# Museum social media: exhibitions, stories and visitor info [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/museum-social-media) A museum talks to families, schools, tourists, members and specialists, often on the same afternoon. Its feed has to welcome all of them while still looking like one institution. ## The short version - Strong museum social media combines one house frame for the museum with a distinct colour world for each exhibition. - Visitor information such as opening hours, closures and access should be posted as clear, repeatable graphics that are easy to update. - Object stories, one item explained across a short carousel, suit museum collections because they reward curiosity. - Education posts work best when they name the audience in the first line, such as schools, families or adult learners. - Shared templates and roles let curators, education and marketing teams post in one consistent voice. Good **museum social media** does three jobs at once: it sells the current exhibitions, it shares the collection in a way that makes people curious, and it tells visitors exactly when and how to come. The museums that do it well use one house frame for the institution, give each exhibition its own colour world inside that frame, and treat visitor information as a design system rather than a scramble every bank holiday. ## Who a museum feed is talking to Before you design anything, be honest about the audiences. Each wants something different from the same account, and a feed that serves only one of them leaves the rest scrolling past. Plan a mix across the month, much as you would with [content pillars](https://gradiently.design/guide/content-pillars). | Audience | What they want | Posts that serve them | | --- | --- | --- | | Local families | Something to do this weekend | Holiday activities, trails, free days | | Schools and teachers | Bookable, curriculum linked visits | School programme, booking windows | | Tourists | Is it worth the trip, and when is it open | Highlights, opening hours, getting here | | Members and regulars | What is new and what is exclusive | Previews, late openings, member events | | Specialists | Depth and expertise | Object stories, curator notes, research | Five audiences on one account. A month that touches all of them feels generous rather than random. ## A series look for each exhibition Temporary exhibitions are the museum's headline acts, and each deserves a look people recognise across posters, posts, banners and the shop. The trick is to keep the museum's frame fixed (logo position, typeface, layout) and let the exhibition change the colour and atmosphere inside it. Visitors learn both: this is the museum, and this is that show. [Sub-brands](https://gradiently.design/guide/sub-brands) explains the same idea for companies. - Sunken Ships: deep sea to gold: `linear-gradient(165deg, #0b1d2a 0%, #1f4e5f 50%, #c9a227 100%)` - Bronze Age: ember to earth: `radial-gradient(circle at 30% 30%, #fde68a 0%, #d97706 45%, #451a03 100%)` - Night Sky: dusk to indigo: `linear-gradient(150deg, #f5f3ff 0%, #a78bfa 50%, #312e81 100%)` Three exhibitions, three colour worlds, one museum frame. Each blend says something true about its show. ### Fixed by the museum - Logo and its position - Typeface and type sizes - Layout of the date and ticket line - Credit line format for objects - Tone of voice ### Changed by each exhibition - Colour world and background - Key image or object - Exhibition title lettering - Mood of the motion, if any - Hashtag and campaign line A portrait museum post launching an exhibition called Sunken Ships, opening 6 March with free timed tickets The exhibition launch post in the show's own colour world. A wide Facebook event cover for the Sunken Ships exhibition, now open until 30 August The same look as a Facebook event cover at 1920×1005, for the opening weekend. ## Object stories from the collection The permanent collection is a museum's greatest content advantage: thousands of objects, each with a story nobody else can tell. A short [carousel](https://gradiently.design/guide/instagram-carousel-design) built around one object rewards the curious and gives people a reason to save it and come back. Run it as a weekly series with a fixed name and the same first slide, so followers start to look out for it. 1. **Slide 1: the hook** A question or a surprising line in the series frame. "Why does this jug have two faces?" 2. **Slide 2: the object** A clean photograph, whole and uncropped, with its credit line beneath. 3. **Slides 3 and 4: the story** Two short paragraphs at most, one idea per slide. Detail shots help. 4. **Slide 5: where to see it** Gallery and floor, plus opening hours. This turns curiosity into a visit. A portrait carousel cover in a museum's Object of the week series asking why a jug has two faces The first slide of an object story. A real question from the object, in the museum's fixed series frame. ## Opening hours and visitor info that stay right Visitor information is the least glamorous post a museum makes, and one of the most useful. People search for it, screenshot it and share it with whoever they are visiting with. It goes wrong in two ways: it is hard to read, or it is out of date. Fix both with a fixed template you update rather than redesign. - **Opening hours** as one block, days on the left, times on the right, with the last entry time. - **Closures and changes** in the same frame with one bold line: "Closed 25 and 26 December". - **Late openings** as their own recurring card so regulars recognise them. - **Access**: step free routes, quiet hours and facilities, written plainly. - **Getting here**: the nearest station or bus and where to park, if there is anywhere. A vertical story showing museum opening hours from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, with last entry and free entry A visitor info story to pin as a highlight. Update the detail line; never rebuild the design. > **Check contrast for every visitor** Visitor info is read by everyone, including people with low vision. Keep its type large and its contrast high; [colour contrast and accessibility](https://gradiently.design/guide/color-contrast-accessibility) gives the numbers to aim for. ## Education and family posts Learning programmes fill the building on weekdays and in school holidays, but they compete for attention with the exhibitions. Name the audience in the first words of the design, "For schools", "For families", "Adult course", so the right people stop and everyone else scrolls on without feeling sold to. Teachers book a term ahead, so post school programmes before the term they are for, and family activities two to three weeks before each holiday. ## Running museum social media as a team Curators, the education team, marketing and front of house all have something to post. Without a system you get five looks and five voices. Shared templates fix most of it: an exhibition launch, an object story, an event card and a visitor info card cover most weeks. [Behind the scenes content](https://gradiently.design/guide/behind-the-scenes-content) from conservators and technicians fills the rest and is often what followers love most. In Gradiently, each exhibition can be a brand of its own under one account, with its Mark, palette and fonts in a brand kit, while the museum's frame lives in shared templates. With Pro, [team workspaces](https://gradiently.design/guide/teams-and-workspaces) give curators editor access and volunteers viewer access, comments keep sign off in one place, and every launch post resizes to every size in one step. ## FAQ ### What should a museum post on social media? A mix of exhibition news, stories about objects in the collection, education and family events, behind the scenes moments and clear visitor information. ### How do museums make each exhibition look different but still on brand? Keep the museum's frame fixed, such as the logo, typeface and layout, and change the colour world and key image for each exhibition. ### How often should a museum post opening hours? Pin them as a story highlight, repost them before holidays and closures, and include them on the last slide of object stories so curiosity turns into visits. ### What is an object story post? A short carousel about one item in the collection: a hook, the object with its credit line, its story in a few slides and where to see it.