Trendswatch
What’s the secret of a successful Twitter campaign? Jonathan Knott talks to those in the know
Building a social media following is not always a linear process, as the Museum of English Rural Life (Merl) in Reading recently found. Having gained just under 10,000 followers over nine years, in April this year it added 20,000 in about two weeks thanks to a single tweet.
The Twitter post contained a black and white photograph of an impressively sized ram captioned, “look at this absolute unit”, referencing a meme where the phrase absolute unit is used to refer to something exceptionally large.
Spurred on by retweets from influencers with large numbers of followers, the tweet gained more than 30,000 retweets and 100,000 likes. It was featured as a “moment” on Twitter and covered in the press, including by the Times, Buzzfeed and BBC3’s online blog.
The person behind the tweet was Adam Koszary, a project manager at Merl and Reading Museum, who also contributes to Merl’s social media efforts. Koszary puts the tweet’s success down to several factors.
“First, it is an amazing picture of a ram,” he says. “Second, it’s the relevant use of a meme that’s not too cringey. And third, I don’t think people expected it from an account like ours. They think it’s a bit weird but cute that a museum is doing this kind of thing.”
He adds that it was also crucial that Merl’s Twitter account engaged with the initial responses and that the museum’s curator of collections prompted deeper engagement with a blog explaining the context and history behind the museum’s extensive collection of photographs and paintings of large animals.
“Without engaging with people, retweeting and coming up with more content, we wouldn’t have become a Twitter moment,” says Koszary.
The museum was quick to capitalise on its newfound attention. At a recent event, visitors could wear absolute unit badges, drink absolute unit cocktails and view the original photo slide. The museum has also now sold more than 180 T-shirts featuring the picture and tagline.
The interest has also generated opportunities to share knowledge and build awareness – such as conference invitations – and enabled more online interaction. “In terms of our aim of getting people inspired and talking about the countryside, Twitter is now properly achieving that,” says Koszary.
With their large collections of sometimes bizarre objects, museums are “sitting on goldmines” of social media potential, he adds. But to seize the opportunity, they must invest time in research, be familiar with internet culture, and experiment with their tone of voice.
Others that have used quirky humour on Twitter to build a following include Orkney Library and the Field Museum in Chicago who hold a dinosaur fossil named Sue the T-Rex.
There was even a Twitter duel last year between London’s Science Museum and Natural History Museum (see box) that demonstrated how even large national museums can build public engagement in this way.
But there are pitfalls. It is easy for brands to misjudge the mood as they attempt to piggyback on trends. And even when not trying to be funny, offence can spread rapidly.
During a discussion last year on exhibition labelling as part of #AskACurator, a British Museum staff member prompted outrage when they tweeted: “Sometimes Asian names can be confusing, so we have to be careful about using too many.”
Ultimately, there is no formula for viral success. A few days before its absolute unit tweet, Merl tried a similar post combining a painting of a pig with a reference to a different meme. It gained more than 700 retweets – not bad, but far less than the ram.
“Social media is weird,” says Koszary. “You never know what’s going to be picked up and what isn’t.”
Vampire fish vs a nuclear missile
Prompted by a challenge by a Twitter user last year, London’s Science Museum and Natural History Museum engaged in a light-hearted duel over which of their collections could defeat the other. Vampire fish were pitted against a nuclear missile and a flea was foiled by a Chinese bamboo trap, in an exchange that garnered attention across the world.
“One of the reasons it worked so well is that it was unplanned,” says Will Stanley, the collections communications manager at the Science Museum. “We also have quite different collections that complement each other well.
“Our most viewed collection pages for the next few months were objects that had featured in the battle. It shows what museums can do when objects are digitised.”
He adds: “We are trying to do more collaborative social media activities and are focusing on sharing stories about the collection. A post about electricity pylon photographs gained hundreds of retweets: there is interest out there for niche and geeky things.”
Jonathan Knott is a freelance writer
The Twitter post contained a black and white photograph of an impressively sized ram captioned, “look at this absolute unit”, referencing a meme where the phrase absolute unit is used to refer to something exceptionally large.
Spurred on by retweets from influencers with large numbers of followers, the tweet gained more than 30,000 retweets and 100,000 likes. It was featured as a “moment” on Twitter and covered in the press, including by the Times, Buzzfeed and BBC3’s online blog.
The person behind the tweet was Adam Koszary, a project manager at Merl and Reading Museum, who also contributes to Merl’s social media efforts. Koszary puts the tweet’s success down to several factors.
“First, it is an amazing picture of a ram,” he says. “Second, it’s the relevant use of a meme that’s not too cringey. And third, I don’t think people expected it from an account like ours. They think it’s a bit weird but cute that a museum is doing this kind of thing.”
He adds that it was also crucial that Merl’s Twitter account engaged with the initial responses and that the museum’s curator of collections prompted deeper engagement with a blog explaining the context and history behind the museum’s extensive collection of photographs and paintings of large animals.
“Without engaging with people, retweeting and coming up with more content, we wouldn’t have become a Twitter moment,” says Koszary.
The museum was quick to capitalise on its newfound attention. At a recent event, visitors could wear absolute unit badges, drink absolute unit cocktails and view the original photo slide. The museum has also now sold more than 180 T-shirts featuring the picture and tagline.
The interest has also generated opportunities to share knowledge and build awareness – such as conference invitations – and enabled more online interaction. “In terms of our aim of getting people inspired and talking about the countryside, Twitter is now properly achieving that,” says Koszary.
With their large collections of sometimes bizarre objects, museums are “sitting on goldmines” of social media potential, he adds. But to seize the opportunity, they must invest time in research, be familiar with internet culture, and experiment with their tone of voice.
Others that have used quirky humour on Twitter to build a following include Orkney Library and the Field Museum in Chicago who hold a dinosaur fossil named Sue the T-Rex.
There was even a Twitter duel last year between London’s Science Museum and Natural History Museum (see box) that demonstrated how even large national museums can build public engagement in this way.
But there are pitfalls. It is easy for brands to misjudge the mood as they attempt to piggyback on trends. And even when not trying to be funny, offence can spread rapidly.
During a discussion last year on exhibition labelling as part of #AskACurator, a British Museum staff member prompted outrage when they tweeted: “Sometimes Asian names can be confusing, so we have to be careful about using too many.”
Ultimately, there is no formula for viral success. A few days before its absolute unit tweet, Merl tried a similar post combining a painting of a pig with a reference to a different meme. It gained more than 700 retweets – not bad, but far less than the ram.
“Social media is weird,” says Koszary. “You never know what’s going to be picked up and what isn’t.”
Vampire fish vs a nuclear missile
Prompted by a challenge by a Twitter user last year, London’s Science Museum and Natural History Museum engaged in a light-hearted duel over which of their collections could defeat the other. Vampire fish were pitted against a nuclear missile and a flea was foiled by a Chinese bamboo trap, in an exchange that garnered attention across the world.
“One of the reasons it worked so well is that it was unplanned,” says Will Stanley, the collections communications manager at the Science Museum. “We also have quite different collections that complement each other well.
“Our most viewed collection pages for the next few months were objects that had featured in the battle. It shows what museums can do when objects are digitised.”
He adds: “We are trying to do more collaborative social media activities and are focusing on sharing stories about the collection. A post about electricity pylon photographs gained hundreds of retweets: there is interest out there for niche and geeky things.”
Jonathan Knott is a freelance writer