Introduction

Professor Klaus Oestreicher

Facebook with its 700 million users is a phenomenon, which has shaped a new awareness about social and consumer behaviour. Facebook is forming with Amazon, Google and Apple a new group of enterprises, which were given the name “the Gang of Four”. This ‘gang’ expresses the dominance, which they have achieved in the world of e-business and e-marketing.

Companies all around the world have created Facebook fan-sites in the expectation that this will boost their brands, reputation and sales easily. Meanwhile a lot of disenchantment took place. The problem is that demanding consumers and users of social network sites do not honour simple promotion; they expect much more. This means a lot of effort for companies to create and maintain fan-sites, which results in improved awareness. The users of social networks want interesting interaction and not a simple virtual sales presentation. One consequence is that such fan-sites in social networks are resource-demanding. The myth of cheap e-marketing is not real.

But there is also the sector of not-for-profit organisations like museums. Museums have an attractive offer, but it is well-known that they face increasingly resource constraints, since their budgets are cut more and more. But even more important is the question, whether and how museums are interesting to users of social networks? Very little research has been conducted in this field so far.

Jessica Devereux has made an in-depth comparative research in the field of Facebook and museum fan-sites. Several world-famous museums’ fan-sites are compared in different ways with the little-known museum in Worcester, UK. Jessica Devereux’s results are providing a first entry into results, which invite, even demand further research. The depth, accuracy and new reconnaissance her study provides have been academically highly rewarded. But her study has an enormous potential for museum managers to learn about an effective use of social network sites and beyond museums. Other non-profit organisations can deduce the right conclusions to make their very own decisions how to profit from a global audience, even when reach and scope of their organisation are limited.

This makes this research important and insightful.

Professor Klaus Oestreicher
IPE Management School Paris

About the author

Jessica Devereux is a recent graduate from University of Worcester. She has obtained an Upper Second Class Degree with Honours in Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations. During her studies she participated in a 36 week work placement at Worcester City Council Museum Services.

It was during this period when Jessica developed an interest in marketing on a low budget. This is when she started researching the effects of social media on museums. Jessica Devereux felt that there was a niche in academic research on the links between social media marketing and museums. Therefore, she decided to base her Independent Study on what makes a Facebook profile a successful marketing tool for Worcester City Museum & Art Gallery.

This concept for research was consciously based on the decision to solely focus on Facebook because such focus produces an in-depth report, which I could not have been done otherwise, if it was to focus on the social media market as a whole. This Independent Study was carefully researched, planned and wrote over a period of 9 months and achieved the highest possible mark.

Jessica Devereux’s work placement and Independent Study have now led to greater things. From hearing about her professional experiences and interest in museum marketing, she has been headhunted for her first graduate role as a Marketing and Events Assistant for the Worcester Porcelain Museum.

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