Bilden som kommunikation i ”the participation age” : en kvalitativ studie av fyra svenska konstinstitutioners användning av Instagram i kommunikationen med sin publik

• Main Author: Weitz, Hanna
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Instagram; strategisk kommunikation; sociala medier; publik; visuell kommunikation; konstmuseum; varumärke.; Information Studies; Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-23248

Following the introduction of digital- and social media, the landscape has changed for museums and other cultural institutions. The focus has shifted from the objects in their collections, to the public they serve. Predominantly text-based social media has previously been researched but within visual and multimodal communication (of which Instagram is a large part) research is far less common - especially how art institutions make use of Instagram as a communication channel. Through qualitative interviews with communications officers in charge of social media from four different art institutions in Sweden, an analysis of strategic documents and the application of Russmann and Svenssons (2016) model for researching Instagram on specific Instagram posts, this study finds that there are vast differences not only in what is posted in Instagram, but also how and why these four art institutions make use of Instagram in their communication with their audiences. Surprisingly, it was not too uncommon for there not to exist any strategic documentation and a clear vision of what to publish on Instagram and why it is used. The study also warrants further research on not only Instagram as a whole, but also more specifically on art institutions’ use of the platform.