Museums, COVID-19 and the pivot to social media

TY - JOUR

T1 - Museums, COVID-19 and the pivot to social media

AU - Larkin, Jamie

AU - Ballatore, Andrea

AU - Mityurova, Ekaterina

N1 - Funding Information: We would like to thank the broader Museums in the Pandemic research team—Prof. Fiona Candlin, Prof. Alexandra Poulovassilis, Prof. Peter Wood, Dr. Mark Liebenrood, and Dr. Val Katerinchuk—for their valuable insight and feedback on early versions of this manuscript. Thanks go to AHRC/UKRI for funding the research project that this paper stems from. We would also like to thank the editorial team at for shepherding the paper through the publication process, and the two anonymous peer reviewers for their useful and constructive comments. Curator: The Museum Journal Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by UKRI‐AHRC Rapid Recovery Scheme [AH/V015028/1]. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Curator: The Museum Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

PY - 2023/10

Y1 - 2023/10

N2 - This paper examines social media activity by UK museums during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a general perception that as museums closed their doors for extended periods, their digital presence increased to maintain connections with their audiences. However, much of the research conducted in this area is based on small-scale studies and examples of best practice from large, well-resourced museums. By contrast, this study utilizes a comprehensive database of over 3300 active UK museums to understand the use of Facebook and Twitter across the sector. Specifically, the paper examines the frequency with which museums posted to these digital platforms as they attempted to engage with their audiences. Our findings indicate that there was no substantial increase in social media use and activity across the UK museum sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research has implications for museologists studying the impact of the pandemic on museums’ digital activity, for museum social media professionals, and policymakers responsible for museum digital transformation strategies.

AB - This paper examines social media activity by UK museums during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a general perception that as museums closed their doors for extended periods, their digital presence increased to maintain connections with their audiences. However, much of the research conducted in this area is based on small-scale studies and examples of best practice from large, well-resourced museums. By contrast, this study utilizes a comprehensive database of over 3300 active UK museums to understand the use of Facebook and Twitter across the sector. Specifically, the paper examines the frequency with which museums posted to these digital platforms as they attempted to engage with their audiences. Our findings indicate that there was no substantial increase in social media use and activity across the UK museum sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research has implications for museologists studying the impact of the pandemic on museums’ digital activity, for museum social media professionals, and policymakers responsible for museum digital transformation strategies.

KW - social media museums

KW - museum studies

KW - museum analytics

KW - COVID19

KW - UK

KW - British museums

UR - https://github.com/Birkbeck/museums-in-the-pandemic

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85167359448&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/cura.12558

DO - 10.1111/cura.12558

M3 - Article

SN - 2151-6952

VL - 66

SP - 629

EP - 646

JO - Curator: The Museum Journal

JF - Curator: The Museum Journal

IS - 4

ER -