A Museum Staff Boards a YouTube Bandwagon, Wearing Costumes

Some nonprofits have no need to come up with an original concept when creating a comic online video to publicize their work—they can just piggyback on what’s popular at the moment.

The Atlanta History Center tapped into the social-media zeitgeist by making its own version of the “[Stuff] People Say” videos that capture the clichés that cyclists, New Yorkers, vegans, and other types of people say to comic effect. Called “Stuff Museum People Say,” the museum moved fast while the videos were raging in popularity this winter, eager to capitalize on the craze.

“We put it together in two days,” says Trevor Beemon, manager of digital communications at the center.

When Mr. Beemon saw his first “[Stuff] People Say” video, he recalled the stories his co-workers had told him about the hilarious questions they fielded while they were working and showing tour groups the museum and the historical houses that the center runs, such as the Margaret Mitchell House, the former home of the author of Gone With the Wind.

He asked his colleagues to put together a list of their most-repeated phrases. Some of them made it into the video, which featured many staff members dressed in period costumes delivering lines like: “So … there’s another typo in the exhibit”; “I’m not a real slave, I’m a historical interpreter”; and “No, this is not the house from ‘Gone with the Wind.’”

The video, which shows a zany behind-the-scenes look at the interior and outdoor workings of the center and its permanent exhibits, was posted in mid-February on Facebook and then on other social networks. It’s been viewed 27,000 times and shared on social networks by local historical societies and museums around the United States and Britain. The center’s Facebook fan base increased nearly 20 percent two weeks after its video was released.

“I really wanted people to be entertained,” Mr. Beemon says. “I also wanted to kind of give people a relaxed perception of the history center. That we’re more approachable. That we can have fun.”

Sheffield Hale, the center’s president, says he plans to share the video with the organization’s board and to promote it to donors in the charity’s print newsletter. “It’s just the kind of video we should be doing more of.”

Mr. Hale, who laughed after seeing the video, said he was mindful not to interfere with the creation of his staff’s work. “We trust our people, and if we started getting multiple layers of approval, [the video would have] never happened in this kind of space,” he says. “This organization has evolved, and because of social media, you don’t have the time to do that.”

The center is hoping to tie the video soon to its fundraising and membership-recruiting efforts.