Social media trends move fast. But not all of them matter for your institution.

In this episode, we’re joined by Becky Paxton from Garden Media Group to break down how to separate fleeting trends from the ones that actually drive visitation, revenue, and long-term relevance.

Madeline Walden manages social media for the Aquarium of the Pacific — an audience of more than 3.5 million followers across platforms, including 2.8 million on TikTok.

Email is the most important channel cultural attractions use to communicate with members and potential members. It drives renewals, upgrades, event awareness, and ongoing engagement.

We bring in Sharon Dewar, Senior Vice President of Wild Care and Conservation at Public Communications Inc. (PCI), to break down how PR actually works inside zoos, aquariums, gardens, and museums – and when it makes sense to bring in outside help.

Ticket trades only get you so far. We break down four common approaches to influencer marketing for cultural attractions – media nights, CVB co-ops, big local publishers, and amplified influencer campaigns – and explain why paying creators often drives the best results.

John Abramson – formerly of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the upcoming Nat Geo Museum – talks about creative ways cultural attractions can grow earned revenue while staying true to their mission.

Dynamic pricing is gaining momentum across gardens, zoos, aquariums, and museums. But what does it mean for marketing teams, and how does it affect revenue,

The Google Ad Grant offers up to $10,000 a month in free search ads for qualifying nonprofits, including gardens, zoos, aquariums, and museums. But without the right setup, much of that potential goes unused. 

We’re joined by Anna Graham, Manager of Marketing Services at Ricoh USA, who shares how AR is being used across the cultural attraction space to enhance exhibits, tell mission-driven stories, and even sell more tickets.

Shawna shares how she and her team created a system and culture for employees across all departments to create and amplify social media content for Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

Jenny makes the argument that most nonprofit attractions don’t need a separate, disjointed tourist marketing plan. They need more influencer marketing. 

We’re joined by an expert social media marketer in the family entertainment center space to learn how they quickly and cost-effectively create UGC content for attractions.

We talk to Eric about how the team turned bold questions into real change—like letting dogs visit the zoo and becoming the first Certified Autism Center zoo in the world.

We’re joined by Wendy Babineaux from the Houston Zoo to dive into how her team rolled out dynamic pricing—starting cautiously with Zoo Lights in 2019 and gradually expanding across general admission.

Most nonprofit attractions are doing some sort of ticket trade in exchange for influencers posting content . Jenny lays out a few reasons why to financially compensate influencers and shares tips on how to do it.

Nancie from Noetic Consultants shares her 4 key steps of rebranding nonprofit attractions.

Corey Romberg joins us to share his ideas on enhancing guest engagement through multi-sensory experiences, storytelling, and audience-focused programming.

Diana Vega from Zoo Miami discusses how collaboration and creativity can elevate guest experiences at nonprofit attractions.

Jenny breaks down what nonprofit, cultural attractions would lose if the TikTok ban comes to fruition.

Briana and her team won APGA’s 2024 Marketing Excellence Award. She shares insights from this award-winning campaign: Derecho Recovery.

Erin Ward from the Palm Beach Zoo joins us to talk marketing. This is a great listen for any marketing director at a zoo, aquarium, garden, or museum.

Attraction veteran, David Rosenberg, shares his thoughts on seamless visitor experiences, networking, and, Gen Z. 

Jenny considers influencer marketing a ‘paid advertising’ tactic, not just a PR play. She argues that we need to look at influencer marketing the same way as we look at billboards, radio, or any other form of advertising. 

One of the pain points for marketing teams always seems to be their organization’s ticketing system. We brought in Michelle Paul from BackOffice Thinking to get her thoughts on how marketing can get the most out of their ticketing system. 

Scott McPherson joins us to talk about creating and marketing events to bring new, diverse audiences to the garden. We dive into how and why he uses influencer marketing in his advertising strategy.

Google wants to give every non-profit attraction $10,000/month in free advertising. But, some zoos, aquariums, museums, and gardens don’t maximize this program…or…don’t utilize it all.

Recently one of Jenny’s marketing clients – a large botanical garden – invested in creating an online map. So, we asked Anna Busby from Engage by Cell to help us understand the pros and cons of creating an online map for nonprofit attractions. 

Tim Morrow shares his perspective on how ticket revenue can help spread the mission for nonprofit attractions. He aims to make San Antonio Zoo not just the top zoo in Texas but the top attraction in the state. He spent 18+ years with SeaWorld and talks about what he’s brought from the for-profit side to the nonprofit side.

We talk with ATL Bucket List to learn some best practices on how influencers want to work with nonprofit attractions. We talk about what makes a good brief for a creator, sharing your attraction’s ‘hidden gems,’ and whitelisting creator content for ads.

Jack Stevenson from Cedar Fair Entertainment has produced 50+ events for theme parks. Hear Jack’s approach to increasing attendance with events.