Date of Award

2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA) in Digital Journalism​

First Advisor

Peter Kimani

Second Advisor

Wambui Wamunyu

Department

Graduate School of Media and Communications

Abstract

Despite its cultural significance, the Uganda Museum, the oldest museum in East Africa, faced challenges of declining visitor numbers and limited social media engagement. the Uganda Museum's digital presence on platforms such as X.com and Instagram remains underutilized due to a lack of strategic alignment with its mission. This study evaluated the extent of social media use for outreach, identified associated challenges and opportunities and developed actionable recommendations for enhancing the Uganda Museum’s digital engagement. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, which combined 381 visitor surveys with in-depth interviews with 15 museum staff members, and evaluated the Uganda Museum's social media practices. Findings revealed that while the Uganda Museum utilized Instagram and X.com mainly, engagement was low, with 69% of respondents reporting no interaction with the Uganda Museum’s posts. However, 72% felt more connected to Uganda’s culture through the Uganda Museum’s social media. Key challenges included inconsistent posting, limited interactivity and insufficient digital skills among the staff members. Opportunities existed to leverage visitor-generated content, partnerships with influencers, and educational posts to align with audience preferences. The study was mainly built on the Technology Acceptance Model and Uses and Gratifications Theory which indicated that perceived usefulness and state of interactivity of social media platforms were useful in enhancing engagement with the target audience. These results underlined that those employed at the Uganda Museum should improve their skills through; capacity building for staff and collaborating with influencers to leverage social media’s potential in museum outreach. The study findings contributed to the knowledge gap by analyzing how the use of digital platforms in cultural institutions for the preservation of heritage and further provided an explanation of the importance of allocating resources in digital platforms for outreach to enable the financial viability of the Museum. Recommendations included enhancing digital literacy, creating audience-specific content strategies and leveraging partnerships to foster cultural appreciation and financial sustainability.

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