In showcasing the importance of new developments at BC Whales’ new fundraiser, and research stations the hope is to inspire talented people. This plan aims to motivate them to learn more about whale research in BC, current threats against whales, and the need for further research, funding, and volunteers to support the continued efforts. Current BC Whales media does offer information and inspiration for newcomers, such as photos, and website informational pages. This plan hopes to build on the online presence already achieved by using 4 blog posts highlighting the gala, what life at the research houses are like, and the whales.
Audience
The aim is to attract young students, academics, and current researchers interested in learning more or supporting whale research. They will be targeted by highlighting the current activities that BC Whales is conducting, and how those within the organization are involved in shaping them. This allows them to see where they might fit into supporting or growing BC whales as an organization.
Research
Online communication is the best way to reach young students, academics, and current researchers, with long version formatting being an important part of what drives these readers. According to Curata, a US-based content marketing software company, long-form content leads to eight times more page hits, and three times the social media shares than short-form content. This is echoed by Demand Metric, a leading market advisory firm, who adds that consistency is key and on average organizations with blogs have 67% more leads per month. An impression should be gained before posting by using a random sample of current blog subscribers. To gain an understanding of any changes in the impression they’ll be given a survey after they read the blog post to gauge if their perceptions have increased positively.
Additionally, Statistics Canada published in a 2018 Canadian Internet Use Survey that over 90% of people aged 15-30 self-reported that they use social media. Of that 30% to 53% have more than one social media account. Directing readers to the blog using social media platforms will be key to increasing engagement. Another way to increase the target audience would be to connect with Canadian post-secondary institutions with biology programs and collaborate with them.
Spokespeople
Capitalizing on previously earned media impressions we will be relying on Janie Wray and Hermann Meuter as the lead voices of the posts. Known for their work in whale research, Wray and Meuter are invaluable in accessing audiences already engaged with their content. To add variety in experiences our audience can connect to we will also be asking a current volunteer and a research assistant to add their perspective.
Content
Designed to inspire people to learn more about the work that BC Whales is doing and seek out opportunities to engage, posts will be framed in the first person, and not contain jargon for reader accessibility. The focus will be on showing the life of whale researching, with the voices of different spokespeople serving as inspiration for those who want to be in those roles one day. As BC Whales already has a blog, the post structure will be like previous posts, except with a text box containing information on donating to or volunteering for BC Whales and contact information for further questions at the bottom of each post. The post concepts are:
The Gala
Focus: Journey of the gala, showcasing the diversity of talent in BC whales who made the event.
New research houses
Focus: What a day in the life looks like, allowing readers to be in their shoes.
Researching Whales
Focus: What inspired them, how the path has taken them, etc.
New Developments
Focus: New whale and threat development
Calendar
This campaign will be posted over a month. The first post will be posted a day after the Gala, with all other posts put up weekly from that date. This timeline is to secure weekly readers, gain investment in the stories with consistency in additions, and attract new talents before the new intake next year.
To monitor the effectiveness of blog page views and click-through rates to the donation and volunteer application page will be key metrics, as well as impression metrics through social media pages where there will also be posts about each blog entry. This will be reviewed weekly to ensure engagement is on track and help tailor the future post to their interests.
Conclusion
The set of four blog posts will be an inside look at BC Whale’s operations, creating inspiration for readers by providing different perspectives from within BC Whales to engage with students, academics, and researchers in whale research, donations, and possible professional or volunteer opportunities.