Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1246698
14.05.2020 7 INTERVIEW option to proceed to different rooms. Interactive videos can act as a "treas- ure hunt" across various locations. For the more adventurous, video can work as a choose-your-own-adventure story where actors perform a scene, and at the end, the user has to make a decision. In reality, the entry barrier is shallow since all one needs is a mobile phone, many of which can take video at a very high resolution. Instagram is another popular social network which focuses a lot on the aes- thetics. is is the ideal platform where to post high-resolution images of your artefacts or products, behind-the-scene information and also user-generated content ( subject to clearance from per- tinent owners). Popular content on In- stagram includes motivational quotes. Ideally, seek the best quotes which sup- port your mission and use appropri- ate images to feature with your posts. Good quality images are available on platforms such as Unsplash, Pexels and Pixabay, many of which are free to use. Online applications like Canva.com also allow you to edit them profession- ally for free. Another interesting feature in Instagram is Stories. ese are posts with a 24 hours lifetime. ey can be used effectively for storytelling, to pro- mote blog posts, announce limited time offers, offer giveaways, share data, send updates … practically the list of possi- bilities is endless! Twitter posts are worth pursuing too although this is more niche. It is nev- ertheless a very good tool from where to get your latest news. In fact, almost 80% of Twitter users claim to get their latest updates from the platform. Much like Facebook, Twitter allows users to share their posts but has a strict limit of 280 characters per tweet. Because of this, it is more suited to share bits and pieces of blog posts per day than any other platform. It also supports links to other sites and media including images, photos, videos or gifs. Videos too have a limit of 140 seconds. Incidentally, Gifs stands for Graphic Interchange Format but they are just images which can be animated using programs such as Can- va, Ezgif or Giphy to name a few. LinkedIn is more of a professional networking platform and more suita- ble to showcase organisational culture, experiences and achievements. Posts with images generally receive 98% more engagement than textual posts. e LinkedIn audience seems to appreciate webinars, consultation papers and stud- ies too. Pinterest is another visual social plat- form that is very similar to Instagram. It is ideal for vertical images and info- graphics (which are a visual representa- tion of information presented quickly and clearly). ey can be easily created with free programs such as Picktochart or Venngage. Pinterest is also more adapted for the Do-It-Yourself kind of posts, food and design. TikTok is a relative newcomer but nonetheless a very popular social net- work (bigger than Instagram) and more importantly with a much younger au- dience. In fact, more than 40% of users are younger than 25 years of age. is is the platform for short looped vid- eos (between 15 and 60 seconds) and allows users to edit videos, add music, insert filters and all sorts of visual con- tent. Posts have a typical lighthearted feel making it ideal for witty jokes, fun facts and other light conversations. Tik- Tok is also ideal to engage young adults through competitions by asking them to create fun content. Zoom, Skype, Messenger and Micro- soft Teams are not social networking platforms. ese are mostly used as vid- eo conferencing platforms and ideal for expert talks or discussions so, in theory, they can still be tools to consider. Most of these save a video of the event almost automatically which can also be played by users over and over again. ese sys- tems are also ideal for a more intimate setting with fewer participants thus al- lowing for better interaction with the main speaker. However, they can also scale up and some of these programs provide free video conferencing with up to a maximum of 100 participants. As one can well gather, the possibil- ities are there for the taking. ere is more than one platform to choose from. Some might work better than others for your needs and purpose. Others less al- though much depends on your message and circumstances. Needless to say, the more you experiment the better an un- derstanding you will acquire as to what works best for you. 3. Taking advantage of the Digital First approach Digital-first is a communication the- ory which states that publishers should release content into new media chan- nels first, rather than go to print straight away. is perception originates from increased connectivity, given that we have become much more accustomed to accessing information via mobiles, tablets and other gadgets. By conse- quence, there is an increase in content consumption online. Because of this, the first step in the museum or cultur- al experience is most likely and will be definitely much more so in the future, digital-first. e first touchpoint, the first connection with the experience, shall be increasingly online. Besides traditional marketing requirements and interface of physical exhibitions or cultural performances, this could also mean a number of additional things. ere are good examples to follow too. Museums and theatres oftentimes ex- plore co-creative projects featuring learning experiences too. e digital-first approach can help you stay relevant but it can also help you promote your work in advance for when things return back to the new normal. Indeed, this could be the right time to promote your work online or antici- pate the product or service you might be offering in the not too distant future. Don't feel let down by the fact that there might be no clear end in sight for the current situation. 4. Monetising on the experience is has been, perhaps, the biggest challenge to date particularly in view of so much content, perhaps too much, available online. ere are various ways to do so. First of all, some online events can be donation-based whereby peo- ple attend for free but politely asked to donate even if it would just be a token donation of their choice. If you do man- age to negotiate a fee for your work or service, then you can easily work with online money transfer facilities in re- turn for which you can then send the link to the event. Applications like Pay- pal or Revolut make it very easy to send and receive money online. One can also earn money through the distribution of content (like videos on YouTube), but for these to be successful, your popu- larity rating would need to be relatively high. Some platforms have approached the payment for services issue by empathis- ing. Some have asked for a donation, whilst also leaving it up to the user to pay according to his current financial status. Empathy is the best tool to han- dle the situation, and this is a golden op- portunity to build trust with your future publics and audiences. The time is now e rapid expansion of social media has been with us for years, and its im- pact on our lives significantly decisive. We might have rarely noticed perhaps because we were more taken up by the day-to-day chores that kept us from venturing much more into this unchart- ed territory. But the time is now! It is not as complex as you might think on first impression. e platforms discussed are relatively easy to use and, as the saying goes, prac- tice makes perfect! By the time we're out of the woods, and this pandemic shall hopefully be a thing of the past, you would have given a new lease of life to your cultural activities. of cultural activities