Social media for museums and galleries: a practical guide for 2026

People visit a museum or gallery because something caught their eye: a single object, a new show, an evening event or a rainy-day plan for the children. Social media is where that first spark happens, and where people check opening times before they set off.

Instagram suits close-ups, installation shots and short videos of a show being hung. Facebook reaches local families, schools and older visitors and suits events and opening hours. A Google Business Profile is where visitors check hours, admission and directions; Google says you can publish updates, offers and events there, and event posts take a title with start and end dates and times. TikTok and YouTube suit curators and conservators explaining one object well, and LinkedIn helps with corporate hire, partnerships and recruitment.

Source: Google Business Profile Help: Create & manage posts on your Business Profile, checked 15 October 2026

Three to five posts a week is plenty for most museums and galleries. Build them around what you already have: a collection that rarely changes, a programme of shows and events, and people with real expertise.

• Monday: object of the week. One item, one photo, one surprising fact.
• Tuesday: behind the scenes. Conservation, packing a loan, hanging a show.
• Wednesday: a person. A curator, a volunteer, a guard who knows every room.
• Thursday: what is on this weekend, with times and prices.
• Friday: a question for followers, such as which painting they would take home.
• Stories through the week: today's opening hours, a quiet gallery at 10am, a sold-out talk.
• Before each new exhibition: a countdown of three or four posts, then opening-day photos.

Owning a painting does not mean you own its copyright. In the UK, copyright in artistic works lasts 70 years after the artist's death, so many modern and contemporary works are still protected, often by the artist's estate. The Intellectual Property Office's copyright notice on digital images says photographing a work that is protected by copyright could infringe it, while a photo of a room where the artworks are only incidental is less of a concern. It also says taking a photo of something not protected by copyright is not an infringement.

Section 62 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 says copyright is not infringed by making a photograph or film of buildings, sculptures, models for buildings and works of artistic craftsmanship that are permanently situated in a public place or in premises open to the public. It does not cover paintings, prints or photographs on your walls, and it does not cover works on temporary loan.

Some uses without permission are allowed under fair dealing exceptions, such as criticism and review with a sufficient acknowledgement, but the IPO says the test is whether a fair-minded and honest person would have dealt with the work the same way. In the US, the Copyright Office lists four fair use factors and says there is no formula for a safe amount. For promotional posts, permission is the safer route.

• Keep a rights list for every work you post: artist, dates, who holds copyright and what you may do.
• Check loan agreements before posting anything from a temporary show. Lenders often set photo rules.
• Credit every work with artist, title, date and owner, but remember credit is not permission.
• Put your visitor photography rules on a sign at the entrance and on your website.

Sources: GOV.UK: How long copyright lasts, checked 15 October 2026; GOV.UK (Intellectual Property Office): Copyright notice, digital images, photographs and the internet, checked 15 October 2026; legislation.gov.uk: Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 62 (works on public display), checked 15 October 2026; GOV.UK (Intellectual Property Office): Exceptions to copyright, checked 15 October 2026; U.S. Copyright Office: Fair use index, checked 15 October 2026

A gallery walk-through with a popular song behind it can get muted or removed. Meta's music guidelines say using music for commercial or non-personal purposes is prohibited unless you have the appropriate licence, that the more music a video contains the more likely it is to be restricted, and that recorded audio should not be the main purpose of a video. TikTok says businesses cannot use its general music library for commercial use and should use the Commercial Music Library, which it describes as pre-cleared and free for businesses. YouTube's help centre warns that giving credit to the copyright owner does not give you the right to use their music.

• Use your venue's own ambient sound, a curator's voice or licensed tracks.
• On TikTok, choose sounds from the Commercial Music Library for anything your organisation posts.
• If a gallery plays music, film in a moment of quiet or turn the sound off in the edit.

Sources: Meta: Music Guidelines, checked 15 October 2026; TikTok Ads help: Commercial Music Library, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Common copyright myths, checked 15 October 2026

Photos of real visitors make a space feel alive, but ask first. A clear sign at busy events saying you are photographing, with a way to opt out, helps, and direct permission is better for anyone who will be recognisable.

School visits and family days need more care. The NSPCC advises that children should always be consulted about the use of their photo or video, that for under 16s you should also get parental consent, and that names should not be supplied with images. It also suggests removing location data before uploading. The ICO says pupils, or a parent depending on age, must be informed how photos or videos will be used, and recommends offering an opt-out. For school groups, agree with the teacher in advance whether any photos may be taken.

1. Use a written consent form for any child who will be identifiable, signed by a parent.
2. Never post a child's name, school or other identifying detail with their photo.
3. Prefer shots from behind, hands at work or wide shots where nobody is recognisable.
4. Keep a record of consent and remove a photo promptly if someone withdraws it.

Sources: NSPCC Learning: Photography and sharing images, checked 15 October 2026; ICO: Taking photos in schools, checked 15 October 2026

Ticketed exhibitions, talks and late openings need the price people will actually pay. In the UK, the CMA says a social media post can be an invitation to purchase, that the total price should normally include unavoidable charges such as a per-transaction booking fee, and that hiding fees until later is illegal. A 'from' price is allowed if it includes all mandatory charges. If general admission is free, say so plainly, and make clear which shows are paid.

Disclosure: this guide is published by Zolyp, an AI social media manager. Zolyp plans a calendar around your content pillars, writes and designs each post, and schedules it to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads. You start in review-everything mode, so nothing goes live without your approval. Brand Brain can hold your exhibition names and words you never use, but Zolyp does not check image rights or visitor consent, so confirm both before you approve a post. Plans start at $29/mo. Everything in this guide works just as well done by hand.

• Week 1: list shows, talks, family days and late openings for the month.
• Week 2: photograph two or three objects and film one short behind-the-scenes clip.
• Week 3: interview a curator, volunteer or conservator for a person post.
• Week 4: check which posts brought questions or bookings, and plan more like them.

Source: CMA: Providing clear and accurate information about prices (summary), checked 15 October 2026