Museums and strategic usage of Web 2.0 social features

In the last decades the museums have faced the unprecedented museum boom. Today, having to exist in the conditions of highly competitive market of various leisure activities, the museums are facing the decline in the number of the visitors, combined with the lack financing. Moreover, the transition from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 forced the museums to adapt to the new digital reality and a new generation of visitors. In order to differentiate themselves not only from the other museums, but also from leisure activities, which are offered to the modern user, the museums had to adapt and strategically reposition themselves to satisfy the desires of the visitors. This research focuses on before and after the visit experience, and the capabilities of Web 2.0 features. The rise and the influence of Web 2.0 created multiple opportunities for the museums to enhance visitors’ and potential visitors’ experience through personalization, interactivity orientation and co-creation. Implementing the functionalities of the Web 2.0 on the websites can result in a stronger visitor-museums long-term relationship. Social networking sites have also become an important channel of value proposition delivery and also customer relationship management. This research made an attempt to investigate how the museums with the best social media and website practices strategically apply Web 2.0 features in order to enrich visitors’ experience. For the purpose of the studies ten museums were selected for the analysis based on their popularity in the social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. Through an in-depth observation of the museums’ official websites and social media pages in Facebook and Instagram the data was collected. The data collection process and the analyses were guided by the conceptual model, which was created through theoretical research. The conceptual model, based on Business Model Canvas, was aimed to identify, whether the museums apply Web 2.0 features as the new value propositions. Most of the theory is confirmed by the significant findings. The evidence from the multiplesource data corresponds with the theoretical propositions about Web 2.0 features implemented by the museums as value propositions. It was demonstrated that both museums’ websites and social networking sites integrate Web 2.0 functionalities in order to offer different from the competitors’ value propositions and establish stronger relationships with the visitors.