With Agorapulse, This National Museum Grew to 800K Subscribers

With 12 sites in France, the National Museum of Natural History is a place of culture, teaching, and gathering. In Paris, the establishment is best known for its three flagship sites:

• The Jardin des Plantes, which includes several galleries
• The Zoological Park of Paris
• The Musée de l’Homme

The museum is also a research center attached to the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Ecological Transition. The museum’s work, behind-the-scenes, and news are shared daily on social media.

Objectives: Optimize Multi-site Management and Maximize Engagement

Across all communication channels, Lou Viger, head of Communications, and her team seek to give visibility to the museum’s missions:

• Introduce the different sites to the public and share the cultural agenda, targeting mainly a French-speaking audience residing in Île-de-France
• Engage the online community around the museum’s values and flagship events
• Position the museum as a leading scientific institution by promoting the work of its 600 researchers
• Offer scientific news to the general public and focus the discourse on the museum’s commitment to fighting climate change

“Beyond the mission of event communication, our biggest strategic challenge is the dissemination of knowledge in natural history.”

Social networks are showcases for sharing the museum’s news and for raising awareness about biodiversity and climate issues.

The Digital Evolution of the Museum

Lou Viger started working for the museum 10 years ago. She actively contributed to developing the pool of talent that works to deploy the establishment’s digital strategy: community managers, graphic designers, content managers, editors, and more.

Through the years, she has observed major changes taking place online. For example, pioneering networks like Facebook are now aging platforms that have become standards and are heavily focused on paid formats. To unite an engaged community, a communications team needs to constantly adapt to the new “rules” of social networks: publish regularly, follow trends, and adopt codes that work, even if they are ephemeral.

“It is essential to be very flexible to adapt to social networks and, at the same time, we need a minimum of structure.”

A few years ago, the museum relied exclusively on external service providers to produce its content. That work grew in importance and ended up taking up a large part of the budgets allocated to communication. So, the museum decided to make its content production internal and reruited a content manager for each Parisian site.

 

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Une publication partagée par Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (@le_museum)

But the museum wanted to do even more.

To foster engagement and interest on Instagram and TikTok, the museum had to master the video format.

The museum’s teams are constantly growing their skills to feed these platforms with dynamic content. For example, the Instagram account of the National Museum of Natural History now has nearly 55,000 subscribers and publishes content 2 to 3 times a week.

How to Engage an Online Community

To continue to expand its online community and maximize its impact, the communications team at the National Museum of Natural History relies on three strategic points:

1. Explore new digital horizons

The museum is adopting a proactive approach by gradually abandoning platforms, such as X (formerly Twitter), that don’t meet their needs anymore and now is favoring digital spaces that are more aligned with its values, such as Bluesky.

2. Optimize presence on existing channels

The team adjusts its strategy to reflect the specific goal of each Parisian site to maximize the impact of their online presence. For example, the Musée de l’Homme, with its rich educational and scientific content, relies on YouTube to exploit long and in-depth formats. The Zoological Park of Paris can strengthen its presence on TikTok, an ideal network for short, visual, and dynamic content.

This approach to optimization also involves customizing the written and video content to each network and taking into account available resources and emerging trends.

“It is essential to be very flexible to adapt to social networks, and, at the same time, we need a minimum of structure.”

3. Focus on a logic of efficiency

Efficiency is at the heart of the strategy. Thanks to high-performance reporting tools, such as those offered by Agorapulse, the team analyzes the performance of its publications in detail.

The objective is clear: produce less but better. It is about concentrating efforts on formats, themes, and strategies that generate the most engagement and value for the community.

“When we publish less and get a better engagement rate, we achieve efficiency, and that is exactly the strategy we are aiming for.”

With these three levers, the museum intends to consolidate its digital presence while remaining faithful to its missions of transmission, education, and awareness.

Why the NMNH Chose Agorapulse to Manage Its 3,000 Annual Publications

For several years, the National Museum of Natural History encountered major challenges in managing its social networks:

• Time-consuming planning and publishing activities
• Lack of powerful tools to analyze results
• Lack of time to focus on strategic missions

Although other tools, such as Hootsuite or Meta’s Business Manager, were tested, they proved complex to use, particularly due to the constant updates.

In 2015, Agorapulse became the ideal solution to meet the needs of the NMHN. The team mainly uses two key features that have transformed their daily management:

1. Centralized planning

• Optimal management of the editorial calendar
• Smooth coordination of 3,000 annual publications
• Overview of all sites and networks

2. Real-time performance analysis

• Daily monitoring of the evolution of 800,000 subscribers
• Precise measurement of engagement
• Continuous optimization of the strategy

How the NMNH Uses Agorapulse for Strategy

The reports generated by Agorapulse have become essential strategic tools. Two levels of reporting are systematically used:

1. Monthly points with content managers to analyze the engagement and visibility of accounts
2. Quarterly reviews for the management team, which includes a review of the overall strategy of the sites

The main indicators monitored via Agorapulse include:

• The evolution of the number of subscribers
• The engagement rate (likes, comments, shares)
• The reach of publications
• Brand awareness indicators
• Analysis of performance by content type

“Thanks to Agorapulse insights, we were able to identify that fewer but better targeted publications generate a better engagement rate. This is exactly the efficiency we were looking for.”

Benefits That Made Agorapulse Essential for NMNH

1. Optimized planning

Managing the editorial calendar is like child’s play now that the museum uses Agorapulse. The team benefits from a clear overview, which makes coordination between members easy and makes planning upcoming campaigns simple as well. The result: a flowing and efficient organization to steer their actions.

2. Significant time savings for creativity

By automating repetitive tasks, Agorapulse frees up valuable time for the team. The museum’s communications team can now focus on creating original content and being more responsive to current events. This approach also promotes spontaneity in posting, which enables more authentic interactions with their community.

3. Customized performance analysis

Agorapulse offers powerful analytical tools that help the MNHN refine its strategies. Identifying the best publication slots or generating personalized reports becomes quick and easy, guaranteeing maximum impact of published content.

4. Intuitive handling

The ease of use of the tool, combined with responsive and personalized customer service, makes all the difference. The team benefits from an intuitive interface and is also supported at every stage to get the most out of the platform.

In Conclusion

Agorapulse helps to structure and improve the digital strategy of the NMNH and allows the team to focus on its priority missions: raising awareness, educating, and engaging its community. With a well-thought-out digital strategy, the National Museum of Natural History is positioning itself on social media as a leading cultural and scientific institution. By combining a solid digital vision and high-performance tools like Agorapulse, the MNHN optimizes its online presence and engages an active community.

Discover how Agorapulse can simplify the management of your social networks and maximize your online impact. Sign up for our free trial!