Using social media to promote conservation efforts: mixing education with events.
In my journey to learn more about how organizations and documentary teams are using social media to promote conservation efforts, I spoke with Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s Laura Andrews to learn more about how the local zoo gains followers and educates the public through social media.
Before going into my interview with Laura, I talked to Eric Stoller from Inside Higher Ed. If you haven’t already, check out my three-part series Come, let’s get social! In the series, you will learn all of Eric’s advice on how to start using social media and tips to keeping a digital identity alive. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo promotes conservation efforts through its Twitter account. Utilizing social media In my interview with Eric Stoller, I learned organizations should have a social media strategy before creating a page. Eric mentioned that some organizations are looking to use social media to make money, build awareness, and some are using its well-established brand name (i.e. Jet Blue) to generate fun conversations with the public. It got me thinking: What is the main goal for using social media in promoting conservation efforts? For Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the goal is awareness. “Chirping” about conservation at the zoo Laura Andrews is a Cleveland Metroparks Zoo marketing and public relations specialist. In order to educate the public about conservation efforts and daily zoo activities, Laura and a marketing team are actively posting updates and multimedia on social media websites like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. I learned from Laura that offering a mix of education and events has been a successful social media strategy for the zoo. For example, the zoo had its annual Boo at the Zoo event and used social media to get people to bring recyclable cans to the event for bat conservation. According to Laura, donations increased about 20%. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo supported over 600 conservation efforts nationally and worldwide. 
It’s not just about saving animals…
During my interview, I also learned that it’s important to remember that conservation could be anything from recycling to saving the rainforest. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo supports all kinds of conservation efforts. In fact, the zoo’s Pinterest page offers recycling tips in the form of pictures. Moving forwardNow that I know more about how zoos can utilize social media, I hope to learn more about documentary strategies for promoting conservation. |
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