Self-paced tutorial videos

The Bloomberg Connects team has developed a set of videos to help you improve your content creation. You can watch as many of these videos as you need, and you can always revisit them.

You can use this content in a few ways, even if you don't have much time. You can watch the videos (each 5–10 minutes long), or read the key takeaways for a summary. You can also download the PDF transcripts to read while you watch, or instead of watching.

Series 1: Sparking creativity

In this set of six videos, key insights and open-ended questions provide inspiration as you begin to build your guide.

Where to start

Prepare for success: review the basics of creating a digital guide.

Key takeaways

1. Determine the outcome first: Decide what you want your visitors to remember after their visit. Make sure that this message appears throughout your guide.
2. Think big, but start small: Think about everything you want to cover and all the stories you want to tell. Then break the project down into manageable chunks.
3. You are the experts: Your team has a wealth of information and expertise about your organization. Trust that knowledge!
4. Use diverse voices: Consider your whole community (including curators, conservators, educators, artists, performers, and docents). Everyone has a story to tell.

Sparking Creativity: Where to Start | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Think like your audience

Remember that knowing your audience is central to building a successful guide.

Key takeaways

1. The app is an extension of your brand and communications channels: Consider how to continually add to your story and keep visitors coming back.
2. Think like your visitors: Look at your organization from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about you.
3. Think through different visitor journeys: People use your guide in different ways and from different places. Consider how to build a great experience for everyone.
4. Make it personal: Interview your staff, colleagues, and visitors to offer exclusive perspectives and personal insights.
5. Have fun and enjoy the process: Content that is interesting and enjoyable to create is a joy to hear.

Sparking Creativity: Think Like Your Audience | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Scripting sense

Learn about essential approaches to script writing and writing for the ear.

Key takeaways

1. Start with a plan: Align your team on objects of interest, what you want your visitors to know, and how you want them to feel.
2. Consider how your stops work together: Make sure that your audio stops work individually and also build toward a larger narrative.
3. Look closely: Spend time in your space and with the objects you're writing about, so you can effectively guide your visitors' eyes to things they might have otherwise missed.
4. Remember—you're writing for audio: People absorb information differently through audio. Writing for the ear is different than writing for the eye. Read your script out loud while you write it.
5. Don't assume that your visitors are experts: Approach your content with the idea that your audience doesn't know much about you or your collection, but wants to learn.

Sparking Creativity: Scripting Sense | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Immersive audio

Consider the many ways in which audio can be a key component to your guide.

Key takeaways

1. Think about voice and tone: Consider using a broad selection of people from across your organization to make your stories vivid.
2. Consider sounds beyond the speaker: Recording the ambient soundscape can provide a sense of authority and help place a visitor in a time or space.
3. Enthusiasm spreads: Find the people on your team who are enthusiastic about your collection, whatever their role in your organization.

Sparking Creativity: Immersive Audio | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Picture this

Examine the importance of using images to support your content and give your visitors a glimpse beyond what they could get on their own.

Key takeaways

1. Consider how your audio can work with your images: Explore how your audio can encourage close looking. Also take advantage of the device: visitors can hold your images in their hand and zoom in on them.
2. Images can show what's not there: Offer up a new perspective that visitors couldn't get on their own. For example, show the inside of an object, before-and-after images of a restoration project, or an installation shot.
3. You have complete freedom: Be creative with your images. Consider how you can use your images to help with wayfinding and navigation, or how they can best engage children.
4. Show who's talking: Increase the impact of an audio clip by including an image of the speaker, so visitors can feel a deeper connection to the person.

Sparking Creativity: Picture This | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Why video

Learn about the benefits of using short video (1-2 minutes, maximum) to offer personal insights and powerful storytelling.

Key takeaways

1. Opportunity to show behind the scenes: Use video to show visitors behind-the-scenes content and spaces, like your archives or an artist's studio.
2. Video can show objects in action: Videos show movement. Take advantage of this by showing objects in use or in motion, demonstrating games or daily rituals, or showcasing musical instruments.
3. Interviews can add dimension: Short staff interviews can help introduce visitors to the personalities and expertise they'll get elsewhere in the guide.
4. Remember that visitors watch your videos on a phone: Cuts and edits are less noticeable on a small screen. So your videos can be shorter, more playful, or less formal than the videos on your website.

Sparking Creativity: Why Video | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Series 2: Audience engagement

In this set of four videos, think about how your guide can meet the needs of all the different segments of your visitors.

Audience analysis

Review the importance of understanding and meeting the needs of your audience.

Key takeaways

1. Know your audience to shape relevant content: To create a digital guide that resonates, you need to understand who you are speaking to, and who you are not speaking to.
2. Segment your audience and diversify your content: Personalize the experience to meet the varied needs of different groups.
3. Use data to refine and grow your guide: Use insights from front-of-house staff, social media interactions, and Connects analytics to refresh underperforming content and highlight popular material.

