3 digital lessons the Minnesota Zoo can teach your brand

Visuals provide the foundation for engaging the public online

As parents of two extremely energetic children under age 2, we are frequent visitors to the Minnesota Zoo. We ponied up for a membership a number of years ago. It’s a great way for us to get out of the house on a cold, winter’s day and head to a more “tropical” environment indoors at the zoo. The kids wear themselves out while learning a thing or two about the animals. It’s perfect for our family.

Not every state’s so lucky. Many don’t have the tremendous resource we have in Minnesota. Part of its success is the public support it enjoys. And now, a piece of that work involves digital communication strategies.

Surprisingly, the Minnesota Zoo is very active online. Strong Facebook and Twitter communities—as well as YouTube and FlickR accounts to house the plethora of videos and photos the zoo collects—make this organization one of the more active in the Twin Cities. It also recently started a blog that chronicles zoo development, animal baby births and other zoo events.