2026-01-30 Chat and Summaries

The Cosmos Must Be Searchable: 

Advertising Planetarium Programming

in the Age of AI and Algorithms 

with Shanil Virani

Video LINK

Below you can find a list of attendees, AI-generated notes, and a 2-page summary

To see a description and schedule of all upcoming Planetarians' Zoom Seminars, visit https://www.ppadomes.org/events/online-seminars/pzs-schedule

Date and time for the next seminar:

Behind the Scenes with Blender-based Visualization at NSF NOIRLab with Ron Proctor, 2026 Feb 27 at 2pm PST (5pm EST, 22:00 UTC).

Resources

• Shanil's Slides

• Shanil's 3-page Summary with References 

• Responses from the Breakout Rooms: "What are some strategies you currently employ to advertise your programming?"

Information Below

• Attendees

• Chat

• AI-generated Summary

Attendees

1. Alan Gould: Berkeley, CA

2. Rosemary Walling: Marie Drake Planetarium, Juneau, AK

3. Sara Schultz: Moorhead, MN USA

4. Mike Murray: Delta College Planetarium in Bay City, Michigan USA

5. Ryan Moore: New York! (Spirit is in warm Los Angeles tho)

6. Kyle Doane: Nomad Domes, Alamosa, Colorado

7. Jason Trento: Butte College, CA

8. Alby Luchko: Northridge, CA!

9. Carlos Miranda: P-Tech Planetarium, Paterson NJ

10. Mark Percy: Williamsville Space Lab Planetarium (Buffalo, NY)

11. Mike Francis: Newton MA

12. Cal Powell: Alexandria, VA

13. Karl von Ahnen: Santa Cruz Mts., California

14. Frank Florian: TELUS World of Science - Edmonton, from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

15. Eric Oh: Pasadena, CA

16. Jeremy Amarant: SAGE Planetarium, Palmdale School District, PPA President

17. Amie Gallagher: Raritan Valley Community College, Branchburg, NJ

18. Tony Smith: Pullman, Washington, ASP/WSU Planetarium

19. Dário Fonseca: Hemispherium @ Exploratório in Coimbra, 

20. ...and others

Chat

From Shanil Virani | ASP to Everyone:

The_Cosmos_Must_Be_Searchable_Seminar_VIRANI-PPA.pdf

[Attached copy of Shanil's Slides]

StreamAlive was added to this meeting.StreamAlive reads and visualizes the Zoom chat to help you increase engagement in Zoom & hybrid sessions.View our privacy policy at https://www.streamalive.com/privacy.

00:51:06 Sara Schultz: I thought I was more comfortable until you told me that Facebook doesn’t count anymore ;)

mikemurray: Reacted to "I thought I was more..." with 👍

Rosemary Walling (PPA): Reacted to "I thought I was more..." with 👍

Cosmic Kyle Nomad Domes: Reacted to "I thought I was more..." with 😂

Shanil Virani | ASP: Reacted to "I thought I was more..." with ❤️

00:59:05 Rosemary Walling (PPA): What are some strategies you currently employ to advertise your programming? (Question for the breakout rooms)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GsR_hXuyZIyv8sims-7poOKkntBjX13knv7kjxWN6Os/edit?usp=sharing [Responses from within the five  breakout rooms are in this document.]

01:12:20 Jason Trento: Hi, I'm transcribing this call with my Tactiq AI Extension. https://tactiq.io/r/transcribing

01:17:22 Frank Florian (He/Him): I think one of the companies that has embraced Facebook posts successfully to promote their events is the group who did the shows "Mesmerica","Beautifica"  etc.  They can bring in a lot of visitors in cities in different locations.

Kevin Conod/Planetarium: Reacted to "I think one of the c..." with 👍

01:30:49 Sara Schultz: Looks like it is now called “Meta Pixel”

01:30:55 Sara Schultz: I googled it

01:30:57 Sara Schultz: ;)

01:32:25 Sara Schultz: Ahh!  Cool!  I was considering signing up for this 😄

01:32:40 Mark Percy: Gotta go, but thank you very much!  Great workshop!

01:35:58 Frank Florian (He/Him): Thanks everyone!  I have to go. :)

01:37:24 Cosmic Kyle Nomad Domes: Thanks everyone!  Great to see you all.

