⬆️ How to Boost Your AIE Posts

Posting on the Aquaculture Information Exchange gives you the opportunity to find answers to your aquaculture questions, promote your work to a target audience, and share valuable resources.

Today, we’ll show you how to increase engagement on your AIE posts by focusing on posts that ask questions, because knowing how to get good answers is the same as understanding how to get better responses to your posts.

1. Post in an AIE Group

Our analytics show that you’re 33% more likely to get a response when you post in a relevant group rather than just on the home page.

Seeking help on her senior thesis, student Lily Knudsen asked about scholarly sources for the economic value of mussels in a regular post but got no replies. After the AIE Team suggested she post her question in the Aquaculture Economics and Marketing Group, she received three different responses!

2. Provide Context

AIE members will be more motivated to respond to you when they have the context necessary to understand why you’re posting what you’re posting.

That’s what happened when educator Celia Cackowski inquired about K-12 education materials in the Aquaculture Education Group. In her post, she explained that she was preparing a workforce development program and hoped to introduce aquaculture careers to middle schoolers.

In response, Celia was told about multiple websites and resources that helped her refine her project. “It was really encouraging to see that there are several existing programs, so I didn’t feel like we’d have to reinvent the wheel,” Celia told us. “It was so valuable having that background to use as a jumping off point!”

3. Be Clear

Providing context and posting in the right AIE group can still fall flat if you don’t make your main point obvious. Extension specialist Danny Badger emphasized his question in a post with the creative use of formatting.

Bolding his question helped it stand out more, and Danny received several responses with examples of software other aquaculture professionals use to manage their work.

Now it’s your turn

Whether you’re seeking advice, sharing your latest work, or anything in between, we hope you’ll try these engagement tips out for yourself and post on the AIE! You can explore our Group Directory to find the perfect place for your content and start posting.

And remember, we can all support each other by being proactive about replying to posts. Each like and comment makes the AIE a more welcoming and collaborative aquaculture community!

Cover Photo by Mallory Huxford | Virginia Sea Grant