Blue State Digital, which rose to prominence after handling Barack Obama's digital election campaign, will be running the work out of its London office.
According to Tate's head of comms Helen Beeckmans, Blue State Digital has been hired to look at the organisation's website, e-bulletins and social networking sites.
'This will help Tate develop new and enhanced methods of communication,' she said. 'We frequently work with digital agencies on microsites and other projects, although much development is carried out in-house.'
The Tate Modern has been particularly active in its use of social media in recent years. In 2007 its How We Are Now exhibition on British photography used online photo-sharing website Flickr, inviting members of the public to submit their own photos.
Last year, its Street or Studio exhibition on photo- graphic portraiture made use of Flickr.com and Blurb.com. Members of the public were invited to contribute to a book on the exhibition.
In recent months, Blue State Digital has secured a number of cultural clients including Dirt! The Movie and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
