Better #37

Gidday marmot, I mean mate (sorry, marmots on the brain),

This week I turn 43. Which is old for social media (old in general? Jury’s still out).

It’s been 15 years since I first managed a social account for an organisation. And in that time, so much has … stayed the same (you weren’t expecting that, were you?!).

Sure, everything changes constantly - new platforms, new formats, new trends. But the heart of it, engaging people by being genuinely interesting, hasn’t changed a bit. It’s the same as it ever was. And it always will be. Forever and ever, amen.

Because if we respect our audiences - and their time - we’re far more likely to create content that connects. If we start thinking more about ourselves than them, we won’t. We’ll end up wasting their time. And they’ll quietly go elsewhere.

Probably to the U.S. National Park Service’s socials.

Which brings me - neatly - to this week’s guest: Matthew Turner, who runs their pages.

The content is funny, moving, generous, and unforgettable - and a masterclass in what happens when you put your audience first.

Cheers,
Seamus Boyer 👋

I’m excited about today’s interview. Very.

Matthew Turner is the Social Media Specialist at the U.S. National Park Service.

What I love about their content is the balance: it’s funny and silly, but also unexpectedly profound at times. It doesn’t take itself seriously, yet always treats the parks and animals with care and respect (and dignity). The imagery is spectacular, and the captions are close to perfection.

Put simply, whenever Matthew’s posts show up in my feed, I stop scrolling. Because inevitably they brighten my day just that little bit.

And for that, I’m grateful (and just a little bit jealous).

I hope you like it.

👇👇👇

Firstly, Matthew, where do you work, and what do you do?

I’m the Social Media Specialist for the National Park Service where I have managed the agency’s top-line social media presence since 2018. I’m a content creator, manage accounts, develop guidance, and support the field working on social media. I’m based in the Washington D.C. area. My experience creating and managing digital content spans over a decade and includes additional work as a front-line interpretive park ranger working at a variety of national park sites. Fun fact, my first park job was far from social media and involved handing out brochures from an entrance station.

What is your team set-up? How many people, what roles, and how do you divide responsibilities?

We’re not a big team. In fact, as far as day-to-day social media management, <looks around> it’s mainly me. Unless something goes off the rails, then it was, umm, what’s their name? I do have a trusty group of public affairs gurus to lean on who can help brainstorm, post in a pinch, and be another set of eyes and ears when creating content or finessing a message or idea. 

We often get asked if we sit around SNL-style coming up with funny bits. Alas, no, but I’ll sometimes run things by my two orange cats. They’re usually not impressed, or even awake, so I use their feedback sparingly. Wait, something’s happening? Ah, just a hairball.

How would you describe the general strategy? What dials are you most trying to turn week in week out?

We aim for a social media strategy that’s like an in-person, ranger-guided tour: informative, engaging, and sprinkled with just enough personality and storytelling to keep you from wandering off the trail. Oh, no, we lost one.  

The strategy leans on humanising the agency - we want posts to feel like they’re coming from your friendly park ranger, not some faceless bureaucracy telling you to follow this rule, or question why are you doing that, oh, and please don’t pet that 2,000-pound bison because, uh, pain. In essence, we’re aiming to be a virtual visitor center that welcomes people and encourages the public to learn more about their parks.

When it all comes together, sharing engaging content leads to loyal followers, strengthening public support for our mission and enhancing visitor trust and the likability of the agency.

What results have you achieved in your time in the role?

Since deploying the above strategy, we’ve seen tremendous growth across every platform. On Instagram, we’ve grown from about 700k followers in 2018 to over 6.5 million today. We have 2 million on Facebook, 1.4M on X, and nearly a million on LinkedIn to name a few.  Over the last few years, the National Park Service has become a much-loved social media presence that is frequently viewed as one of the more popular U.S. government accounts.

The success stems from the engaging, humorous tone, often paired with amazing images of nature, history, and wildlife, which contrasts with the often-formal or by the book tone of a government account. 

