How the Black Country Living Museum took TikTok by storm

The Tipton Road attraction had to close its doors to visitors twice during the national lockdowns and when it has been open over the summer months had to accept fewer visitors through the doors due to social distancing.

Abby Bird, the museum's communication's manager, was keen to find a virtual way to continue to share the Black Country's story – especially to a younger generation who are connected online but are often under-represented when it comes to physically visiting the museum.

So the museum launched its own TikTok account in August – and has since produced a wide range of engaging, educational and funny content designed to drive audience engagement.

In just four months, the account has reached more than 10 million viewers and has grown from zero to more than 300,000 followers in that time – making it the most followed museum in the world on the TikTok app.

Every video is now viewed by at least tens of thousands of people, with posts routinely reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers and many getting into the millions.

And this month it reached new heights by being included on the official UK TikTok 100 list.

Many of the museum's characters have taken on their own version of TikTok fame too – from the 1920s grandad giving his reassuring brand of Black Country life advice to the 1940s girl sharing the vital roles of women in Britain during Second World War.

The museum has also started playful trends, creating #MuseumBeef to engage other organisations to join in and take part in educational challenges. Museums both in the UK and further afield have continued to respond, including the Museum of London, Beamish and Old Salem Museums & Galleries, North Carolina.

Ms Bird said: "We are now officially in the top 100 UK of TikTok accounts and we are currently the most followed museum in the entire world on the platform.

"Worldwide pandemic or not, it would be impossible for that not to have a positive impact on us as a museum.

"Due to Tier 3 restrictions we are currently only able to welcome visitors physically to the site on limited days for our grounds-only offer. Therefore, the kind of impact we are achieving with TikTok is a complimentary way to make sure we are still building a long-term relationship with our audiences and through digital channels such as visits to the website, as well as social media reach and engagement, we will be able to foster that relationship which puts us in a good position to drive physical visits for the future.

"Our success on TikTok enables us to build brand salience and stand out to potential new visitors, which is an enormous win. We are a museum and a charity and, as well as being financially independent, we are also here to tell the Black Country’s story and Britain’s national story in a way that’s accessible, meaningful and engaging.”

Natasha Eden, chief operating officer at the Black Country Museum, added: “I am absolutely thrilled with the museum’s success on TikTok. It’s presented us with an incredible opportunity to meaningfully engage with a younger audience and showcase our wonderful museum and historic characters.

"As a museum and a charity, our fundamental goal is to tell the Black Country’s story in a way that is appealing and accessible. The pandemic has made this more apparent than ever.

"At a time when many of us are not physically able to visit museums, being able to occupy digital spaces in ways that capture people’s attention and imagination is so important.

"This partnership will allow us to continue to do that in new and creative ways, and I can’t wait to see what the future brings.”