Finding your voice on social media

With Adam Koszary Museum of English Rural Life

CHALLENGE

Rewind back to April 2018. The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL), part of the University of Reading, has no dedicated social media manager, is between strategies and keeps a fairly modest digital profile with a monthly engagement rate of 3 000 on Twitter. Adam Koszary, ad-hoc Twitter person at the MERL, makes a post about a very woolly sheep and the engagement numbers shoot to 1.5 million – a whopping 49,990% increase. Why did this post make such an impression? And how has the MERL kept the buzz going since?

ACTION

The MERL doesn’t speak like a museum. It speaks like a Twitter user, frequently and fluently incorporating original memes, meta-content and witty conversation. “Social media enables museums to be more human and relatable,” explains Adam. “If you’re serious about using social media as a communication tool then your voice must chime with [digital] audiences and the culture of the internet. You should at minimum be talking like a human being.”

You can’t tell social media managers to just get out there and be funny – not only is this a ridiculous command, it won’t convince audiences nor colleagues. But you can work to develop a well-defined and authentic tone of voice for digital messaging. This effort stands a much better chance at winning the approval of the “serious” or academic departments. “[Curators and communicators] are all working towards the same aim: meaningful engagement with arts and culture. Writing in a friendly and humorous way doesn’t destroy the museum… [it involves] everyone in our heritage.”

The absolute unit post went viral for several reasons – a strong (and cute) visual, a relevant meme reference and some lucky influencer retweets. But it grew into its own moment in popular culture because the MERL engaged with the hype it had started. “To become truly viral it didn’t just need retweets, it needed to be talked about,” says Adam. “So, I talked to people. I encouraged puns, I played deadpan, I sassed a little bit and I got a bit creative.”

The MERL has maintained their voice and honed in on the opportunities it can raise, notably sparking an international museum duck-off through its characteristic sassy messaging paired with a fuzzy animal photo. “I’d hope it’s fairly obvious to anyone that the museum doesn’t just make memes, and that the memes are simply one way of engaging people with our collections.”

KEY LEARNINGS

For social media to work for the museum, the museum needs to appeal to social media norms.
Personality is nothing without authenticity – this is still about meaningful connections with culture.

Ride the wave – when audiences respond, engage directly.
Fun does not equal stupid – respect the intelligence of your audience even in your most playful communication.