Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives
Museum Hours  
​Tuesday - Saturday      
10:30am-4:30pm     
​
  • Collections
    • Photograph Collection
    • Newspaper Archives
    • First Nations
    • Fishing for a Living
    • Marine Transportation
    • Telecommunications
    • George & Charlotte Gibson
    • Helen McCall - Early Photographer
    • Beachcomber Relics
    • Farrell Family
    • Early Logging
    • Early Agriculture
    • Inglis and Woodsworth Families
    • Howe Sound Cooperative Cannery
  • Learning
    • Podcast Features
    • Education Kit
    • Genealogy >
      • Cemeteries
      • Churches
      • Genealogy Links & Records
      • Places of Research
      • Schools
      • Societies and Support
    • Museum at Home
    • Museum School
    • School Classroom Visits
    • Historical Videos of the Sunshine Coast
  • Blog
  • News/Events
  • Shop
  • Sunshine Coast
    • Gibsons
    • Roberts Creek
    • Sechelt
    • Halfmoon Bay
    • Pender Harbour
    • Egmont
  • About Us
    • Contact Us!
    • History & Mandate
    • Museum Services
    • Make a Donation!
    • Membership
    • Employment
    • Volunteer
    • Staff & Board of Directors
    • Links

Social Media: What's the Deal?

8/4/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Facebook Logo
Picture
Twitter Logo
Picture
Instagram Logo
​          Social media outreach is a very important practice for the Museum, for a huge number of reasons. We use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. One of the main reasons we use social media is to keep you – our visitors – informed of daily happenings, events, and new discoveries within the Museum. It also allows us to connect with other museums to stay on top of the technology and techniques of the trade so we can present our collection in the best way we can.

          We also use social media in a way that helps us make discoveries about our collection. For example, just a couple weeks ago you helped us make a connection within an unmarked photo (link to original FB post) that led us to the discovery of the event it depicted: the 1957 opening of the new government wharf in Gibsons Landing. We also discovered accompanying photos from various perspectives through your help. This type of thing happens a lot. When we have a question, or interesting photo, we ask you for help. Just so you can see the progression, here is the initial post, the middle post where you helped us with your knowledge, and the post where we were able to tell you with certainty what conclusion we came to. Another exciting post was this class picture we posted on this year’s Elphinstone Secondary graduation day.

         The most popular of the social media platforms we use is Facebook. Facebook is very popular with our typical audience, who are usually around 45 to 65 years old. Interestingly, a number of those who regularly interact with us on Facebook also regularly come into the Museum to visit and walk through the exhibits. It is nice to have such a solid contact with this audience because they are our link to the past. Visitors such as local historian Dale Peterson help us with connections, events, and other happenings that may not necessarily be included in our collection. As a Summer Student from out of town, and also for the Museum, this connection is imperative because it helps us learn and document things about the community that otherwise may have been forgotten.
​

Picture
Fig. 1: The Facebook post where we asked for your help figuring out what was going on in this photo.
Picture
Fig. 2: Another popular post, this time a class photo that sparked a 60 year class reunion.
​          The newest addition to our Social Media outreach program is Instagram, which helps us reach a whole other demographic. This new audience, which includes teens and adults from their early twenties to thirties, is the one that will keep the history of the Sunshine Coast alive. Through social media we keep them interested and engaged with history and the artifacts in our collection, therefore ensuring the continued interest in the rich history of the Sunshine Coast.
​
          But how do we add a new social media platform into our outreach program? It is not as simple as just making an account and starting to post. First, research needs to be done. To convince the Manager that Instagram was a beneficial program I did research on the benefits of Instagram to businesses and  museums, how Instagram works, and how we as a Museum would use it. After the initial green light I compiled lists of post templates, accounts to interact with, and how to ‘tag’ posts. (‘Tagging’ is the process through which posts are categorized within the social media platform so that they are easily accessible; this is commonly done through keywords and phrases.) This ensures that anyone will be able to efficiently run the account. Now that the report is complete we can start to post and interact with our new audience. As an added bonus Instagram is popular with small local businesses and other museums worldwide, allowing us create a great dialogue locally and around the world. Through this connection we learn from them, and are able to communicate with our visitors in new and exciting ways! 
​

Picture
Fig. 3: A popular Instagram post featuring the contents of our Seaman's Chest in the Maritime Exhibit.
​          So, if you enjoy it, please keep interacting with us on social media! We love to hear back from you about your opinions, contributions, and memories. Keep up with us on our pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    BC Historical Newspapers
    Black History Month
    Book Launch
    Borrowed Body
    Canoe Culture
    Canoe Journey
    Collaboration
    Community Building
    Digitization
    Exhibit Exchange
    History Of Racism
    Immigration
    Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
    Japanese Internment
    Konishi Family
    Newspaper Digitization
    Open Mic
    Peformance Poetry
    Peninsula Times
    Performance Poetry
    Squamish Nation
    Sunshine Coast
    UBC Library

    Archives

    December 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    November 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    July 2018
    June 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    RSS Feed

     Home     |     Collections     |     Learning     |     Events     |     Gift Shop     |     News     |     The Sunshine Coast     |     About Us     

© Copyright 2022 Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives
716 Winn Rd., Gibsons, BC. (604) 886 8232


Donate Now Through CanadaHelps.org!