Tips for Leveraging TikTok at Your Museum

As museums face prolonged closures due to the coronavirus, the importance of engaging audiences inside their homes has become of growing importance. As museums and cultural organizations work to adapt their content strategy and reach audiences remotely, many may be finding that the “tried-and-true” social channels are no longer as effective as they once were. As a result, such organizations may be interested in experimenting with newer channels that will give them greater reach to different demographics.

Even though it has been around for several years now, TikTok is still considered an emerging and relatively untapped channel for many museums. It also has enormous capacity to help you connect with your audiences and community in new ways.

If you’re looking to get started on TikTok at your museums, check out some tips below:

What is TikTok?

TikTok is a short-form video app and social media platform that allows users to share videos. Since 2019, and especially in recent months, it has exploded in popularity. TikTok has quickly become a space to view and share comedic skits, dance routines, music, and viral challenges.

TikTok rose to dominance in the App Store in September 2019, when it became the number one free, non-gaming iOS app in the United States. The app has served as a launching pad for many young artists and phenomenons in popular culture - if you’ve heard the song Old Town Road by Lil Nas X in the past few months, you’re already acquainted with a TikTok-born sensation! According to Business Insider, TikTok is “the newest platform to turn regular users into viral sensations and successful influencers.” It is particularly popular among Gen Z.

Why Should You Consider Using TikTok

For many museums and organizations, TikTok can be the key to connecting with your audiences in a new way. In particular, it can help in engaging your Gen Z and Millennial constituents, who are increasingly abandoning more traditional social media platforms like Facebook.

TikTok has over 800 million active users worldwide, as well as the highest social media engagement rates per post, as compared to Instagram and Twitter.

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Source: Influencer Marketing Hub [/caption]

It’s also growing quickly: there are already over 25 million active users in the United States, and in 18 months, the number of U.S. TikTok users has increased by over 5 times. This number is only expected to grow.

In short, now could be the time to hop on the TikTok bandwagon!

How Are Museums Already Leveraging TikTok

Some museums have already started to leverage TikTok with impressive and notable results.

Accelerated by the realities of closures due to COVID-19, several museums in China have hosted virtual tours on China's local version of TikTok (called Douyin). These live tours include real-time Q&A with museum curators and focus on the educational qualities of the museum experience.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) in Pittsburgh, PA has been one of the first museums to successfully ride the wave of TikTok. Now with over 120,000 TikTok followers and 1.6 million likes, CMNH has been able to attract an impressive audience by highlighting their “snail guy,” Tim Pearce. Tim leads the Section of Mollusks at the museum and has become a social media sensation by leveraging TikTok to deliver lighthearted snail jokes.

Using humor, in addition to bringing your staff’s passion to the TikTok stage, is one excellent way to start experimenting with the app.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was also one of the first museums to get on TikTok. Almost a year ago, they introduced their official TikTok account and launched two challenges, #SalutetoClassics and #MetGalaChallenge, in an effort to help audiences engage with the collections.

TikTok dance challenges are already popular, so following this template to excite audiences was a forward-thinking way to harness the app’s potential.

More recently, the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Long Island, NY has been able to make a splash on TikTok with #EducatorTom, who “brings edutainment online through short videos on the history of ingenuity and innovation in aerospace.”

The Cradle of Aviation Museum TikTok already has over 30,000 followers and is proof that you don’t have to have an in-house snail comedian to create high-quality TikTok videos. By offering enthusiasm, educational content, and real connection, this museum has found its own niche on the app.

Museums are only beginning to explore the potential of TikTok, and right now, much of this remains to be explored. TikTok can be one of the best platforms to communicate humor, human connection, and fun to audiences of all ages. More than anything, it’s important to meet your audiences where they are, and if you suspect they’re on TikTok, now might just be the time to start experimenting and find your voice on the platform.

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