#TeamFiona - Nonprofits and the Power of Social Media

In the winter of 2017, a premature baby hippo at the Cincinnati Zoo captured the hearts of millions world wide. How? The power of social media.

Via Mark Dumont Flickr Creative Commons

There seems to be nothing people love more than adorable baby animals, especially when that baby animal must overcome immense struggle. Fiona at the Cincinnati Zoo is a prime example of this phenomenon.

There was already a significant amount of buzz around Bibi's (Fiona's mother) pregnancy as a baby hippo had never been successfully gestated at the Cincinnati Zoo. As news of the early birth started circulating online however, Fiona quickly became an overnight sensation.

The Cincinnati Zoo released updates via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as people became increasingly interested in the health and survival of Fiona. The scientific community began to look to the Cincinnati Zoo to study the care of premature hippo calves in captivity as it had never been done before. Local and national news stations picked up the story as Fiona's survival hung in the balance.

The previous year, the Cincinnati Zoo had fallen under extreme scrutiny after zoo keepers were forced to kill Harambe, a western lowland Gorilla who started dragging a small boy who had fallen into the inclosure. Fiona offered the zoo the perfect opportunity to rebrand and regain support.

The Cincinnati Zoo took advantage of the positive attention generated by Fiona and began an extensive social media campaign centered around Fiona and the care she was receiving. In many ways, this campaign restored the reputation of the zoo and returned credibility to the zoo staff as they navigated their way through Fiona's care.

Via Mark Dumont Flickr Creative Commons

By continuously updating their online following across all social media platforms, as well as producing a 10 part documentary series on their Youtube channel, the Cincinnati Zoo was able to keep Fiona is the news cycle for months.

Without social media, this story likely would have only been covered in Ohio. Additionally, it would have been extremely difficult for the zoo to move past the Harambe incident without the steady flow of visuals featuring an adorable baby Fiona learning how to walk, how to swim and eventually how to interact with her mother.

Today, Fiona remains a focal point on the Cincinnati Zoo social media platforms with the hashtag "teamfiona." Their Youtube channel is also frequently updated with videos of Fiona's adventures. Fundraising events have been held in Fiona's honor to raise money for The Cincinnati Zoo's "More Home to Roam" campaign. For a nonprofit, fundraising is crucial and the Cincinnati Zoo clearly understands how to harness the love a community has for an animal and direct it towards financial gain.

Without social media Fiona would not have become the famous hippo she is today and the Cincinnati Zoo's ability to recover both reputation wise and financially from the Harambe incident, would likely have been much slower. Social media is truly a powerful tool for nonprofits when used both consistently and persistently.

Via Mark Dumont Flickr Creative Commons

References

https://www.youtube.com/user/CincinnatiZooTube/featured

http://cincinnatizoo.org/support/more-home-to-roam/

https://www.instagram.com/cincinnatizoo/