Tours

The Tour template lets you present a curated, linear narrative that unfolds one Item—or "stop"—at a time.

For your visitors, a Tour is a self-guided audio experience rooted in your physical space. Using the map, visitors move one stop to the next, experiencing the artwork, object, or location while listening to your commentary.

Tour Fields

• Images: Add up to 8 images from your content library. If you do not have any images to select, you can click the + sign and add images from your desktop (which will be added to the drop-down menu for future selection). If you add images from this window, remember to crop the images and add alt text.
• Title: The Tour's title.
• Display Period: Choose a display period.
  • None: Hide the display period entirely when the Tour is no longer available, or when a display period doesn't make sense for the content.
  • Ongoing: Indicate an ongoing or permanent Tour.
  • Date Range: Define the specific dates on which the Tour starts and ends.
  • Expiration: After the Tour's end date passes, the map location and lookup numbers for it (and its stops) will be removed. You can choose whether to automatically hide the Tour after it ends, or keep it visible in your guide. If you select to keep it visible, it converts to an Exhibition, and its stops convert to Items without locations.

• Duration: Enter the estimated duration of the Tour, in minutes. For example, if you estimate that it will take someone about an hour and a half to navigate through your space while consuming the content, enter 90.
• Description: Add a description that provides high-level context to the entire Tour. For example, frame the narrative, explain how the Items were brought together to tell the story, or suggest how your audience could best enjoy the content.
• Audio: Add one or more audio file to the Tour landing page. This audio should apply to the entire Tour. For more, see Audio.
• Video: Add one or more video file. For more, see Videos.
• Lookup Number: To associate the Tour with posted signage in your physical space, select or enter a lookup number. For more, see Lookup Numbers and QR Codes.
• Tour Stops: Add Items to the Tour. In your guide, these Items (stops) appear in a list, in the order in which a visitor experiences the Tour. All Tour Stops must have a location.
• Related: To highlight similar content at the bottom of the Tour screen, update the Related section. For more, see Related Content and Links. (Note: this Related section shows on the overall Tour. For individual Tour stops, the Related section is hidden.)

Content Recommendations

If your education team already creates scheduled, live, docent-led tours, a digital Tour can be an excellent supplementary offering for visitors who prefer to explore on their own schedule, in their preferred language, or even from home. The following recommendations are intended to help you get the most out of Tours in your Bloomberg Connects guide.

Details

• Make it easy to find the Tour in your guide. For example, consider adding "tour" to the title or Home screen section header.
• Help visitors decide if the Tour is right for them. For example, provide the Tour's duration, a summary of the path through your space (including potential barriers like stairs or rough terrain), and/or a preview of the content you'll cover.
• Set the Tour's context. For example, you might want to use the Tour description or an introductory audio to provide backstory or explain why you chose to certain objects, so visitors can enjoy the content regardless of their prior experience with your subject matter.

Content and Strategy

• Most visitors will expect an audio tour. To align with visitor expectations and provide a consistent experience, include audio in all Items used as Tour stops.
• Focus on your storytelling. Consider the pacing and narrative arc early on in the Tour development process, then let those decisions guide which Items and anecdotes to include.

On-Site Experience

• Double check that all featured objects are on view and accessible to the public.
• Add all Items to the map, including introduction and conclusion (if relevant).
• Organize Items in a logical flow, keeping in mind that visitors will be physically moving between stops.
• Help visitors locate each stop. You have two options. If you’re creating Tour-specific audio for items that rarely move around your physical space, consider including detailed verbal directions in your audio clips to guide visitors to the next stop (e.g., Now, go through the double doors to Gallery 101 and stop in front of the main display case. We’ll pick up there for the next stop in the tour.). For items that move around a lot or stops that reuse audio files created for another purpose, consider adding concise location information in the Location Name field of the pin associated with the Item (e.g., Gallery 101 main case, top right). Keep in mind that if you add directions in the location pin, the directions appear anytime a visitor accesses this Item, even if they are not taking the Tour.
• Avoid adding location information to the Item description, since that information will not appear on the map view and visitors might miss it.
• Make it easy for visitors to connect what they see in your guide to what they see in your physical space. For example, if a small object appears in a display case and might be hard to find, include image(s) that show the object in the case, along with studio images of the object on its own.