Introduction
Since COVID-19, museum social media managers have been heroes for their institutions. During the shutdowns, social media managers sustained museum operations virtually and changed how they prioritize digital content. The focus on social media during COVID-19 provided a new understanding of the “digital experience.” In many cases, this period established new relationships with audiences worldwide.
COVID-19 and the Shift to Digital
Social media management for US museums and libraries is a critical component of their communication strategy, never more than during the past few years of COVID-19 and sociopolitical unrest throughout the country. They relied heavily on meeting platforms to host virtual meetings, events, and programs. They scrambled to create videos inside exhibit spaces, produce new online exhibits, and expanded social media to promote and market their programs.
As with the American Alliance of Museums article, I outlined in my previous blog, as COVID-19 forced museum closures, museums sharpened their focus on digital experiences. Accordingly, more resources shifted in the direction of digital, increasing reliance on the social media staff.
Pandemic First Responder and Virtual Social Worker = Museum Social Media Hero
Museums depended upon their social media channels as never before. These staff members became the only front-line workers for cultural institutions during closures. They were the first responders for their institutions. As riots erupted after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, museum social media heroes adapted messaging to fit the needs of their communities and, in some cases, bear the brunt of bad press about their institutions. In early 2019, AAM re-published an article from 2016 to help museums respond when caught in the crosshairs of socio-political debate.
As a member of the Facebook group “Museum Social Media Managers,” I observed from the sidelines as the social media managers became first responders during the COVID shutdowns. Thanks to my participation in the group, I experienced how overwhelmed many felt working in this new paradigm. Their work became even more complicated as social unrest bubbled to the surface and the messaging from these leaders became even more critical to museum leaders. They were thrust into the role of “hero” for their institutions.
Post COVID-19 Digital Era in Museums
Looking back over the past three years, I wondered what museum leaders learned, if anything, during the pandemic. I also began to consult with technology platforms like Smartify, Verbit, and 3Play Media. I began to do some internet research to see how they did.
My research found many articles and blog posts about how museums pivoted to digital. Most wrote success stories about adapting to the new reality of virtual engagement. Plenty of blog posts document some of the best responses to the pandemic closures from other writers about the cultural sector.
But an interesting blog popped up when I searched from the end user’s perspective more broadly, not specific to museums.
The Cowboy Museum, not surprisingly, is included in this blogger’s list of top 5 blogs during COVID. I wasn’t surprised because the same museum came up many times in blogs about how to use social media in new ways.
Art Museums and the Digital Visitor
For this study, the following art museums will be examined: Guggenheim Museum (NYC), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Musée du Louvre (Paris), Museo del Prado (Madrid), Museum of Modern Art (NYC), Norton Museum (West Palm Beach, FL), Peréz Art Museum Miami, and the Tate (London).
My process will examine the digital footprint of various cultural institutions from websites, mobile access points, and social media outlets. I will explore the branding continuity, social media links, and the corresponding pages. Finally, I will question access to resources and the prioritization of digital content. How do museums value the work of their social media managers as operations return to normal? Are museums now producing more digital content? Where is that digital content? And finally, is the content accessible to all?
Websites and Social Media Links
When I looked at the websites of some of the most prominent museums to see how their websites promoted their social media channels, I noticed the social media links were always at the bottom of the page. I couldn’t understand why museums placed these important engagement links at the bottom of the page. Unusual because most digital visitors are on some form of social media, and chances are they’d connect on their favorite platform for updates.
To view the full gallery with observations, click on the grey background of any image.
When I researched the best practices for designing a website and where social media icons should be on any website, I learned that most blogs suggest that the icons/links should be at both the top and the bottom of a website, allowing the visitor to connect on social media immediately, rather than having to scroll the page to find the links to social outlets.
If museeum social media managers are heroes and serve as first responders to the digital visitor, why do institutions bury the links to these important content creators? The museum social media manager is an unsung hero in the post-COVID-19 paradigm. Still.
