How to translate text using browser tools
6 September 2017 A Guide to Public Engagement for Entomological Collections and Natural History Museums in the Age of Social Media
Bryan D. Lessard, Ashleigh L. Whiffin, Andrea L. Wild
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Social media has revolutionized the way research and museum collections communicate with the general public by disseminating knowledge and information in real time. Currently there are limited studies examining the use of social media by museums and entomological collections to engage the general public online. Social media has the power to promote museum and collection events, research, and staff, as well as raise awareness of entomological collections and demonstrate their relevance to the public, industry, policy makers, and potential students of entomology. Here we introduce SCOPE, a new framework for promoting museums and entomological collections using social media. The SCOPE framework streamlines strategy development, content choice, refinement of online engagement, choice of social media platform, and evaluation of social media campaigns using altmetrics. Case studies from the Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, and National Museums Scotland following the SCOPE framework are provided so that other museums, entomological collections, staff, and students can replicate it to develop and maintain their own social media presence.

© The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
Bryan D. Lessard, Ashleigh L. Whiffin, and Andrea L. Wild "A Guide to Public Engagement for Entomological Collections and Natural History Museums in the Age of Social Media," Annals of the Entomological Society of America 110(5), 467-479, (6 September 2017). https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/sax058
Received: 31 January 2017; Accepted: 21 June 2017; Published: 6 September 2017
JOURNAL ARTICLE
13 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
Facebook
science communication
social media
STEM
Twitter
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top