An analysis of negative reviews in top art museums’ Facebook sites

ABSTRACT

Social media has had a profound effect on cultural-based institutional practice. The relationship between social media and these institutions is reflected in the services they provide, such as the way they communicate, the accessibility of collections, and customer engagement; however, social media is also used as a public channel for negative comments, criticism and complaints. This qualitative study aims to identify the key areas of negative comments made on Facebook review sites against the main art museums by members of the public, and determine how these institutions are monitoring this criticism. This is achieved by a thematic analysis of Facebook posts on review pages to identify what the negative issues are, plus an online survey of the Marketing/Communications Managers at the art museums. The main findings identify issues that can improve museum practice and avoid complaints in the future, which can have implications for other cultural-based institutions.

KEYWORDS:

• Facebook
• reviews
• criticism
• art museums
• qualitative

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

David S. Waller is a Senior Lecturer in the Marketing Discipline Group, University of Technology Sydney. David has over 20 years’ experience teaching marketing subjects at several universities in Australia. His research has included projects on marketing communications; controversial advertising; international advertising; marketing ethics; and marketing education.

Helen J. Waller works at the Verge Gallery at The University of Sydney. She has a Bachelor of Arts, and a Master of Museum and Heritage Studies from The University of Sydney. Her research has included projects on painted advertising signs, object biography, and social media and museums.

ORCID

David S. Waller http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4016-4275

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.