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Dave Parncutt, communications director at the Engage Education Foundation, knows firsthand the value that social media, especially Facebook, have as an effective marketing tool for not-for-profits and small businesses.
The Engage Education Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that aims at reducing education inequality by making high quality educational tools and services — such as notes, videos, practice exams, and even a wiki — available to all year 11 and 12 students across Victoria.
As a not-for-profit, the Engage Education Foundation has limited tools, resources, money and people — similar to many small businesses. Dave highlights how both non-profits and small businesses can benefit by using social media as a major marketing tool.
Dave’s found that, for the Engage Foundation, Facebook has been the best fit as a social media platform for marketing. He’s found that it’s the easiest way to engage their audience of both parents and year 11 and 12 students — busting the myth that Facebook is no longer the preferred social media platform for young people.
Facebook has also provided the Engage Education Foundation with the best return on investment. Though the best platform for a particular business varies based on their product or service, Dave highlights the ease of measuring this return on Facebook with its analytics and insights, and goes into detail about how these can be useful in measuring likes and clicks.
Listen to this Social Media for Small Business podcast to learn:
- Why the myth that “Facebook is dying” may not be true
- How Facebook still holds value for many young people
- How different social media platforms — such as Facebook vs. Instagram — can bring in a different return for different businesses or organisations
- The ways that Facebook campaigns can bring in a significant return on investment — even if you pay to promote posts or use ad campaigns
- How to measure this return on investment on social media
- Why direct “old school” mail can still be an effective marketing strategy for some organisations
Mentioned in this episode:
- E-bay and PayPal split
- Breastfeeding moms are really excited about a Target policy posted on Facebook
- The Engage Education Foundation
- How to increase the Facebook visibility of your local business
- Confetti Design
- StockSnap
This post was co-authored by Courtney Sweeney. Courtney is currently completing a journalism internship at the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. She studies journalism, political science, and public relations at Michigan State University in the United States.
