Read on Twitter
1. Social media can be an invaluable tool for engaging with collections. This study identified the key narratives within taxidermy collections and how these could be used to create engaging content on Twitter. @Nat_SCA #NatSCAConservation
2. As part of the study a #Taxidermyweek was hosted over 5 days with a series of prompts to guide the content produced by participants. Twitter was chosen as there are many ways individuals can engage with posts (e.g. likes, retweets and replies). #NatSCAConservation
3. 174 individual accounts took part over the week. The study had participants from across the field, 36% of accounts were run by individuals ' with a heritage focus’ with 'institutional' accounts representing 29% of participants. #NatSCAConservation
4. Taxidermy was chosen for the study as it borders art and science and is represented in a range of museum collections. The content produced during the week predominantly had knowledge sharing, humourous and conversational intents. #NatSCAConservation
5. 20 #Taxidermyweek participants posted content discussing conservation for at least one of the prompts. The highest conservation tweet activity was for the prompt 'Troubling Taxidermy' and the tweets led with a knowledge-sharing approach #NatSCAConservation
6. 43% of the conservation-focused tweets had a knowledge sharing intent. The prompt 'Troubling Taxidermy' produced discussions around why specimens may be damaged, offering an opportunity to invite non-professionals into conservation work. #NatSCAConservation
7. This rubric table shows the analysis of four tweets from a conservator, it shows that content posted with a photo gained the highest engagement, regardless of intent. #NatSCAConservation
8. The majority of posts for #TaxidermyWeek were text, accompanied by images, both in individual tweets and threads. Posts using casual, personable language were successful in including the reader in conversation, inviting further engagement. #NatSCAConservation
9. Conservation work often lends itself to a narrative approach, which in turn is perfect for creating threads. Taking process photos throughout a project with short descriptions can be a simple, low effort method of creating engaging content. #NatSCAConservation
10. So what are the implications for discussing conservation on social media? As identified, focusing on making content with interesting imagery, casual language, and giving access to more information can help increase engagement. #NatSCAConservation
Many thanks to my Dissertation supervisor
@UniRdg_MusStudy
and everyone who participated in #Taxidermyweek who made this research possible.
#NatSCAConservation
@UniRdg_MusStudy
and everyone who participated in #Taxidermyweek who made this research possible.
#NatSCAConservation
