In the world of social media, Twitter has long reigned supreme as the main platform for museums to boost their online profile and engage with internet users.
But although the little blue bird is still number one in the pecking order, a host of young pretenders have appeared on the scene in the past few years and museums are increasingly turning elsewhere to diversify their internet audiences.
Photographs are paramount on social media and image-first platforms are a particularly good fit for museums, which have the key advantage of possessing iconic buildings and collections packed with eye-catching objects.
By far the most popular picture-first site is Instagram, the photo-sharing app that enables users to enhance photos with its distinctive retro filters and square framing, and share them instantly to followers.
Its use is particularly common among young people; while Facebook and Twitter tend to attract a slightly older demographic, Instagram came out in front as the most popular site for teenagers in a survey that was conducted earlier this year by Piper Jaffray, an investment bank.
Although social-media accounts can be integrated to post simultaneously across all platforms, museums often have separate Instagram accounts, as they tend to use the platform in a more fun, informal way.
Hashtags may annoy some people on Twitter, but they are well-used on Instagram (30 is the official limit).
Mass hashtags such as #museumselfie (which has its own official day coming up on 21 January 2015) are a fun way to get people posting about their museum visit.
Some museums have created similar hashtags of their own to encourage visitors to seek out specific museum objects, such as the Horniman Museum and Garden’s #selfiewiththewalrus.
Likewise, Instagram is an ideal way to give people an insight into what different museum teams are up to behind the scenes.
“It’s really quick and easy for people to share what they’re doing right at this minute,” says Vicky Pearce, the digital assistant at the Horniman Museum.
Popular picture-based hashtags for museums include:
But how does engagement on Instagram translate in real life? Many museums find that their social-media audiences are a very different group to their physical visitors so it might not necessarily mean more feet on the ground, but it’s an invaluable way to reach a different demographic.
The engagement works both ways; museums are being increasingly inventive about using visitor-generated online content, particularly images. Earlier this year, the Wellcome Collection in London invited people to submit Instagram photos of themselves pulling different facial expressions, which were used to create a physical display in the gallery’s An Idiosyncratic A to Z of the Human Condition exhibition.
And the Historic Royal Palaces Instagram account has established an enthusiastic online community simply through its policy of reposting visitor content.
Of course, Instagram is far from the only picture-sharing platform that’s growing in popularity among museums. Pinterest and Tumblr are useful ways of collating images, while Twitter has significantly improved its photo-sharing function, allowing people to post several pictures at a time.
Copyright remains an issue, but museums are increasingly relaxing their policies to ensure public domain content can be reused by others.
Like all social-media platforms, Instagram isn’t going to revolutionise museum practice, but it’s a cheap way to engage visitors and raise an institution’s profile. Is your museum ready for its close-up?
Instagram is a fantastically simple way for museums to get into social-image sharing. The speed and ease of using the app means staff from different departments can share what they’re working on directly from their own devices.
What makes the platform work for us is that it gives our followers a peek at parts of the museum they would never normally get to see. You do need to think a little about how you use Instagram, as the content that works there is a little different to what works on Twitter and Facebook.
We’ve found the biggest benefit of social networking is the ability to access the hundreds of photographs visitors snap in our galleries and gardens every week.
Apps such as Iconosquare and Worldcam allow you to track hashtags or geotagged photos specific to your institution and to access this form of visitor feedback.
Vicky Pearce is the digital assistant at the Horniman Museum and Gardens, London
But although the little blue bird is still number one in the pecking order, a host of young pretenders have appeared on the scene in the past few years and museums are increasingly turning elsewhere to diversify their internet audiences.
Photographs are paramount on social media and image-first platforms are a particularly good fit for museums, which have the key advantage of possessing iconic buildings and collections packed with eye-catching objects.
By far the most popular picture-first site is Instagram, the photo-sharing app that enables users to enhance photos with its distinctive retro filters and square framing, and share them instantly to followers.
Its use is particularly common among young people; while Facebook and Twitter tend to attract a slightly older demographic, Instagram came out in front as the most popular site for teenagers in a survey that was conducted earlier this year by Piper Jaffray, an investment bank.
Although social-media accounts can be integrated to post simultaneously across all platforms, museums often have separate Instagram accounts, as they tend to use the platform in a more fun, informal way.
Hashtags may annoy some people on Twitter, but they are well-used on Instagram (30 is the official limit).
Mass hashtags such as #museumselfie (which has its own official day coming up on 21 January 2015) are a fun way to get people posting about their museum visit.
Some museums have created similar hashtags of their own to encourage visitors to seek out specific museum objects, such as the Horniman Museum and Garden’s #selfiewiththewalrus.
Likewise, Instagram is an ideal way to give people an insight into what different museum teams are up to behind the scenes.
“It’s really quick and easy for people to share what they’re doing right at this minute,” says Vicky Pearce, the digital assistant at the Horniman Museum.
Popular picture-based hashtags for museums include:
- #instamuseum: tag alongside any museum-related picture posted to Instagram.
- #museumselfie: encourage visitors to share selfies of themselves at the museum.
- #objectoftheweek: a great way of showcasing intriguing items in the museum’s collection.
- #ThrowbackThursday or #tbt: share vintage photos from the museum’s past every Thursday.
- #behindthescenes: a chance for staff to reveal what they get up to day to day.
- #museumcats/mewseummonday: share pictures of kitties found in the museum’s collection.
But how does engagement on Instagram translate in real life? Many museums find that their social-media audiences are a very different group to their physical visitors so it might not necessarily mean more feet on the ground, but it’s an invaluable way to reach a different demographic.
The engagement works both ways; museums are being increasingly inventive about using visitor-generated online content, particularly images. Earlier this year, the Wellcome Collection in London invited people to submit Instagram photos of themselves pulling different facial expressions, which were used to create a physical display in the gallery’s An Idiosyncratic A to Z of the Human Condition exhibition.
And the Historic Royal Palaces Instagram account has established an enthusiastic online community simply through its policy of reposting visitor content.
Of course, Instagram is far from the only picture-sharing platform that’s growing in popularity among museums. Pinterest and Tumblr are useful ways of collating images, while Twitter has significantly improved its photo-sharing function, allowing people to post several pictures at a time.
Copyright remains an issue, but museums are increasingly relaxing their policies to ensure public domain content can be reused by others.
Like all social-media platforms, Instagram isn’t going to revolutionise museum practice, but it’s a cheap way to engage visitors and raise an institution’s profile. Is your museum ready for its close-up?
Snap happy
Instagram is a fantastically simple way for museums to get into social-image sharing. The speed and ease of using the app means staff from different departments can share what they’re working on directly from their own devices.
What makes the platform work for us is that it gives our followers a peek at parts of the museum they would never normally get to see. You do need to think a little about how you use Instagram, as the content that works there is a little different to what works on Twitter and Facebook.
We’ve found the biggest benefit of social networking is the ability to access the hundreds of photographs visitors snap in our galleries and gardens every week.
Apps such as Iconosquare and Worldcam allow you to track hashtags or geotagged photos specific to your institution and to access this form of visitor feedback.
Vicky Pearce is the digital assistant at the Horniman Museum and Gardens, London
