Blog What The Getty Museum Is Getting Right on TikTok

What The Getty Museum Is Getting Right on TikTok

AUTHOR: Aly Gomez

Aug 25, 2025

4 Min Read

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We’ve seen it happen before: an arts org joins TikTok, posts a few shaky videos set to classical music, and logs off when nothing “goes viral.” But the Getty Museum has cracked the code on what actually works for cultural institutions—without compromising its mission or brand.

Their feed is a standout example of TikTok-native content that’s educational, visually bright, and—most importantly—fun. The Getty Museum’s approach hits nearly every note in TikTok’s own Follow Me Best Practices Playbook, from strong hooks and trend-savvy storytelling to behind-the-scenes content and seasonal tie-ins.

Here’s what they’re doing right—and what your team can take from their playbook.

1. They play with holidays (even quirky ones)

Two of their most-watched TikToks are about National Cat Day—not exactly a date you’d associate with a fine art museum. But they turned it into a cultural moment, proving that even tangential tie-ins for an organization can prove to be powerful when matched with highly popular TikTok trends.

The takeaway? You don’t need to wait for International Museum Day to post something. Instead, scan the internet (or our Social Media Content Calendar) for niche holidays and ask: “How would our audience laugh about this with us?” Then build from there.

@gettymuseum 📰 EXTRA! EXTRA! 📰 Getty archaeologists uncover ancient meme… 🪏 Happy International Cat Day from Purrquoise and the gang. 💙 🐈 🐱 #Cat (aka Purrquoise), about 1700-1755, porcelain Chinese; mount French. Getty #Museum 🐱 Magdaleine Pinceloup de la Grange, née de Parseval (detail), 1747, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau. Getty Museum 🐱 A Cat with a Bishop’s Crosier and Miter Sitting on a Circular Building (detail), third quarter of 15th century, German. Getty Museum 🐱 Expectation, about 1865, Henry Pointer. Getty Museum 🐱 Sleeping cat, 1870s, William H. Mason. Getty Museum 🐱 Cat, 1907-43, Louis Fleckenstein. Getty Museum 🐱 Three Cats, 1907-1943, Louis Fleckenstein. Getty Museum 🐱 Alexander the Great under Water, about 1400–1410, from Weltchronik, Unknown illuminator and Jansen Enikel. Getty Museum 🐱 Girl with Cat, 1895-1907, Louis Fleckenstein. Getty Museum #art #museumtok #arthistory #painting #medievaltiktok ♬ Kitty Cat Dance by Steve Ibsen – Steve Ibsen

@gettymuseum Last month we asked for name suggestions for a new face in Getty's galleries, and boy did you deliver. Cat's outta the bag! The votes are in! Welcome to the galleries, Purrquoise! (Everybody say *meow!*) #art #museums #catsoftiktok ♬ original sound - gettymuseum

2. They lean into trends—with humor

Their top-performing TikTok is a carousel of paintings of horses from the collection, edited to the viral audio clip “I don’t need a boyfriend":

@gettymuseum Horses: 🎉 yay or 🐎 neigh? -A Fragment from The Triumph of Chastity over Love, about 1525–1530, South Netherlandish. Getty Museum -Au cirque: Entrèe en piste, 1899, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Getty Museum -#Horse Stable, about 1654, Gerard ter Borch. Getty Museum -Apulian Red-Figure Krater Fragment, about 375–350 B.C., perhaps associated with the Hoppin-Lecce Group. Getty Museum -A Horse Rider Talking to a Man at an Inn, about 1630, Hendrick Avercamp. Getty Museum -An Allegory of Passion, about 1532–1536, Hans Holbein the Younger. Getty Museum -A Horse in Armor, about 1560–1570, German. Getty Museum -A Dappled Gray Stallion Tethered in a Landscape, about 1584–1587, Unknown maker, Prague School. Getty Museum -Head of a Horse, 1843–1845, Samuel H. Owen. Getty Museum #Museum #art #museumtok #arthistory #horsegirl ♬ I dont need a boyfriend - Horse! Party!

We’re in an experimental phase with TikTok where we are balancing storytelling about art and our organization with videos that make us laugh. We hope to convert a chuckle into a follower—and then down-the-road possibly into a lifelong art lover.

—Sarah Waldorf Getty's Head of Social Media

3. They use thumbnails like YouTube pros, crafting a visual brand just for TikTok

The Getty’s TikTok profile isn’t just a list of videos—it’s a visually organized, mobile-friendly grid, like a carefully crafted YouTube homepage.

Each thumbnail uses a clean, consistent font and style. You can scan their profile and instantly know:

What each video is about
What types of stories the organization tells overall
What matters to them as a museum

It’s on-brand, it’s polished, and it quietly signals: “We take TikTok seriously,” while allowing the videos themselves to vary immensely in substance and tone.

Their feed feels like the museum itself: light, bright, and open. It’s not dark or overly stylized. Their visuals are natural, often floral (the Getty’s grounds are famously beautiful), and communicate the emotional benefit of visiting: peace, space, beauty.

This visual identity builds trust—and makes the feed scrollable in a way many accounts aren’t.

4. They balance playfulness with purpose

Yes, they post about viral trends. But they also demystify museum culture—without being pedantic.

From showcasing what to wear to the museum (from real patrons’ POVs), to sharing behind-the-scenes shots of exhibits and upcoming events, the Getty serves a steady drip of useful, clarifying content. You can see & feel their empathy for the patron experience.

And they don’t bury the lede: they consistently remind viewers of FAQs, like that the museum is free. For anyone discovering what to do in LA on TikTok, that’s golden.

Want support creating TikTok content that works?

If you’re unsure how to get started—or how to make this work for your org’s tone and capacity—you don’t have to do it alone. CI’s content team can help you: