The Use of Social Media for Promoting Environmental Education
File(s)
Date
2013-05Author
Deatsman, Rebecca
Publisher
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
A survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect information from
members of the Association of Nature Center Administrators on how their organizations
are using social media, and this information combined with the results of a literature
review was used to write a set of recommendations for social media use by Conserve
School and other environmental learning centers. Of survey respondents, 85% reported
that their organization has a profile on at least one social media site, with the most
popular being Facebook, but most reported that social media use is not specifically
mentioned in the job description of anyone at their organization. Specific data on how
their organizations use Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and video were also collected. Seven
primary themes emerged from the nine interviews conducted, including the type of
content posted to social media, influences on the decision to use social media (or not), the
types of audiences reached, strategies for social media success, the personnel in charge of
maintaining social media use, the benefits and barriers to social media use, and the debate
over whether social media is an appropriate tool to use for promoting environmental
education. Based on this information, recommendations for environmental learning
centers include carefully planning what social media sites they will use, how much time
this will take, and who will be in charge of it; mixing marketing content with fun content;
and being ready for the possibility of criticism. Conserve School specifically is
recommended to improve its use of Twitter, consider expanding into additional sites, and
continue seeking the most up-to-date information on social media best practices.