Becoming More Visible, in an Affordable Way

Working with marketing can be a difficult thing. It is a constant battle with questions like: Where do we want to be seen? How can we get the most out of an advertising campaign? And the main question: How do we afford all of this? In Fågelsjö, Sweden, at the World Heritage Decorated Farmhouse “Bortom Åa” we have lowered our marketing costs over the past few years. We have focused on our brand and looked to promote ourselves in new ways. The visibility of our museum has increased, and we have noticed a new level of engagement. We have more visitors, a larger group that follows us on our social media platforms, great reviews on google and we have reached a bigger, more diverse, audience.

These were our challenges:

We started by looking at our brand and how we communicate with the public. We quickly realized that we had at least 10 different fonts in brochures and on our website; pictures that were outdated; accounts on social media with very few followers and we were not visible on google with the right information. We managed to map our flaws, identify new work methods and implement a new work strategy on visibility.

Some important advice from us to increase visibility in an affordable way:

Map your organization to understand your challenges
Design a new logo if needed and use it consistently in all marketing
Invest in comfortable, high quality clothing and stickers for your staff and friends to have them become walking and talking billboards with your logo
Decide on 3 fonts and always use the same in all marketing materials
Need a new website? Make a new one from scratch with wix.com Länk till annan webbplats. free tool
Start updating on social media regularly
Take new photos of the scenery, details, people and staff
Design posts for instagram and facebook using Canva.com free tool
Update opening hours, information and pictures on google.com Länk till annan webbplats. and claim your page
Answer your google reviews and give people constant feedback
Minimize the amount of text and show more pictures to illustrate your work
Update your email footer to one with contact information and a modern logo
Ask your visitors to participate on your social media
Identify different target groups and make directed posts
Work more with storytelling on social media sharing some of your history
Communicate more with your audience, be more present on the scene and encourage your staff to be more creative
Focus on giving visitors an unforgettable experience and let the word spread through your visitors' stories

What have we learned?

We have become much better at knowing our audience and what they want to see. We have stopped falling for expensive advertisements without a good reach. People show us more respect with our brand being more consistent, good looking and active. Our presence on social media and google have strengthened our bond with our visitors and collaborators. Our staff and friends are proud to share our work and take part in our marketing campaigns.