AUTHOR=Oliveira Sofia S. , Barros Bárbara , Pereira Joana L. , Santos Paulo T. , Pereira Ruth TITLE=Social Media Use by Citizen Science Projects: Characterization and Recommendations JOURNAL=Frontiers in Environmental Science VOLUME=9 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.715319 DOI=10.3389/fenvs.2021.715319 ISSN=2296-665X ABSTRACT=

Citizen science projects often use social media, which is not surprising since they constitute a great opportunity to recruit, retain, and train volunteers. This study intended to quantitatively characterize the current use of social media by biodiversity- and environment-related projects and to reason on the best management practices. For this purpose, a database of projects was compiled and analyzed. The results revealed that 42% of the projects were present at least in one social platform, with Facebook being the most popular. Facebook posts were mainly intended to raise awareness and disseminating knowledge, but recruitment- and retainment-dedicated posts were also regularly shared.