As the UK went into full national lockdown in March 2020, cultural institutions stepped up their efforts to engage members of the public in the digital environment, including the varied spaces of social media. Research already emerging from this period has begun to suggest that social media interactions were energised and made vital in new ways during this moment. We sought to explore this further through a detailed analysis of activity during this unprecedented period.

We analysed all Twitter data from 19 March 2020 to 5 May 2020 on the hashtags #CultureInQuarantine and #MuseumAtHome. We need to be mindful of course that any analyses of Twitter data are inevitably limited, but they can tell us something about what those who did use the hashtags - whether institutions or members of the public - were posting, what content gained the most traction, and importantly, it can begin to suggest why.

Findings

Engagement with tweets is usually measured via numbers of retweets (including quoted tweets), likes and comments. While we used these metrics as our starting point, our aim was to better understand the quality and depth of interactions on Twitter, rather than just their reach. For that reason, we approached the data from several different angles. Understanding the tone of posts was the first step, but we also coded for themes and values present in the tweets, which has given us a richer picture of particularly successful elements when it comes to sparking conversations with and between users.

In this post we focus on a series of ‘moments’ in the dataset that seemed to harness well the potentials of Twitter at that time.

Going digital

Some institutions were able to draw on existing digital assets and, as such, could (on the face of it at least) make the transition to online fairly seamlessly compared to those that were forced to reorient their activities.

The touring theatre company Complicité, for example, promoted a pre-recorded performance of The Encounter (5 May 2020).

We're delighted to announce that we will be making #TheEncounter available to watch online from
Fri 15 May 7pm - Fri 22 May 10pm (BST)
Directed & performed by @SimonMcBurney
Supported by @thespacearts #CultureinQuarantinehttps://t.co/D73mkI3nmD pic.twitter.com/avV5xmAQW8

— Complicité (@Complicite) May 5, 2020

This was accompanied by a series of online events (a Q&A and behind the scenes clips) that revisited the play in a time of crisis, making for a considered and well-rounded package of activities. The audience received it with enthusiasm (it was high on tweets and quoted tweets), with Twitter users commenting excitedly both before and after attending that it was “Still one of the best things I have ever seen. Ever.”

But there were many examples of newly sourced digital content in the sample too. This often spoke more directly to the effects and impacts of the pandemic. Covid-19 – the restrictions, the loneliness, the fear, the boredom - is of course an underlying and sedimented theme in our sample.

Performing from home: empathy and intimacy over traditional production values

On 8 April 2020 BBC Arts tweeted a 4.56-minute-long film featuring a ‘poignant and unique’ performance of The Swan by Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Céline Gittens, accompanied by Joanathan Higgins and António Novais. The performance, filmed in the artists’ own homes, is introduced by Carlos Acosta as a ‘dance about life… hope’ and a ‘new beginning’.

A poignant and unique solo performance by @BRB's Céline Gittens. This “gift to you”, The Swan, has an ending specially adapted by Carlos Acosta. He says this “dance about life, about hope”, filmed in performers' homes, is “a new beginning”. #CultureInQuarantine #HomeFromHome pic.twitter.com/XLlRicxBdN

— BBC Arts (@bbcarts) April 8, 2020

The comments in response and in quote tweets demonstrate that the audience emphatically connected with those themes - the piece was described by the audience as ‘beautiful’, ‘gorgeous’, ‘sublime’, ‘uplifting’ and a ‘wonderful’ ‘gift’, a ‘moment of tranquillity’ during a difficult and ‘bizarre’ time. People were stirred by it, and a number commented on how moving it was, noting that it brought them to tears in some instances.

Those responding say the piece is all the more impactful for having been filmed in the performers’ homes at this time when everybody found themselves at home. Here we noted a privileging of empathy and intimacy over and above traditional production values which is evident elsewhere in the sample too. ‘This is why the arts are so important’ notes one commenter [quote tweet, 10th April 2020]. Birmingham Royal Ballet’s own Twitter account also intervenes in these discussions, demonstrating much-valued two-way interaction: ‘Thank you so much for sharing this with us... we're so pleased we could bring a little happiness to you and your daughter’ [Comment, 9 April, 2020].

The ‘arts as a way of coping’ was in fact the most frequent theme coded for in our sample. This is significant and speaks to attempts by those posting on these hashtags to remain relevant, and to help audiences maintain wellbeing and feel nurtured at this time. It also reflects the value of the arts as a source of solace. The prevalence in the sample of posts about place and nature is also notable, situating digital content within local contexts and the natural environment, at a time when both seemed more important than ever to connect with.

Getting creative

Lots of content recognised the value of active and joyful engagement with cultural content: nearly a quarter of tweets in our sample featured a call for engagement or action, signalling efforts to open up conversations with users, and adopt interactive strategies which got a good response rate from users. These ranged from direct questions to initiatives that encourage people to get creative (for example, the Getty challenge).

The value of creativity is recognised in a significant proportion of tweets also through celebrations of practice - whether amateur or professional, or through calls to create something new. This creativity is often reflected through hybrid practices - for example in the form of downloadable activity packs.

The value of playfulness was also celebrated in the tweets - through humorous content, the use of emoji and (less frequently) gifs, or through some other reference to play (an online game or escape room for example).

