Museum Promotion on the Web: A Comparative Study

This thesis explores the tensions that occur when museums that traditionally hold authority in matters of knowledge face the democratic nature of the Web 2.0. Indeed, nowadays cultural institutions are compelled to go online since it provides them with opportunities to unprecedentedly extend their reach and promote themselves. Nonetheless, in order to succeed, their communication and promotion have to engage online users and be adjusted to the participatory culture of the Web 2.0. A range of studies points out that museums from English-speaking countries are more successful in coping with these challenges comparing to their European counterparts. Researchers explain this by the fact that cultural context in which museum operates influences on the level of its online value creation. Additionally, researchers state that the type of institution also impacts its performance the Web. Although few studies that illuminate the topic of museums' promotion on the Web have recently emerged, there is a considerable lack of academic literature that covers the questions of how does these Internet practices differ based on institutions' type and location. Furthermore, since these studies are western-centric, to date there is a gap in knowledge about the promotional strategies conducted online by museums from Russia. Therefore, this study aims to examine the way promotional strategies on the Web differ based on the type and location of the museum, and the impact of these two factors on online practices of user engagement. Overall, the thesis explores websites and Facebook posts of six different in terms of type (established versus emerging) and location (USA, UK, Russia) museums via qualitative content analysis and answers on the following research question: ‘How do different museums use diverse promotional strategies online to engage their audiences?’ Results of the thesis extend the current academic inquiry by revealing that museums from the USA are leading in strategies of online user engagement. Further, findings show that Russian institutions are generally weaker in strategies of online user engagement and promotion than museums from English-speaking countries. Importantly, the results of the study partially contradict the claims that the bigger cultural institution is, the more effective it is in terms of strategies of online user engagement. In addition, factors that make museums’ content effective in social media have been found. Summing up, this study fills the gap in knowledge about online communication and promotion conducted by Russian museums and extends the existing literature about museums’ strategies of user engagement by providing the insights on how does institution’s type and location influence on its online communication. Besides, it expands on works that delve into the question about the ways museums are adapting to the democratic environment of the Web 2.0.