Engaging users in Museum applications
Published in
1 min readNov 2, 2015
- Most people download a museum app when they visit and walk around a museum. When visitors leave the museum, most of them delete the app from their mobile device. Susan Poulton, Chief Digital Officer at The Franklin Institute in Washington, D.C., says this is the problem with base-placed information apps; they don’t continue to engage the user.
- Poulton says app creators need to create apps that can turn the phone or iPad into a creative exploration. That’s what app designers at the Franklin Institute have done. For example, this app that gives users a floor plan layout of the Franklin Institute before and after they visit the Museum. That way users will continue to use it even after they leave the museum. The problem? Not many app designers are experimenting with this says Poulton. She suggested making some content exclusive, like virtual reality or Google cardboard as a way to increase people's interactions with the app.
- Poulton said that when you just put an app out there as a map for the exhibits the most common searched exhibits are the restroom and the exit. She said that is why the app creators need to make the apps more interactive and fun.
- Poulton explained that the ultimate goal is to make the phone/iPad a gateway to a creative explorations of museums, and not just another distraction.
