This should include what would happen if you did get the money and what would happen if you didn’t. There’s plenty you could do on your own, but what you probably couldn’t do without a specific YouTube budget is bring in paid, commissioned experts
- Experiment and try things out! You can get in a social media rut when you’re just churning out content that everyone else does which has a track-record of good stats, but try to make time to push yourself out of your comfort zone
Keep an eye on NMS’s YouTube channel as they explore and play with new content and formats.
If you’d like to keep up with our speaker’s work, you can follow Russell on LinkedIn.
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