Thought I would re-purpose a post I just posted in the AASLH forum, for those who aren’t members.
Here are some ideas on how to market to young professionals and college students:
1. When I worked at the Baltimore Symphony, we had “College Nights” where we offered students $10 tickets and held a “happy hour” for them after the concert. Our regular concert-goers were thrilled to see so many young faces in the crowd, and the happy hour was held after most concert-goers had left the building. Museums could adopt this idea by hosting an after-hours event, or a happy hour after a particular event closes.
2. To appeal to the “Young professionals”, try a wine tasting event. I have done these with other non-profits also. Find a local vineyard that would be willing to co-sponsor, as well as a caterer. If possible, engage a couple of young professional who already have ties to your organization to form a “ticket committee” to sell the event to their friends.
3. Get in touch with some of the younger corporations in your area. A lot of the agencies and tech firms in Baltimore host happy hours for their clients once a month. Offer your museum as a venue for these types of events. It gets these younger folks through your doors and hopefully intrigued by your exhibits.
4. Utilize social networking. For instance, I manage a group of history buffs on meetup.com. Every month we go to a museum or historic site as a group. Find the meetup leaders in your area for your museum genre, but don’t overlook singles groups, networking groups, book clubs, and other who could use your museum as a venue instead of a straight tour.