Using Social Media to Diversify Archaeology in Scotland

For our September 2022 event, Dr Alex Fitzpatrick FSAScot, a zooarchaeologist, researcher and award-winning science communicator & writer, talked to the group about how social media can be used as part of the push to further diversify archaeology as a discipline. Alex noted that UK archaeology has a diversity problem and the lack of visible […]

Integrating Offline and Online Activity

For the first in-person event since 2020, we heard about ‘Treasures of the National Library of Scotland’ from Stewart Hardy (Marketing Officer), Beth Cochrane (Events & Learning Coordinator) and Alice Heywood (Digital Learning Officer) at the National Library of Scotland. This new permanent exhibition provides a unique insight into Scotland’s history, culture and people and its […]

How Heritage Organisations Can Engage with DMOs on Social Media

What are Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs)? How can heritage organisations engage with them on social media? Why should they? In June 2022, Vanessa Wegstein of the South of Scotland Destination Alliance (and former Digital Marketing Officer at Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott) answered these questions and more. What Do DMOS Do? DMOS (or DMMOs – Destination Marketing and […]

Applying Scots to Social Media

For our April event we were joined by Ashley Douglas, a multilingual writer and translator specialising in the Scots language and LGBT+ history. Ashley chatted to the group about the importance of Scots in Scottish heritage and offered her tips for how you can begin to apply it to your social media content. What is […]

USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO HELP WITH FUNDRAISING

For our final event of 2021, we heard from Kenneth McElroy, Director at the Caithness Broch Project and Education & Volunteer Officer at Kilmartin Museum. Kenneth explained how he’s used social media to promote and run large online crowdfunders and smaller creative fundraising projects for organisations in the heritage sector, all while sharing helpful tips. […]

Addressing Climate Change Through Social Media

Can people in the heritage sector use social media to inspire action on climate change? Ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (also known as COP26), the group heard from Hannah Genders Boyd, a climate heritage researcher, archaeologist, and former Historic Environment Scotland Climate Change Intern. Climate change is seriously affecting Scotland and […]

Social Media Tips for When Your News Story Goes Global

In March 2021, the University of Aberdeen announced that it was to return a Benin Bronze – a sculpture looted by British soldiers in Nigeria in one of the most notorious examples of the pillaging of cultural treasures associated with 19th century European colonial expansion. Thousands of metal and ivory sculptures and carvings were looted […]

Developing Anti-Racist Messages and Approaches for Museums

The Empire, Slavery & Scotland’s Museums (ESSM) project, sponsored by the Scottish Government, launched in 2020 to explore how the story of Scotland’s involvement in the British Empire, colonialism, and transatlantic slavery should be told using museum collections and spaces. In May 2021, Rosie King and Sheila Asante from Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) talked to […]

Getting Started With TikTok

Want to know how to build a profile on a new platform or engage visitors (even when your building is closed)? Our March 2021 meet-up was hosted by Siobhan Beatson, Museum Manager at Ullapool Museum, who chatted to our network about the museum’s TikTok account (one of the few heritage sites in Scotland with an […]

Guest bLog: Celebrating Scottish Archives Day – Round 2

In 2020, inspired by the success of #ScottishMuseumsDay, ARA Scotland decided it was time to start #ScottishArchivesDay. The idea was simple – celebrate all things Scottish in archives regardless of where you’re based. SAVE THE DATE ARA Scotland looked at various possible dates, at first considering whether they should be linked to a particular historical […]