A Study on the Application of ShortVideo Platform Mechanisms and Audience Development in Museums : Taking the Official Douyin Accounts of the Palace Museum and Sanxingdui Museum as Examples

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

With the rapid development of mobile Internet, the widespread popularity of smart devices, and the deep embedding of platform algorithmic mechanisms, short videos have become one of the most influential media forms in the current digital communication environment, profoundly changing the ways in which the public obtains information, understands cultural content, and participates in communication. Against the background of the continuous promotion of the cultural digitization strategy and the ongoing expansion of museums’ social functions, short-video platforms have gradually become an important field for museums to carry out public cultural communication, promote digital transformation, and achieve audience development. Through mechanisms such as algorithmic recommendation, feed-based content distribution, interactive feedback, and social diffusion, platforms such as Douyin not only reconstruct the communication logic and visibility structure of museum content, but also promote the transformation of museums from traditional exhibition spaces into digital cultural fields integrating “communication–interaction– participation.” However, in the process of the rapid development of museum short- video communication, problems such as content homogenization, superficial value expression, and insufficient interactive conversion have also emerged. How to seek a balance between the public cultural mission and platform mechanisms has become an urgent issue to be discussed. This study takes the application of short-video platform mechanisms in museums and audience development as its research topic, and takes the official Douyin accounts of the Palace Museum and Sanxingdui Museum as case objects. Based on the SIPS model and audience development theory, this paper discusses the interaction among platform mechanisms, content expression, and audience behavior in museum short- video communication. The research comprehensively uses literature review, content analysis, case study method, and LDA topic modeling to analyze the comment texts of the official accounts of the two case museums, and embeds the LDA topic identification results as auxiliary evidence into the four-stage framework of “Sympathize–Identify–Participate–Share & Spread” of the SIPS model to reveal the audience’s focus of attention, emotional expression, and behavioral tendencies. The study finds that the dissemination of museum short videos is not a process that simply relies on content release to achieve expanded influence, but a dynamic mechanism formed under the joint action of platform distribution rules, content narrative methods, and audience interaction behavior. As a national comprehensive museum, the Palace Museum relies on cultural authority, collection resources, and a mature narrative system to highlight the continuous interpretation of classic cultural resources and the stable construction of public cultural identity in short-video communication. Relying on the mystery of ancient Shu civilization, the topicality of archaeological discoveries, and the uniqueness of local culture, Sanxingdui Museum is more likely to stimulate the audience’s interest in exploration, regional associations, and expressive participation. Although the two museums differ in resource endowment, content characteristics, and communication paths, they both show that the visual presentation of cultural relics, narrative storytelling, professional interpretation, and emotional triggering are important conditions for promoting the audience’s entry into the stages of resonance and identification. The improvement of measurable platform metrics only constitutes a surface phenomenon of audience development, while the substantive change in the quality of the relationship between the institution and the public is the internal indicator of the real occurrence of audience development. Further analysis shows that the current effectiveness of museum short-video communication still largely remains at the level of improved platform visibility and short-term interaction accumulation, and has not yet been fully transformed into stable audience relationships. The main problems are as follows: there is an alignment tension between the content supply logic and the platform recommendation logic; the ways of generating resonance are relatively limited; the conversion chain from identification to participation is not sufficiently complete; the platform interaction structure makes it difficult to support demands for in-depth participation; audience segmentation and differentiated operation mechanisms remain weak; there is a deep contradiction between the public cultural mission and the platform’s commercial logic; and the conversion mechanism from traffic accumulation to audience relationship construction has not yet been formed. Based on the above analysis, this study proposes that the application of short- video platform mechanisms in museums should shift from simply pursuing communication exposure to focusing on audience management. Museums should optimize the content organization mechanism and improve their ability to adapt to platform distribution; enrich the ways of generating resonance and expand the reach boundaries of potential audiences; improve the conversion design from identification to participation and extend the audience behavior chain; reconstruct the interactive support mechanism and enhance the capacity to accommodate in-depth participation; optimize the sharing trigger mechanism and expand the cultural spillover effect of museums; coordinate the public cultural mission with the requirements of platform mechanisms and stabilize the value orientation of content; and establish a long-term operation mechanism for converting traffic into relationships. This study expands the explanatory scope of the SIPS model in museum digital communication scenarios, constructs a research path of “LDA topic identification–SIPS stage interpretation– comparative case analysis,” and provides practical reference for the operation of museum short-video platforms to shift from “traffic acquisition” to “relationship construction.”