Do you track or measure social media impact against physical park visits? Is that something you actively survey, or are you mostly focused on awareness and engagement as proxies?

Social media certainly has an impact on how people engage with national parks, either virtually or in person. That being said, we’re mainly focused on the awareness and engagement side of things and not specifically tracking visits related to a social media post or campaign. It’s probably safe to say that featuring parks or stories on our social may lead to a boost in eyeballs, more attention, or even attendance, that’s why we always look to include messages about resource protection, staying on trail, respecting wildlife, public safety, visiting alternative locations, etc.

Your post captions are amazing - thoughtful, funny, and perfectly crafted. How much effort are they, and what is the process? I’m thinking particularly of the barn owl post which just blew my mind.

When crafting a post, we try to follow the idea of the “Three ‘E’s,” educate, engage, and entertain. We also never want to post just to post or to check a box. Everything we share should have value in it, mainly an educational component. We want people to leave a post having learned something (maybe without realizing it) or at minimum, gaining a better appreciation for a specific park, programme, subject matter, resource, etc. (and want to come back for the next one.) 

We also know people use social media to be entertained. Adding subtle puns (we don’t go too crazy), a nod to pop culture, repackaging a meme or trend to fit our audience and brand, or just infusing some personality allows people to connect on a more personal level, again, not usually the norm for a government agency. People sometimes throw around the word “unhinged” toward funny social accounts, or that they enjoy some sass and roasting. I’m quick to say that we don’t roast people. Death Valley National Park already does that quite well in July. Instead, we prefer more of a wink and a nod, a bit of sass, but overall, a vibe that we’re all in this together and having a good time.  

Is there pressure to be funny and clever? Do you feel that?

Pressure? In social media? Funny enough, when we do post something more straightforward, there are always comments of “What happened to the funny person?” or “Are ya’ll okay?” or “Where’d the funny intern go?” I like to throw in a very normal post just to see if people are paying attention. 

Due to our more humorous reputation, there can be some internal pressure (just the pressure on myself) to maintain a certain level of quality and engagement. But, just like Yosemite has peaks and valleys, posting on social media has its own highs and lows. One day you may see a funny post perform amazing, followed by a more low-key post devoid of humor that may not garner as much engagement. 

Also, we can’t be funny all the time. There, we said it.  It makes sense for a lot of general messaging, but we’re an agency that is more than just pretty pictures and wildlife. Like Crater Lake, we’re pretty deep. In all seriousness, we manage many cultural and historical parks, monuments, memorials, battlefields, and places of struggle, sacrifice, and change. No matter what, we always want to respect the resource, so I think good social is knowing when to turn on or off the funny.

You don’t just go for laughs - you go deeper too. I remember a post showing a bear with the caption “One minute you’re young and wild, next minute it’s Monday and you’re dialling into a Teams call.” That post stopped me in my tracks (cos I’m no longer young and wild). Do you hear from people who feel genuinely moved or lifted by your content?

The best part of the job is when people comment that one of our posts made their day or that they could truly relate to the messaging. Fun fact: A lot of people really resonate with “Resting Owl Face” and how they too perfected their martial arts skills after walking through a spiderweb. Web on, web off! 

We also get messages that our posts help cleanse someone’s social media feed or offers up something nice amongst the chaos and negativity that can be, well, social media. At the same time, we’ve been fortunate to build a very supportive online community of park supporters and enthusiasts who follow us not just to learn something new, but to be a part of a community that comes together to share meaningful stories and experiences. 

How do you source the images - they are a key part of the content, is it a struggle to get new ones or do you have a long backlog of potentials?

We have the advantage of being a very photogenic agency. From nature to wildlife, we have lots of content to pull from. We have the online NPGallery, which is also available for the public to peruse and download. Some of the best photographers are the employees of the National Park Service. The rangers on patrol, those covering an event or doing a program, or someone just stepping out into a park to take photos. We love to share from parks and are always on the lookout for compelling images to pair with an idea or topic. Sometimes it’s not always easy to find the perfect image for the topic or trend at hand, but overall, we do have some great resources to start with. 

