Research note – Sensational museums on TikTok: reaching young virtual tourists with short videos

Purpose This paper aims to examine how museums reach Generation Z virtual tourists using TikTok videos to elucidate the relationship between the video elements and types of engagement by classifying the characteristics of popular themes in the museums’ short videos. Design/methodology/approach The format, type and content of TikTok videos published by the seven international museums with the most popular TikTok accounts were analyzed. Thematic analysis included 313 short TikTok videos randomly chosen from those published by the museums between 2020 and 2022. Using descriptive analysis, museum-related TikTok usage and user engagement are presented; regression analysis revealed the most significant themes for audience engagement. Findings Museum promotions commonly use several strategies, including incorporating text-based information, captions, hashtags and background music into the video formats. Oral speech/documentary-style videos and combined video genres are less common. The most frequently presented video topics included history, infotainment, informative content and promotional elements. The results identify specific formats (titles and subtitles), types (demonstrations, news/events and TikTok dances/movements) and promotional themes that result in audiences’ virtual engagement in the form of “likes” and “comments” and increase the museums’ TikTok channel followers. Originality/value The results demonstrate that short videos on social media platforms encompass various strategies involving different formats, types and themes. Museums can use these strategies to engage virtual tourists. This study also provides valuable suggestions for museums and galleries seeking to leverage short videos as effective marketing mechanisms.