Cultural institutions in the digital age: British Museum’s use of Facebook Insights

Abstract

Over the last decade, museums have experienced a strong cultural shift from objectoriented
\ntowards audience-oriented strategic approaches. This paper reviews the relevant
\nliterature on this transition and provides supportive evidence of the impact that social
\nmedia have upon the relationship between cultural organisations and their audiences. Data
\nderiving from the use of the British Museum’s Facebook page provides a comprehensive
\nevaluation of the museum’s general social media strategy. Given the dominance and
\nwidespread use of Facebook and other social media, the degree of engagement of cultural
\norganisations with them, seem to have become an inseparable factor on the scale of
\neffectiveness of the relation with their audiences and the levels of visitor attendance. This
\nresearch aims, by using one of the most prestigious museums in Britain as a case study, to
\nprovide an initial comprehensive set of insights into the use of social media by cultural
\norganisations. The findings of this study are based on research conducted for the first
\nauthor’s postgraduate studies at the Centre for Digital Humanities, Department of
\nInformation studies, University College London.