You regularly recycle and repost - do you have rules or a strategy around recycling content - what to choose, when, and how often? 

My motto: It’s always new to someone! Posts on social media can be fleeting. You scroll today and it’s gone tomorrow. The shelf-life of a post, even if it goes fairly viral, doesn’t last forever. Reusing a popular post, revisiting and adding to the text, or even changing out a photo is a great way to repurpose or reuse.  Plus, some topics “bear” repeating. Like bear safety or trip planning.

How far in advance do you schedule these posts?

We like to live on the edge. Well, safely near the guardrail. A big part of managing social media is being aware of the world around you, and that things can change quickly. We don’t schedule things out too far in advance just in case there is breaking news, a post needs an edit, or something really interesting pops up that grabs our attention instead. We may schedule posts related to standing anniversaries or campaigns, but otherwise, we like to keep it more fluid. Was there a question about pressure earlier? 

 
Some zoos avoid anthropomorphising animals because it can undermine public understanding of the species. How do you strike that balance between relatability and respect for the animals?

Our social media occasionally incorporates light anthropomorphism to engage audiences to relate to a more human-like feeling or idea, but it is generally balanced with a strong emphasis on education, safety, and respect for wildlife as wild animals. As mentioned earlier, our main goal is to always respect the resource and that includes wildlife. 

How many sub-pages are there, and how do they fit into your overall strategy or content ecosystem?

We have accounts for basically every national park. So, 433 parks with multiple accounts across the various social media platforms. It adds up. My role is not only to create content for our flagship accounts, but provide guidance, push out messaging, help troubleshoot administrative account issues, and generally help set the tone and boundaries for individual park accounts to follow.   

Here in New Zealand, most public sector organisations have largely abandoned X/Twitter due to low engagement and high levels of toxicity. What’s your experience been like? Are you still getting traction there?

As long as there is an audience talking about national parks, we’ll try our best to be there and have those conversations. We’re still an avid user of X with 1.4 million followers and have continued to see growth on the accounts. Again, we often get comments that our account is a good feed cleanser and a bright spot, so we take that as a compliment. 

Social media is constantly changing - how have you adapted your approach so far in the role, and how are you looking to adapt it to better prepare for what’s next?

Social media is always evolving and to be successful, you must evolve with it. We pay attention to new tools and trends and how they can be utilised in meaningful ways. The number one thing is paying attention to the audience and how they respond to messaging, style, voice, and tone. In the end, that ultimately determines the strategy and how we will pivot or adapt to meet the public’s needs.

Finally - what are you most proud of in your work?

I’m most proud that people enjoy (hopefully) following the National Park Service on social media. When the public comments that they appreciate the work we do as an agency, that is a big win. Managing social media, especially for a government entity, is an adventure, not just because of the bears, but I’ve been truly honored to be able to manage social media for the National Park Service and being able to connect in some small way, all of these special places with the world.

Quick 6 with Matthew Turner…

1. Strategy or tactics?
Strategy.

2. Favourite platform?

Instagram.

3. Least favourite platform?
They all have pros and cons. Is MySpace still around?

4. One public sector account to follow?
US Army Corp of Engineers - Portland.
 
5. One non-public sector account to follow?
Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

6. Something you wish you’d known earlier in your career?

If you come across a bear, never push a slower friend down … even if you feel the friendship has run its course. Just kidding. Why won’t anyone go hiking with me? 

Also, it’s tempting to chase every platform, trend, or holiday (National Pancake Day?) to prove your worth or generate engagement. But focusing on adding value and meaning in a post is worth far greater and offers better long-term success.

That’s it for today, I hope you enjoyed it as marmot as I did.

Please consider sharing this marmot with someone you think might get value from it (honestly this is the best way to support marmot 🙏).

And I’ll see you in two weeks for more marmots on how to get a little bit Marmot 👋