목차 (Table of Contents)

• CHAPTER 1. Introduction 1
• 1.1 Research Background 1
• 1.2 Purpose of the Study 6
• 1.3 Research Methods 7
• 1.4 Research Content 8
• 1.5 Domestic and Foreign Research Review 10
• 1.6 Research Innovations 22
• 1.7 Research Technical Roadmap 24
• CHAPTER 2. Overview of Related Theoretical Concepts 25
• 2.1 SIPS Model Theory 26
• 2.1.1 Concept of the SIPS Model 26
• 2.1.2 Elements of the SIPS Model 26
• 2.2 Concepts Related to Audience Development 28
• 2.2.1 Definition of Audience Development 28
• 2.2.2 Characteristics and Mechanisms of Audience Development 32
• 2.3 Concepts Related to Short-Video Platforms 36
• 2.3.1 Definition of Short-Video Platforms 36
• 2.3.2 Structural Characteristics and Audience Behavior Mechanisms of Short- Video Platforms 38
• 2.4 Algorithmic Recommendation Systems of Short-Video Platforms 40
• 2.4.1 Basic Principles of Algorithmic Recommendation Systems 41
• 2.4.2 Recommendation Algorithm Mechanisms on Short-Video Platforms 42
• CHAPTER 3. Current Status of the Application of Short-Video Platform Mechanisms in Museums and Audience Development 44
• 3.1 Overview of the Background of Digital Communication Transformation in Chinese Museums 45
• 3.1.1 Policy Environment and Platform Construction Environment of Cultural Digitization 45
• 3.1.2 Technological Advances Empowering Short-Video Communication 48
• 3.1.3 Changes in Audience Needs in the Context of Short-Video Platforms 51
• 3.2 Application Status of Museum Short-Video Platforms 54
• 3.2.1 Development Stages of Museum Short-Video Platforms 54
• 3.2.2 Proportion of Major Content Types in Museum Short Videos 58
• 3.2.3 Application of Museum Short-Video Platform Mechanisms 62
• 3.3 Audience Structure and Behavioral Characteristics on Short-Video Platforms 64
• 3.3.1 Audience Demographic Attributes and Geographical Distribution 64
• 3.3.2 Audience Platform Behavior Patterns and Content Preferences 67
• CHAPTER 4. Case Analysis of the Application of Short-Video Platform Mechanisms in Museums and Audience Development 71
• 4.1 Case Selection and Research Design 71
• 4.1.1 Basis for Case Selection 71
• 4.1.2 Data Collection and Data Cleaning 73
• 4.1.3 Word Frequency Analysis and Word Cloud Analysis 76
• 4.1.4 Linkage Between LDA Topic Results and SIPS Dimensions 79
• 4.1.5 Comparison of the Weight Structure of the LDA-SIPS Model in the Two Cases 85
• 4.1.6 Summary 86
• 4.2 Communication Analysis of the Palace Museum’s Official Douyin Account 87
• 4.2.1 Overview of Official Account Operation 87
• 4.2.2 Sympathize Analysis—Cultural Heritage Symbols Stimulate Emotional Resonance 92
• 4.2.3 Identification Analysis—Professional Interpretation Constructs Knowledge Authority 99
• 4.2.4 Participation Analysis—Comment Interaction Promotes Cultural Memory 106
• 4.2.5 Share & Spread Analysis—Expanding Public Influence through Social Diffusion and Cultural Re-dissemination 110
• 4.2.6 Summary 114
• 4.3 Communication Analysis of Sanxingdui Museum’s Official Douyin Account 116
• 4.3.1 Overview of the Official Account 116
• 4.3.2 Sympathize Analysis—Visual Symbols Stimulate Exploratory Resonance 120
• 4.3.3 Identification Analysis—Archaeological Narrative Constructs the Cognition of Ancient Shu Civilization 123
• 4.3.4 Participation Analysis—Interactive Topics Promote Audience Participation and Expression 125
• 4.3.5 Share & Spread Analysis—Regional Cultural Symbols Promote Social Diffusion 129
• 4.3.6 Summary 133
