General social media marketing (SMM) principles for deaf and hard of hearing visitors
Tamara Shatula — editor, PhD in Philosophy
There exists a nuance that characterizes inclusive policies for working with deaf and hard-of-hearing persons: the need to provide access to information, including in their native language. However, hearing persons often ask themselves the question, “Isn’t Russian the native language for deaf people?”
Deaf people are indeed used to visiting museums that provide adapted programs. But the ideas of inclusion have only recently gained traction in Russia and, in practice, have often been limited to the physical aspect of an accessible environment. When speaking about accessibility, some people immediately imagine ramps for wheelchair users and tactile signs for the blind.
Expanding our understanding of inclusion and gradually transitioning from ramps and signs to deeper integration of these practices in the museum field has so far proven difficult. There was a mistaken belief that deaf and hard-of-hearing persons were satisfied with the “bare minimum” of information: printed signs for exhibits and informational booklets. Only occasionally are hearing guides accompanied by sign language interpreters—whom the deaf visitors themselves often invite.
The fact that inclusion requires further work and development is most important to explain to government officials and directors of cultural institutions. They are the ones who typically make decisions about changes with the potential to create a comfortable space for people with all different kinds of disabilities.
General social media marketing (SMM) principles for deaf and hard of hearing visitors
Work with deaf visitors cannot stop at text; materials must also be created in sign language. This fact is overlooked not only by people working with inclusion for the first time but also by those with some experience working in the field. It should be remembered that sign language is always the primary language of communication for deaf children and will remain so when they eventually grow to adulthood. In museums, every visitor should have the ability to receive information in the language they know best from childhood.
This does not mean that texts are not necessary. There is indeed a considerable group of deaf people who prefer that format. Both channels of communication should exist in parallel and have equivalent value. Inclusion means offering a choice to each and every visitor, which means that all possible options should be presented.
When a museum decides to make its work available online as well, new forms of audience communication need to be included that include deaf and hard of hearing visitors. When an SMM strategy is created, the question of targeting invariably arises.
If your audience includes deaf visitors, you must adapt any information to account for the nuances of how this group of users perceives content:
- When creating videos, create subtitles and make sure the speakers articulate clearly. If a video is in Russian Sign Language (RSL), pay special attention to the composition and position of the speaker’s hands in the frame;
- When presenting texts, adapt them by simplifying oversaturated press releases and emphasizing the most critical information.
The more that attention is devoted to visual content, the greater response will be from your audiences and the more advantages you will see in working with them—there’s no such thing as too much here. It is especially advantageous to announce lectures through RSL videos. In addition, live videos are typically released in social media stories that disappear within a day, which is an excellent method for attracting subscribers.
To grow your audience, you must also search out popular deaf bloggers and collaborate with them: invite them to events and tours, offer them branded merch like T-shirts and sweatshirts, and feature them in RSL video guides. For instance, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art creates these guides for its longer-running exhibits every year.
It is important to devote attention to announcements, as they are what attracts attendees to your events. Deaf visitors primarily perceive with their eyes, which means that an opportunity to visit a museum will be far more attractive to them if they watch a video in sign language beforehand (experiencing the friendliness of the environment), see the location in advance (and want to spend time there) or find another motivation (an interesting or trendy experience, opportunity of growth, etc.). Even more helpful are recommendations from friends or well-known bloggers. You should suggest to any visitor who comes to a museum and leaves satisfied that they share their impressions. Real reviews turned into stories are indicative and effective tools.
Unique events enjoy particular success. The Garage team organized a visit by international speakers, an RSL stand-up comedy series, and immersive theatrical productions and performances with sign language interpretation. Tours and children’s events adapted for deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors created a loyal core audience, while “premier” events helped attract visitors who had heard about the Museum from their friends. Perhaps it will take them a while to finally visit, but that time will almost certainly come now that they are aware of the Museum and that its work has already made an impression.
Events are best announced in “friendly” groups: in the group devoted to recreational events for the deaf community in Moscow, for instance, or on the websites of thematically and professionally related organizations, deaf parent communities, deaf artists’ associations, and so on. As time goes on, a group of people willing to voluntarily pass on information about your events in relevant group chats and social media pages will invariably form. They might include mothers active in the community, young people focused on self-development (who especially enjoyed our lectures with sign language interpretation), students, and more.
Once you have established channels of communication with your audience, you need one more important tool: a newsletter. Its creation is sometimes preceded by several years of painstaking work: attracting visitors, assembling and systematizing contact databases, developing personalized approaches to communication, and more. This is how you create a database of contacts who will receive the same messages and information as on your social media pages. They can always add a friend or acquaintance to the list if they are interested in the events taking place at the museum.
Garage’s experience
In 2020, during the lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Garage team found new formats in which to work and were able to both exploit all the advantages of the online format and create an additional space for interacting with their audience. This gave rise to video lectures in the “Couch Tour” series, for instance: deaf guides shot videos in which they talked about their favorite items in the exhibits which closed during the lockdown. An important aspect of this new program was a museum practicum for RSL interpreters from our continuing education program: we collaborated with the New Tretyakov, the State Pushkin Museum, and the Museum of Russian Impressionism to host live broadcasts on Instagram, featuring graduates of the course practicing the interpretation of hearing experts.
In addition, we were able to gain experience in organizing online lectures, master classes, and activities with deaf and hard-of-hearing children (including teaching them how to create small exhibits at home). Our teachers also prepared video instructions about what to do with children during the lockdown, and Garage director Anton Belov spoke with the children who regularly attended our online classes.
All of these developments allowed us to enrich our online presence and all of our further work with our audience. The quality of Garage’s inclusive programs can be considered exemplary, and we are able to offer an example to the worldwide museum community, but we still have work to do.