Follow Vincent's journey through the places he lived and worked with the Vincent van Gogh Board Game! 🎲 You can download it for free: https://t.co/vVi4Uayytg Enjoy! #kids #boardgame #museumathome #museumfromhome pic.twitter.com/dK863FFCHH

— Van Gogh Museum (@vangoghmuseum) April 16, 2020

Learning from the past

Many tweets by museums shared items from collections, often with educational intent, using them to spark, and celebrate the value of, curiosity. On 21 April 2020, the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) Museum tweeted this image from their collection that asked a very specific question, and which earned them a place in the top ten most commented tweets in our sample.

Its #NationalTeaDay so here's a 1980s 24 hour military ration kit from our collection. Would 8 pints of tea be enough to last you a whole day? #MuseumFromHome #MuseumsTogether #museumathome pic.twitter.com/zBGP4Mjc0a

— REME Museum (@REME_MUSEUM) April 21, 2020

The invocation of national tropes like tea, references to rationing and the military, a sense of familiarity and curiosity, delivered with humour and a sense of playfulness, struck a chord with users who responded by reminiscing and sharing their sense of belonging, community and joy: “I remember those 24 hour ration packs. I don't think I ever did bother with the tea”; “As a cadet in the 80s chicken curry was my absolute favourite. Nobody else would eat it so I would trade like mad and make a huge mess tin of it”; “You could be right! We still think 4 pints of tea is a perfectly normal amount for one person/museum professional to drink each day…”.

While none of the comments nor the original tweet mention it, it is hard not to relate the discussion to the fear of food shortages at the beginning of the first lockdown, which could have been another contributing factor to its success (in terms of the conversation, if not by other measures like likes or retweets).

Vibrancy, creativity, and humour

It was notable that tweets featuring video (only eight percent of our sample) were more likely to register as high on traction, that is, in the top ten tweets for numbers of likes, retweets or quote tweets. This is perhaps unsurprising given what we know about the importance of video content in social media more broadly.

One of the most popular tweets in our sample that combined video and playfulness was from Queensland Museum featuring a curator interacting with a giant spider puppet.

While the museum is closed, Dr Robert Raven decided to let one of his spiders stretch its legs.... Follow along over the new few days to see what he gets up to! #SpidersQM #qldmuseum #museumathome

Puppet created by Chris Lane (@spooner.lane) pic.twitter.com/FaL2VVfgDb

— Queensland Museum (@qldmuseum) April 1, 2020

The tweet (1 April 2020) inspired an exuberant set of responses, and responses to responses. It was also part of a series of tweets which increased the interplay between the institution and its users. It is ‘legit amazing’, ‘the best Covid-19 video to date’, ‘the best content on the internet today no exceptions,’ and for one user, it is the kind of ‘THE WHOLESOME CONTENT [they] LIVE FOR!’

There are highly expressive responses, lots of emoji, and a number of gifs and photos in response, including of YouTube sensation Lucas the Spider who appears a number of times. The use of gifs in the sample is interesting as it puts a post into conversation with content and/or ideas from elsewhere in the digital culture ecosystem. This is of course what the ‘Absolute unit’ did so well a few years ago.

These engagements – there are 219 responses, and responses to responses over the two weeks that followed, many of which were themselves retweeted, quote tweeted and liked, amounting to thousands more interactions – demonstrate the value of playful interaction in the social media environment. Vibrancy, creativity, and humour. There is back and forth and a sense of the museum as – still – a living, breathing place, even if it might for now be closed. These behind-the-scenes snapshots proved popular in our sample, demonstrating a longing for the reassurance and familiarity the physical space and place of a museum building seems to suggest, even remotely.

Social value

There were many tweets which promoted and celebrated social value too: those which referred to wider civic and social issues such as welfare or climate change, and those promoting initiatives for local communities, or which tried to invoke a sense of belonging or togetherness.

The next story from #RoomtoBreathe we would like to dedicate to all the nurses, doctors and NHS staff working so hard for us all at this time...1/3

Image credit 📷:Peter Marlow#AllOurStories #virtualmuseum #museumathome pic.twitter.com/yTAj1ENusR

— Migration Museum (@MigrationUK) March 25, 2020

Next steps

There are a number of questions which emerge from our analysis, and that we are now investigating through other approaches, notably interviews with those working in digital roles at cultural institutions. One of the key emerging questions remains how (and whether) inequalities in digital access, and conversations about those, have shaped engagement, outputs, or strategy during this period in these contexts. It is seductive to assume that social media is a ‘democratised’ medium, yet we must remember that social networks do not constitute a diverse and open conversation anyone can be a part of. And where digital inequalities are less of an issue, we might also wish to talk more about ‘digital ambivalence’, and in what ways it too has been a barrier to engagement.

Confirming the findings from the case study strand of this project, we have found that many institutions have favoured blended or hybrid approaches to engagement, where digital is combined with in-person or physical initiatives, and this is something we are exploring further also.

In the above ‘moments’ we get a sense of the many ways in which digital content and engagements were shaped by their real-world contexts during this period. Of course, this constitutes only an initial overview of findings that are beginning to emerge from the study which need further unpacking, and we will in the coming months be exploring and publishing a more granular analysis.

This article is part of a wider research programme led by the Centre for Cultural Value in collaboration with the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and The Audience Agency. This project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through UK Research and Innovation’s COVID-19 rapid rolling call.