Marketing and Advertising for Zoos
July 7, 2021
Like in many industries, zoos are seeing big changes in the ways that they market and advertise their institutions. The advent of the digital era, new technologies, and the challenges of the pandemic have required zoos to bolster their online presence and make it easier for visitors to book and manage their tickets/memberships online.
Unlike businesses or organizations with a narrow target audience, people from all walks of life visit zoos and love animals, which means zoos need a dynamic and multi-pronged approach to the way they develop their marketing and advertising strategies.
Below we’ll go over all the ways you can start improving and revitalizing your marketing and advertising strategies for success in a digital, post-pandemic world.
Zoo advertising and marketing guideline
Before we get into key tips and strategies that zoos can start using today to improve their marketing campaigns, let’s review what you should be trying to accomplish when you set out to devise a marketing strategy.
Here are a few key things zoos should be focused on when creating a marketing and advertising strategy:
- Creating awareness and interest around the institution, its events, and main attractions
- Reminding viewers of the institution mission and the values that your zoo is upholding
- Exemplifying inclusivity and community engagement
- Engaging with members, visitors, and followers online via comments, posts, and shares
- Becoming engaged with your community by interacting with other cultural institutions or organizations relevant to your zoo
- Building and promoting a brand that reflects the goals of your institution
- Highlighting relevant research or publications done through your zoo
- Creating effective partnerships that foster mutual growth and camaraderie
These are just a few big-picture points that can help your marketing and advertising team members stay on the same page. Investing in a content marketing and advertising guideline is an excellent way to ensure quality and control in managing your marketing campaign.
Zoo advertising tips
Even with the right long-term and big-picture strategies, zoos also need to focus on day-to-day tactics that provide clear and direct marketing results.
From a digital strategy to partnerships and community involvement, the below tips can help you promote your institution and reach your members today.
- Digital
- Social media – Social media has changed the way we do, well, everything. And zoos need to do it all if they want to embolden their online presence – they need to be active on the big platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, they need to post videos on YouTube and Flickr, and they need to create conversation with members and followers throughout all their platforms. One of the best ways to simplify this process is by investing in a social media tool that allows you to manage all your social media platforms.
- Infographics – People love infographics. They’re fun, informative, and visually appealing ways to reformat and repurpose research and old content. Infographics are great for SEO, are persuasive and eye-catching, and will help generate more visitors to your website and social media profiles.
- Strategic Partnerships
- Sponsors – For zoos and many cultural institutions, acquiring sponsors is about more than simply gaining a new source of funding. Sponsorships provide opportunities to connect with organizations and groups that share a similar cultural mission or want to contribute to your cause. When you’re selective in your sponsorships and make connections that are both financially and culturally beneficial, you create an opportunity to grow with that sponsor and reach new audiences that appeal to your cause.
- Events – Partnering with other organizations and institutions for joint events is an excellent way to reach new audiences, generate excitement around your institution, and build relationships that you can lean on in the future. Whether you’re acquiring a sponsor to fund an event or teaming up with another institution, there’s no better way than to generate new marketing content than around an exciting event.
- Local
- Print – Although the COVID-19 pandemic has kept many of us indoors for much of the past year, businesses are beginning to open up, vaccinations are becoming more prevalent, and people are eager to re-enter their favorite restaurants, businesses, and local shops. RIght now is a great time to invest in print media to showcase through the local favorite restaurants, shops, and businesses.
- Community involvement – It’s also an ideal time to partner with local businesses and city groups to get involved with the community. Get involved with local universities for research, invite local schools for themed events, and team up with local gardens to make a positive impact on the community and earn a reputation with locals.
These are just a few tips and strategies that you can apply today to help you promote your zoo and your upcoming events. The biggest point to take away is that you need to be dedicated to a proactive and engaging marketing strategy that enables you to take control of your presence online and in the community.
ACME can help you reach your audience and build memberships
In order for zoos to develop new marketing strategies, they need to start with an informed and data-driven plan. ACME’s advanced ticketing technology and CRM network will give you all the tools you need to track and understand what your customers are interested in.
Learn about your customers, integrate benefits programs into your online platforms, and devise a robust and data-driven marketing strategy with ACME today.