01:39:44 Amie Gallagher: This is a great presentation! Thanks. Sorry I have to leave early.  Have a great weekend, everyone.

01:45:57 Sara Schultz: Thanks all!!!

01:46:16 Alby Luchko (she/her): Thank you!!!! Great info!

01:46:33 mikemurray: 👏

01:46:43 Martin Ratcliffe: Great work, Shanil, have to jump.

01:46:56 Carlos Miranda: Great job, always great work.

01:48:17 Carlos Miranda: Have to run. Thank you all!!

01:49:32 Karl von Ahnen: Thank you, Wow! I learned a lot!

01:49:48 Jason Trento: Thank you!

01:51:57 mikemurray: I'm trying to "modernize" and this has been really helpful. Many thanks!

Alan Gould: bit.ly/starstuffwrites

Rosemary Walling (PPA): https://medium.com/@ 

AI-Generated Summary

This AI-generated summary has not been edited for accuracy nor does not replace watching the full video. If you find any incorrect or misleading information in the AI summaries, you can let us know. Our contact information is here.

Overview

This seminar focused on modern social media strategies and digital marketing techniques for planetariums and astronomy organizations. Shanil Virani, Cosmic Engagement Specialist at the Astronomy Society of the Pacific, shared insights on how planetariums can effectively promote their programming in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape. The presentation emphasized that traditional methods of promotion are becoming less effective, and organizations need to adapt to new technologies, including AI tools and platform-specific optimization strategies.

Key Concepts or Theories

• Pay-to-play social media: The concept that organic reach is diminishing, requiring financial investment to effectively reach audiences

• Algorithm optimization: Understanding how different platforms prioritize content and adapting posting strategies accordingly

• Schema.org and JSON-LD: Structured data formats that help AI tools and search engines better understand and promote content

• Cross-platform content strategy: Creating content that can be adapted across multiple platforms while understanding each platform's unique requirements

Important Questions Raised

• How should planetarium organizations adapt to rapidly changing social media platforms and algorithms?

• What strategies can resource-limited planetariums use to effectively promote their programming?

• Should the International Planetarium Society (IPS) create a dedicated committee for social media best practices?

• How can planetariums leverage AI tools to enhance their digital presence without requiring extensive technical expertise?

Key Takeaways and Summary of Learning Objectives

• Social media platforms and digital marketing strategies are evolving rapidly, with tools and best practices changing significantly every 6-18 months

• Most planetariums operate with limited staff and resources, requiring efficient approaches to digital marketing

• Understanding platform-specific algorithms is crucial for effective content distribution

• Video content is increasingly important as audiences prefer consuming information visually rather than through text

• Partnerships with local organizations can significantly amplify reach without additional cost

• AI tools can help simplify complex technical tasks like creating structured data for websites

Topic 1: The Changing Digital Landscape

The digital landscape has transformed dramatically in recent years, with traditional methods of promotion becoming increasingly ineffective. Shanil emphasized that websites and email newsletters, while still useful, are "late 20th century technology" that don't fully align with how modern audiences consume information. Social media platforms have evolved significantly, with Facebook—once dominant—now less important than platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube that prioritize video content. The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity has further changed how people discover information, requiring organizations to adapt their digital strategies. These AI tools scrape content from the internet, making it essential for planetariums to understand how their content is being indexed and discovered. Without proper optimization, planetarium content may not appear in AI-generated responses when potential visitors search for local astronomy events or educational opportunities.

Relevant Q&A

Sara: I thought I was more comfortable until you told me that Facebook doesn't count anymore ;) 

Shanil: It's not so much social media, it's the different tools in that umbrella. Facebook debuted in 2004, became ubiquitous by the end of the first decade, but it's not at its peak anymore. It's TikTok that seems to be the number one platform now, followed by Instagram and YouTube.

Alan: What should PPA need social media? How would it go about doing that as not a planetarium, but as an organization of planetariums? 

Shanil: I think it has to be done at the IPS level. Just as we have an education committee and other committees for other tasks, I think there needs to be one on social media and best practices, because it has to evolve as tools evolve and as strategies evolve.