Social Media Channels
This study examines the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube channels for the same group of art museums. Most present consistent branding across all the platforms where users can find their content. The social media pages don’t always reestablish the brand. For the most part, the branding of each social media outlet looks like the other in terms of branding.
To view the full gallery with observations, click on the grey background of any image.
I thought by looking at the likes, followers, and subscribers to the four platforms, one could see which ones were more successful. I’ve included some estimates of annual income to help understand resources available to each institution.
From the data below, Twitter seems to be the most effective platform regarding the number of followers for the Guggenheim, the Met, the Prado, the Norton, and the Tate. However, the Louvre, MoMA, and PAMM all fare better on Instagram.
| Museum | Facebook Likes | Instagram Followers | Twitter Followers | YouTube Subscribers | Annual Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guggenheim | 834K | 2.6m | 3.4m | 42.1K | $78.8m |
| Metropolitan | 2m | 4.2m | 4.3m | 334K | $1.5B |
| Louvre | 2.6m | 4.9m | 1.5m | 98.3K | €244m |
| Prado | 1.1m | 1m | 1.3m | 151K | €35m |
| MoMA | 2.1m | 5.6m | 5.3m | 480K | $523m |
| *Norton | 22K | 25K | 29.7K | 1.6K | $27m |
| PAMM | 84K | 125K | 33.7K | 3.1K | $16m |
| Tate | 1.2m | 4.1m | 4.7m | 323K | €94m |
| *Cowboy Museum | 106K | 78.3K | 270K | 10K | $27m |
*Compare the Norton and the Cowboy museums.
I added the same data for the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum to see how it stacked up with similar-sized organizations. What do they do to garner over 200,000 Twitter followers?
How did the Cowboy Museum’s social media numbers surpass the Norton Museum of Art’s numbers by nearly tenfold?
Spotlight: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
So what did the Cowboy Museum do with its Twitter account during the pandemic? The marketing team took the opportunity to empower the charismatic Tim Tiller, the museum’s head of security, to take over the Twitter account during closures.
This creative response caught on fire across Twitter, creating a media frenzy about his friendly and refreshing posts. Here is a museum that learned how to use social media during the pandemic to go beyond sustaining audiences. The Cowboy Museum used its resources, including the security team, to grow beyond its existing audiences.
Website
I examined their post-COVID digital footprint and made a tiny discovery. Unlike the art museum websites I examined, the Cowboy Museum has social media links at the top and bottom of the homepage. In addition, when the digital visitor scrolls on a computer browser, all four social media icons become colorful and float down the right side of the webpage. Eureka!
If you are viewing this website on a mobile device, the floating icons feature is disabled.
And they are now honoring the social media staff by promoting them as much as possible. The floating icons encourage the digital visitor to engage via social media – a small detail but an important component of understanding the digital experience during COVID, and extending the lesson into their future.
Social Media
CONCLUSION
Museum social media managers are heroes.
As museums return to “normal” operations with post-pandemic reopened spaces, digital remains a more critical part of operations. Most will continue to offer live, remote, and hybrid events as a result of learning how the closures of their physical spaces.
Museums and libraries are now actively engaged in creating born-digital content usually placed on their social media outlets. However, their websites aren’t only connected one way. So if I visit your website, I can find your social media page.
Digital Experiences Beyond COVID
Social media allows you to target new audiences and develop them into potential donors or museum members. Why not have the experience beginning digitally and include your social media outlets at the top? Make them something that is very useful and helps you to build your audience.
Another benefit of connecting social media outlets to your website is creating an entirely new audience. Allowing the visitor to encounter the most recent content from your home page is a great idea. It will keep visitors apprised of what is coming and what is happening in the museum currently.
It would be great to create a website that is interactive with your social media content so that when a new video is posted on YouTube, it also appears on your web page. But on the website, there is no direct content from social media outlets. There’s a disconnect.
