Forbes contributor Alejandro Chafuen has been ranking free-market think tanks on their social media presence for nearly a decade. The Heritage Foundation has earned the top spot on the list for many years and did so again in 2021.
“The Heritage Foundation continues its impressive social media efforts, capturing first place among US free-market groups on all platforms except YouTube, where it came second,” writes Chafuen in his 2021 report.
Of all the think tanks covered in the report, Heritage has the most Facebook likes, and the most Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn followers. 
Heritage continues to put intense effort into reaching new audiences through social media. For example, this year Heritage has started to produce Reels on Instagram; these are short 15-second clips designed to be easily shared. Reels are popular with a younger demographic. The high-quality content and production value of Heritage Reels has resonated with this target audience and led to an increase of 38,000 followers on Instagram.
Heritage also produced numerous pieces of social media content during Women’s History Month. Each day for the entire month of March, Heritage highlighted a different conservative woman from throughout history on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter by sharing quote graphics, videos, and Instagram Reels.
The project was a huge success, with products like Instagram Reels garnering a total of 170,000 views. The Reels alone received more views than all of March’s regular videos combined.
This morning @AbigailShrier, author of “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters” will testify before the Senate Judiciary committee about the #EqualityAct - watch live via @DailySignal https://t.co/dQJLzCSnui#WomensHistoryMonth #HeritageOfWomen pic.twitter.com/FjGyag4icz
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) March 17, 2021
“Conservatism needs storytellers to get its policies into the public discourse,” said Maria Sousa, digital director at Heritage. “It’s truly gratifying to see the talent and hard work going into each of our digital products paying dividends. Heritage will continue to expand its digital presence to reach and influence new audiences.
Americans are increasingly using social media to learn what’s going on and share that information and their own thoughts with others. As these platforms continue to replace traditional media outlets as the primary source of news and opinion, Heritage’s leadership in communications will greatly impact the conservative movement’s ability to promote policies that help America flourish.
