ACRS in Social Media

The Australian Coral Reef Society has had a social media presence on Facebook since 2010, and on Twitter since 2014. The Society uses these platforms regularly to engage with our members, the broader scientific community, and the general public.

The goals of the ACRS Social Media Team are to highlight the research and achievements of our membership, the release of new and important science and policy-related articles, and to publicise our annual ACRS conference.

Social media is an important tool to engage with ACRS members and the public. We have highlighted the ‘Top Tweets’ and most ‘Popular Posts’ in our Twitter and Facebook feeds in 2018. We continue to increase our reach on both platforms by drawing new followers and increasing the reach of our post through follower engagement.

Through Twitter, many of the attendees of the ACRS conference in Exmouth shared their experiences at the conference and the amazing research that was on display, using the hashtag ‘#ACRS2018’. This led #ACRS2018 to be a trending topic in Australia during the conference!

A ‘wordcloud’ analysis of tweets from @AustCoralReefs in 2018 provides insight into the major topics in Coral Reef Science Communication

At this year’s conference on Moreton Island, the Social Media Team would like to encourage those attending to continue this trend using #ACRS2019. Make sure to tag @AustCoralReefs in your posts!

TWITTER STATS @AustCoralReefs

4,340 Followers (>800 new followers)

491 tweets >800 retweets

Avg. 1,800 impressions per tweet

Avg. of 40 followers engage with each tweet

Follower Audience 39% Male, 61% Female

FACEBOOK STATS @AustralianCoralReefsSociety

5,157 followers (>900 new followers)

290 posts

70 photos

188 links

21 videos

Total annual reach +280k (Avg. 972 per post)

Total annual engagement >17k (Avg. 60 per post)

Follower Audience 48% Male, 52% Female