The Tank Museum has claimed to be the most successful museum-based YouTube channel in the world as it reaches a milestone of 500,000 subscribers, and a total of 100 million views.
The Dorset charity’s investment in the video platform puts its total views and subscribers ahead of YouTube channels operated by The Met and the Louvre. It also leads the British Museum’s 61 million total views, though narrowly behind its 567,000 subscribers.
Head of Marketing Nik Wyness said the museum sees its YouTube channel as “an essential means of reaching a wider audience – helping us to fulfil our mission to tell the story of the tank and the people that served in them.”
The focus of its videos include the history of the vehicles in the museum, mini-documentaries, action from events and videos featuring well known tank enthusiasts such as Comedian Al Murray and Historian James Holland.
The channel, which is produced entirely by the museum’s team, features expert staff members such as Museum Curator David Willey, and Historian David Fletcher.
“The benefits of growing this online community became fully apparent during the pandemic, when they became an essential source of support during a very difficult time,” said Fletcher.
“As a charity in a relatively remote location, it’s important that we are always looking to find new ways to reach new audiences and potential supporters to ensure our sustainability.
“YouTube has allowed us to reach a global audience of tank enthusiasts – and it’s as a direct result of this that we are now generating over a quarter of our annual turnover from non-visitors”.
The Museum’s YouTube channel has also attracted support from large funding bodies like The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Arts Council, allowing them to build on their success and branch out into TikTok, which has currently achieved over 55 million views.