• 4.4 Problems in the Application of Short-Video Platform Mechanisms in Museums and Audience Development 134
• 4.4.1 Adaptation Tension Between Content Supply Logic and Platform Recommendation Logic 134
• 4.4.2 A Single Mode of Resonance Restricts the Range of Audience Reach . 136
• 4.4.3 The Conversion Chain from Identification to Participation Remains Incomplete 138
• 4.4.4 Platform Interaction Structures Struggle to Support Deep Participation Needs 139
• 4.4.5 Audience Segmentation and Differentiated Operation Mechanisms Remain Weak 141
• 4.4.6 The Deep Contradiction Between Public Cultural Mission and Platform Commercial Logic 142
• 4.4.7 The Conversion Mechanism from Traffic Accumulation to Audience Relationship Construction Has Not Yet Been Formed 144
• CHAPTER 5. Optimization Paths for the Application of Museum Short-Video Platform Mechanisms and Audience Development 147
• 5.1 Optimize the Content Organization Mechanism and Improve Adaptability to Platform Distribution 147
• 5.1.1 Establish a Hierarchical Content Production Rhythm and Update System 148
• 5.1.2 Strengthen the Dynamic Balance Between Short-Video Front-End Expression and Knowledge Density 149
• 5.1.3 Construct a Content Testing and Iteration Mechanism for the Algorithmic Environment 150
• 5.2 Enrich Resonance Generation Methods and Expand the Reach Boundary of Potential Audiences 151
• 5.2.1 Lower the Entry Threshold of Museum Content Through Multiple Emotional Entry Points 152
• 5.2.2 Construct Differentiated Resonance Paths Based on Collection Characteristics 153
• 5.2.3 Enhance the Everyday Connection Ability of Cultural Content in the Platform Context 154
• 5.3 Improve the Conversion Design from Identification to Participation and Extend the Audience Behavior Chain 155
• 5.3.1 Embed Clear Follow-Up Behavioral Guidance at the End of Content 155
• 5.3.2 Promote the Gradual Conversion from Cognition to Action Through Thematic Content Chains 157
• 5.4 Reconstruct the Interactive Support Mechanism and Enhance the Capacity to Support Deep Participation 158
• 5.4.1 Improve the Comment Section’s Capacity for Knowledge Response and Question Handling 159
• 5.4.2 Shift from Instant Interaction to Sustained Participation Design 160
• 5.5 Optimize the Sharing Trigger Mechanism and Expand the Cultural Spillover Effect of Museums 161
• 5.5.1 Strengthen the Design of Retellable Content Units 161
• 5.5.2 Enhance the Space for Expression and the Possibility of Reinterpretation After Audience Sharing 162
• 5.5.3 Promote the Shift of Museum Content from In-Museum Communication to Public Cultural Issue Communication 163
• 5.6 Coordinate the Public Cultural Mission with the Requirements of Platform Mechanisms and Stabilize the Value Orientation of Content 164
• 5.6.1 Adhere to Knowledge Accuracy and the Responsibility of Cultural Interpretation in the Algorithmic Environment 164
• 5.6.2 Establish Content Review Standards That Balance Communication Efficiency and Public Value 167
• 5.6.3 Maintain the Independence of Museums as Communicating Subjects Under Platform Dependence 169
• 5.7 Establish a Long-Term Operational Mechanism for Converting Traffic into Relationships 171
• 5.7.1 Identify Short-Term Traffic as an Entry Resource for Long-Term Audience Relationships 172
• 5.7.2 Construct a Closed-Loop Mechanism of Comment Analysis, Audience Profiling, and Content Feedback 174
• 5.8 Summary 175
• CHAPTER 6. Conclusion 177
• 6.1 Research Summary 177
• 6.2 Research Limitations 181
• 6.3 Research Prospects 184
• References 187
• 국문초록 198