Forbes contributor Alejandro Chafuen, president of the Atlas Network, has been ranking think tanks on their social media presence since 2014. And consistently, The Heritage Foundation has topped the list. That’s true again in this year’s rankings.
“When looking at think tank presence in the most popular social media platforms, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, The Heritage Foundation continues to be ranked first,” Chafuen writes for Forbes in his 2017 report.
This year, Heritage also ranks ahead of The Brookings Institution in Facebook, Twitter, and web traffic.
Of all these institutions, Heritage has the most Facebook likes (2,072,000), the most Twitter followers (588,000), and the most LinkedIn followers (10,800).
In addition, Heritage netted the most monthly website visitors.
Since last year’s rankings, Heritage has grown its Twitter audience by 48,000 followers and increased its Facebook likes by 150,000, according to Chafuen’s report.
Overall, online traffic to free-market think tanks has increased significantly. According to data collected by SimilarWeb, total visits to the top think tanks grew by 78 percent.
Every year more Americans use social media to consume content. As these platforms continue to replace traditional media habits, Heritage’s leadership in communications will greatly impact the conservative movement’s ability to promote policies that help America flourish.