Sharing museum objects online is a practice most museums are implementing on a regular basis. However, with the evolution of social media, digital user expectations, and museum collections management systems (CMS), it’s not always easy to know where, what, and how to share. This post will provide basic guidelines for sharing digital objects from the museum CMS in museum social media.

In his Adweek article, Millennials are Discovering Art by Ditching Museums for Instagram and Pinterest, Robert Klara asserts that “social media has nudged museums aside as the primary venue by which American consumers discover works of art.” Don’t let your museum be nudged aside!

The great thing about using your Collections Management System (CMS) to increase audience awareness and drive museum traffic is that it’s easy to do and you don’t have to buy anything. What could be better than that?

In a June 2016 article titled The Evolution of Social Technologies, McKinsey & Company reported that the use of social technologies has evolved to include their use as tools for developing Organizational Strategy. Knowledge management (KM) professionals and librarians need to recognize this represents an opportunity for them to contribute to organizational success at the highest level.

(Originally Published December 18, 2015)

One of the biggest challenges for museums is getting control of huge cataloging backlogs. It’s a sad thing that wonderful and unique objects and artifacts are hidden from the public gaze because of resource constraints. Leveraging qualified digital citizens may provide a solution.

Social media platforms offer a game-changing opportunity for museums to broaden their reach and connect interesting and inspiring collections with potential visitors and donors. With social media, word of mouth spreads at the speed of light, effectively crowd-sourcing museum marketing.

So, you don’t tweet. Should you? Research shows that Millennials, who have entry-and mid-level jobs in the companies you and I work in, have different expectations about getting and sharing information. Tweeting, pinning, linking, and “Instagramming” are the new information channels.

The way people engage with information every day is changing. Why is this important? It’s not about what we industry veterans think is the “best way” to find important content - it’s what our end users think that matters.