Case Study: California Academy of Sciences achieves increased ticket sales and engagement with Facebook

Extending the Museum Experience

California Academy of Sciences, a multifaceted museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, sought to boost ticket sales for daytime visits and its weekly NightLife 21+ events while growing Page likes and engagement despite limited marketing resources. As a nonprofit focused on science education and outreach, it needed a cost-effective way to stay top-of-mind with local, science-interested audiences.

CAS used Facebook Pages, boosted posts and link ads with postcard-style images and “Learn More” calls-to-action, targeted college-educated Bay Area adults with science and museum interests, integrated social plug-ins on its site, and added a conversion pixel to track purchases. The campaigns drove measurable results: 23% increase in website referral traffic (2013–2014), a 6× higher click-through rate vs. other digital ads, 34% of new likes from Facebook ads, Facebook became the top referrer, and the team could directly track increased online ticket sales.

California Academy of Sciences

Amie Wong

Senior Digital Marketing Manager