Audience Engagement: Audience Analysis | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Multilingual inclusivity

Review how translating your content and localizing your cultural references can make your guide more appealing to a global audience.

Key takeaways

1. Use translation to build genuine international connection: Translate your material to help international visitors feel welcomed and included.
2. Prepare your content for meaningful translation: Learn who your visitors are and how they engage with your space and stories. This helps you identify needs, find authentic voices, and develop your content with translation and cultural nuance in mind.
3. Customize and refine translations to boost accessibility: Automated tools are powerful, but review, edit, and refine the translations to ensure clarity and cultural sensitivity.

Audience Engagement: Multilingual Inclusivity | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Creating for children

Explore how understanding the ways children consume digital content can inform how you might structure your guide.

Key takeaways

1. Consider the child's perspective—think like a kid: Be thoughtful about how a child experiences your space because of height, stage of education and development, and learning style.
2. Match content style to their media habits—spark their imagination: Children in your audience might be familiar with YouTube, TikTok, online gaming, and dramatized characters. Give them content that feels familiar.
3. Adapt language and formats to suit different age groups: Not all content works for all ages. Simple language works best for everyone, but content that engages a 7-year-old might not suit a 12-year-old.
4. Make it active, engaging, and fun: Prioritize movement, laughter, and interaction.

Audience Engagement: Creating for Children | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Integrating accessibility

Review how you can make your guide accessible and inclusive for all visitors.

Key takeaways

1. Plan for inclusion from the start: In the early stages of building your guide, think about who is excluded from onsite experiences and how your guide can reach them.
2. Design with diverse users in mind: Consider the different needs people will have when navigating your physical space and provide content that can suit different learning styles and needs.
3. Use digital tools to broaden access: Take advantage of Connects' accessibility features by providing content in multiple formats.

Audience Engagement: Integrating Accessibility | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Series 3: Creative production

In this set of five videos, you get practical advice for planning, developing, and recording your guide's material.

How to plan your content

Think about the messages and stories you want to include in your guide to enhance your visitors' experience.

Key takeaways

1. Think beyond the visit: Think about how your guide can serve people on site and remotely, and before, during, and after a visit.
2. Match content to the space: Use the guide as a digital companion to enhance, not duplicate, the on-site visitor journey.
3. Add value, not volume: Start small and focus on telling stories. Don't try to recreate your website.

Creative Production: How to Plan Your Content | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Creating a user journey

Balance linear journeys with content that visitors can open in any order, to craft a thoughtful narrative that keeps visitors in control of their experience.

Key takeaways

1. Follow your visitors' path: Observe and experience the physical journey through your site. This helps you understand what visitors might notice, where they might take a break, and when they might need help with wayfinding.
2. Let the visitor lead: Create modular, layered content that lets visitors explore in their own way.
3. Time it right and keep it clear: Map the journey and manage information flow to avoid fatigue and overload.
4. Structure before you create: Identify key stops, stories, and objects before you write anything. Then, layer the tone, music, voices, and storytelling on top of this foundation.

Creative Production: Creating a User Journey | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Creative concepts and scriptwriting

Review tips that will help you turn scriptwriting from an intimidating task into one that is rewarding and fun.

Key takeaways

1. Start with your site and its stories: Walk the site and talk to staff to discover key themes that can shape the narrative arc.
2. Use creative structure and treatment: Let your inspiration guide your scriptwriting. By thinking in "nuggets"—small standalone pieces—you can reorganize your script later on.
3. Choose voices with clarity and character: Pair clear narrators and authentic participants for memorable interviews.
4. Keep your writing simple and visual: Each tour stop should include just one or two ideas and be a maximum of 2 minutes long (approximately 225 words). End each stop with a memorable final line (a “button”).
5. Edit well and enjoy the process: Remove distractions from your editing process, and leave time to review each script again after a break.

Creative Production: Creative Concepts and Scriptwriting | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Producing audio

Learn how to make your narrator and interviewee sound their best.

Key takeaways

1. Prepare everything before you start recording: Share your scripts, questions, expectations, audience, and goals with your participants ahead of time.
2. Choose the right space and gear: Choose a quiet space and be mindful of the background noise.
3. Guide your interviews with intention: Direct the conversation but stay flexible and open to exploring interesting ideas.
4. Embrace learning and enhance your sound: Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Use each recording session as an opportunity to learn, experiment, and improve.

Creative Production: Producing Audio | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)

Producing video

Review how to use video to enhance your guide.

Key takeaways

1. Use video to energize and engage: Consider how videos appear on a small screen. Use videos to do what text and audio can't: show movement, emotion, and atmosphere.
2. Prepare your shoot carefully: Plan your filming so that you don't miss key footage. Think about the locations and the audio recording, to reduce your editing work later.
3. Keep editing focused and efficient: Sort and organize your footage. Use B-roll (extra background footage) to complement interviews and show what the speakers describe.
4. Be selective: Video works best in short, focused clips.

Creative Production: Producing Video | Transcript & Takeaways (PDF)