Engaging millennials in public gardens through digital and social media strategies

Abstract

Social media is an important element of modern nonprofit communication, and is widely accepted within the field of public horticulture. However, there is little data to support public garden social media professionals as they create social media engagement strategies. This research combines nonprofit best practices, current public garden social media strategies, and millennial preferences for public garden social media interaction to develop an understanding of effective social media strategies for millennial engagement with public gardens. Results show that millennials are excited about future involvement with public horticulture, and there are many possibilities to develop strong relationships between this generation and public gardens. Many current public gardens social media practices fit with millennial preferences, but there are areas for improvement and exploring new strategies. Opportunities revealed by this research include exploring new social media platforms, developing edutainment content, and soliciting donations through social media.