If you're looking for new ways to attract and captivate visitors to your museum, art gallery, historic site, or even your city, creating an audio guide is an excellent strategy.

Accessible to everyone, whether you are professionals in culture or tourism, the audio guide does not require in-depth technical knowledge and allows you to give your visitors access to additional content that enriches their visit.

What is an Audio Guide?

An audio guide is a digital solution, often in the form of a mobile application, that offers visitors a guided tour punctuated with audio and sometimes video explanations on the points of interest encountered.

Previously, it corresponded to equipment provided to visitors, but the audio guide is increasingly available in the form of a mobile application that can be consulted directly on the visitor's smartphone.

Audio guide applications can be developed in two main forms: a web app, which is accessed via an internet browser without the need for the user to download anything, and a native application, available on app stores to be installed on the visitor's smartphone.

Each of these options meets different challenges: ease of access for the web app and access to all the native capabilities of the device for the native app.

The Advantages of the Audio Guide

Integrating an audio guide into your cultural or tourist offering can transform the visitor experience in several ways:

Personalization and Autonomy

Audio guides allow visitors to personalize their visit experience by choosing the points of interest that captivate their attention and exploring at their own pace. This autonomy enriches the visit, allowing everyone to fully immerse themselves in the content that speaks to them the most.

Engagement and Immersion

Thanks to carefully crafted audio narratives and the contextualization of works or sites, the audio guide creates an immersive and engaging experience. It transforms each visit into a personal adventure rich in discoveries.

Accessibility

By offering versions adapted to the different needs of visitors, such as multilingualism, descriptions for the visually impaired, or sign language, the audio guide makes culture more accessible to everyone.

Educational

Beyond the playful aspect, the audio guide is a real educational tool, capable of providing enriching historical, artistic, or technical details, often omitted during classical guided tours or on exhibition panels.

Monetization and Marketing

Besides its advantages for the visitor experience, the audio guide also offers direct monetization opportunities (rental or sale of access) and can serve as a marketing vector by integrating information on future exhibitions, memberships, or derivative products.

Creating an Audio Guide: A Practical Guide

Objectives

The first step is to define the target audience and the objectives of the audio guide. This involves choosing the works or places to present and researching existing audio guides to draw inspiration from best practices and offer something different.

• Identification of the target audience: who are the visitors? What are their expectations? This analysis will guide the creation of your content.

• Choice of the type of application: Depending on the desired accessibility, you will opt for a web app or a native application.

• Competition analysis: Are there similar audio guides? Do some audio guides inspire you?

Choosing the App Builder

The good news is that you don't need to know how to code or hire a developer!

Platforms like PandaSuite greatly facilitate the creation process, allowing even non-developers to design interactive and multimedia audio guides. PandaSuite is the most flexible app builder offering a variety of essential features, such as customizable design, multimedia integration, multilingual management, physical/digital mixing (QR code, augmented reality), and geolocation features (Beacon, GPS), indispensable for outdoor visits.

Structuring and Preparing Content

It is now important to organize your content

• How many tours do you want to create?

• How many points of interest per tour?

• Will there be other content in the application, for example, practical information, news?

Once you have your guideline, it's time to gather your content. Do you have all the useful information, all the content?

Take care in creating your audio content, which represents the heart of your audio guide. Before recording, prepare the script for each audio content and ensure optimal conditions for audio capture.

Integration of Screens

With the chosen tool, design the user interface of the audio guide, ensuring intuitive navigation and an attractive presentation. Introduction screens, detailed descriptions of points of interest, and navigation aids should be designed to facilitate the user experience.

Test

Test your audio guide on different devices and with different user profiles to ensure it is both accessible and engaging. Collect feedback and adjust your content accordingly.

Deployment

Whether you opt for a web app or a native application, deployment must be planned to ensure seamless accessibility. For native applications, consider the app stores' validation process. Also, think about updates to enrich or update content over time.

By following these steps and drawing inspiration from the best practices in the sector, you can create an audio guide that will not only enrich the visitor experience but also enhance the cultural and historical content of your site. Our PandaSuite team is at your disposal to support you in creating your audio guide. Do not hesitate to create a free account and start building your project today.