Working to Create Value: Spanish Museums and the Challenge of Connecting with Generation Z

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has temporarily emptied museums and drawn attention to an aspect of these cultural institutions that is often seen as secondary and subordinate to their physical presence: the digital dimension. Having been forced to close their doors, museums have sought to boost their online activity through a range of different initiatives. The most notable actions undertaken in terms of frequency are related to social networks. This situation obliges us to ask the question: have museums succeeded in achieving a meaningful online presence in their communities via social media?

In terms of marketing and digital communication, content is understood as meaningful when it provides value to the audience. This value arises from the alignment of the objectives of the institution with those of the target audience; this makes it essential to understand the profile of users who comprise the communities of different digital channels.

Drawing on a comparative analysis of the profiles of museum visitors and those of social media users, this paper addresses the challenges of connecting on social media with the generation known as Generation Z (a population currently between 14 and 24 years of age). To do so, it attempts to define this generation and determine how it uses social media, taking advantage of the work already carried out by Spanish museums on their social media profiles during lockdown to establish how museum institutions can make themselves more relevant to this demographic segment in Spain and beyond.

Keywords:

• Spain
• museum
• social networks
• digital communication
• Generation Z
• coronavirus

Notes

1 Scientific Museums in A Coruña were the first museums in Spain to open Twitter accounts, followed by Contemporary Art Museum ARTIUM and Prado Museum.

2 These percentages are calculated on the basis of the classification set out in annexes I and II of Royal Decree 1305/2009 of 31 July, creating the Spanish Museums Network (Red de Museos de España), taking into account the change in category of the Museum of Romanticism, now National Museum of Romanticism, and adding the social media profiles for Patrimonio Nacional (Spain’s national heritage agency, includes the royal sites, their collections, gardens and natural spaces) and San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

3 There are five Spanish museums with profiles open on this social media platform as of 20 November: Prado Museum, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Goya Museum, Museum of Human Evolution and Lázaro Galdiano Museum.

4 Average calculated on the basis of the number of social media profiles of the 120 museums analysed for this paper. A broader sample would be expected to reduce the average.

5 The worsening of the health situation resulting from the coronavirus pandemic forced Spanish museums to shut their doors around 14 March 2020, when the government declared the first state of emergency (Royal Decree 463/2020, 14 March).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ainhoa Simón Diez

Ainhoa Simón Diez is a museum curator currently working at the General Sub-Directorate of Publications and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Defence in Spain.