FWNC Social Media Strategy

My authority to suggest social strategies for the Fort Worth Nature Center lies almost entirely in my addiction to Instagram Reels, but perhaps also in my multiple years of experience working in marketing and PR for TCU, Rally Department, and Sun Public Relations - take your pick.

Active and engaging online presence is critical to any organization's success. Social media is how you draw people in with relevant content that hopefully spirals into a subset of brand loyalty, in this case consistent visitation to the FWNC. While there are endless approaches to social media management (and in truth, the "right" approach is constantly changing as the platform is dictated by audience whims) I suggest the following ideas to begin enhancing the FWNC social accounts in a way that is manageable and sustainable for the existing team:

1. Creating and Highlighting an Event Calendar

The program calendar is hidden on the FWNC website, and is admittedly a thorough (yet sketchy) PDF. I suggest we create a graphic for each month of programming that can be posted on socials and pinned to the top of the feed so visitors can see the next few weeks of events at a glance. 

There are so many amazing, affordable events happening! They need to be advertised. Additionally, content capture at these programs is crucial for recap posts and continued promotion.

Here is an example that one TCU organization - Her Campus - has:

2. Invest in a Linktree

A linktree is a convenient way to add all the links you want consumers to have access to into your social media bios without overcrowding it. It's simple to make, and can be easily updated to include new links as needed. See the Her Campus template again below.

Examples we could include in the linktree are:

• Direct access to purchasing entry tickets
• A Google Maps directions link
• Current month's programs
• Any recent news features or stories
• YouTube and X accounts
• Contact Information

(Pasting links into comment sections is ineffective and people never click on them because they physically can't. People are used to being directed to the "link in bio.")

3. Get Trendy

Part of impactful social media is capitalizing on trending sounds and video ideas. These vary by platform and of course must be tone adjusted to be appropriate for the nature center, but ultimately, getting on people's "for you" pages requires sticking with the times. 

Some current trending videos (that will probably be old news in a few weeks, thanks to the nature of the internet) include:

• Somebody's watching me, it's my anxiety
• Frozen song
• Flipped perspective pic
• Sports Car by Tate McRae
• Kendrick Lamar halftime performance

It takes a little creativity to work these into the FWNC messaging, but it's entirely possible!

Other strategy suggestions might include:

1. Capitalizing on local media spots and getting intentional about PR and earned media
1. Reach out to local news outlets
2. Create a reporter pitch list
3. Send story pitch emails to media lists to land features
2. Vary long and short form content
1. Utilize Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X, and even LinkedIn
3. Plan a content calendar
1. Schedule posts/ideas in advance to make posting seamless and simple
4. Curate a content library
1. Generate photos and videos regularly to create a backlog of resources
5. Make "Day in the Life" and interview style content
1. Approachable AND informative

The key to social media is just consistency. Once we establish a messaging and branding plan, curating content will come more naturally. 

Here's to the second half of the semester!