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Saturday, September 17, 2011

How Zoos and Aquariums Use Social Media

Beth Kanter recently posted an entry on her blog titled Bench Learning: Zoos and Aquariums Social Media. It's about a spreadsheet that keeps track of zoos and aquariums metrics on Twitter.

This entry reminded me that I had found some great examples about how zoos and aquariums are using social media and the Internet.

Georgia Aquarium
National Aquarium in Baltimore

The aquarium uses e-mail marketing as a big part of their communications strategy. Their primary newsletter is called Aquamail.

They get e-mail addresses from their visitors through kiosks at exhibits and texting at dolphin shows. Visitors can stay in touch with dolphins or jellyfish by subscribing to Aquamail at the kiosks. The staff holds quizzes and contests at dolphin shows and use text messaging to capture answers and visitor information, and the visitors are invited to subscribe to Aquamail. When a visitor subscribes to Aquamail, they get a welcome message reminding them where they submitted their information and a call to action to update their profile.

More information at From Dolphin Encounter to Facebook Fan.

Other Examples, Stories, and Presentations

38 Ways Zoos and Aquariums are Engaging Audiences Through Social Technology

Using Social Technology to Engage Zoo & Aquarium Audiences

Two Social Media Strategies Perfect for Earth Day! Birch Aquarium and Monterey Bay Aquarium

Two-Way Communication Using Social Media

Zoos Are Among Big Cats in Twitter Kingdom

Social Media: Am I Doing it Right?