Topic 2: Effective Promotion Strategies

Participants shared a wide range of current promotion strategies during breakout discussions. These included traditional methods like newspaper ads, radio spots, community calendars, and flyers, as well as digital approaches like email newsletters, websites, and various social media platforms. Shanil emphasized that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and different strategies work in different contexts. However, he highlighted several approaches that have proven particularly effective. Developing relationships with local news outlets can be valuable, especially in smaller communities, as it positions planetarium staff as local science experts who may be called upon for commentary on astronomical events. Sponsored posts on platforms like Meta (Facebook/Instagram) can be effective when properly targeted to specific demographics and interests. The presentation also covered the importance of understanding platform-specific requirements—for example, Meta's algorithm favors posts with photos of faces and deprioritizes posts containing external links, requiring users to adapt their posting strategies accordingly.

Relevant Q&A

Rosemary: With respect to the short videos, I know when you go on YouTube, there's something called shorts. Is there some way that you label something as a short, or does it just figure out if it's short? 

Shanil: It looks at the length of the video that you've uploaded. If you uploaded this video, which is now at 80 minutes, it's not going to give you that option of shorts. Posting on your YouTube channel, it may get seen, it may not. You do want the short, because that's going to go to the YouTube shorts, the equivalent of Instagram Reels, the equivalent of TikTok, and you could drive audiences to the long form on YouTube or the website.

Rosemary: High leverage is from relationships, because an organization I was working with was thinking of starting an Instagram, but it's really hard to get the audience there, but if you can get someone who's compatible to your goals to put that on their Instagram or TikTok, then that's a way of boosting it. 

Shanil: That's exactly right. You know, there's no one strategy. There's that top-down approach and bottom-up approach. You kind of have to do a little bit of both to build that audience, because once you've got an audience, then you can curate and cultivate it and expand.

Topic 3: Leveraging AI Tools

A significant portion of the presentation focused on how planetariums can use AI tools to simplify complex technical tasks. Shanil demonstrated how tools like ChatGPT can generate structured data (JSON-LD) for websites, making content more discoverable by search engines and AI platforms without requiring extensive coding knowledge. He emphasized a "work smarter, not harder" approach, acknowledging that while there are valid concerns about AI, these tools can help resource-limited organizations compete in the digital space. The presentation also covered tools like Opus Clips, which can automatically extract short video segments from longer recordings, creating content suitable for platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts without extensive video editing skills. Shanil also discussed the importance of maintaining an accurate Wikipedia page, as many AI tools use Wikipedia as a primary source of information. He suggested that having students or interns update an organization's Wikipedia page could be a valuable project that improves digital discoverability.

Relevant Q&A

Alan: I was trying to think of what category does this fit into, any of the existing IPS committees, and I can't think of one. 

Shanil: Because we're island universes, right? We individually have to bridge and figure it out, and that may have worked in 1999. It doesn't work in 2025, 2026. I think one of the strategies that I'm going to suggest that we as a community do is, rather than individual domes, and rather than even regional planetarium societies, I think this should be the purview and responsibility of the IPS.

Rosemary: So, with respect to the short videos, I know when you go on YouTube, there's something called shorts. Is there some way that you label something as a short, or does it just figure out if it's short? 

Shanil: It looks at the length of the video that you've uploaded. So if you uploaded this video, which is now at 80 minutes, it's not going to give you that option of shorts. When you're doing the uploading, there's an option there to check for shorts.

Actionable Next Steps / Assignments

• Consider proposing a social media committee to the International Planetarium Society to track evolving best practices

• Explore AI tools like ChatGPT for generating structured data for websites

• Look into Opus Clips for creating short video content from longer recordings

• Review and potentially update your organization's Wikipedia page

• Evaluate current social media strategies and consider which platforms best reach your target audience

• Consider establishing a Slack or Discord channel for ongoing communication within the planetarium community

Supplemental Resources and Readings

• Schema.org - Website for learning about structured data formats

• Opus Clips - AI tool for creating short video segments from longer recordings

• StreamAlive - Tool for visualizing Zoom chat responses during presentations

• Meta Pixel (formerly Facebook Pixel) - Tool for tracking website conversions from Facebook/Instagram ads

• Shanil's Medium blog: https://bit.ly/starstuffwrites or https://medium.com/@shanil.virani

• YouTube tutorials on SEO, JSON-LD, and schema implementation were recommended