For my Capstone Project, I analyzed the affects that implementing social media marketing can have on small non profit businesses using real world experience with The Food Saved Me Institute.
Overview
I had been working at the Food Saved Me Institute for a few months before I proposed this project: using my work and it’s very real effects during the course of my final semester in college to compile a final research based presentation on the effects of using social media to market for a non profit organization.
The Research:
Over the course of the project, beginning in late August and ending in mid-late November, I noted everything, including analytics on every account I managed (follower count, likes, comments, shares, and views), how my designs changed over the course of the research, and the overall affect the social media marketing seemed to be having.
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When noting analytics, I observed everything in small periods of about two weeks, noting changes in follower count, likes, and views, using the graphs provided by the social media platforms to analyze when content was getting the most views or which designs helped the account gain the most followers.
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Over the course of my research, my designs changed in response to the analytics for each piece of media I posted, while also keeping my own style of design intact. I tried to utilize lots of color and shapes while moving away from photo graphics to drawn graphics.
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Since the primary target of my social media marketing was to promote a class, I also did an overview at the end of the research period to note how my marketing affected the sales of that class, or other classes by association.
Instagram:
Instagram was my main point of focus over the course of my research. It experienced the most initial growth, even surpassing 200 followers shortly after resuming posts on the platform. I posted once a week, beginning with my usual schedule, then switching to a recommended posting time my scheduling program gave me. About halfway through the semester, after this change, Instagram engagement stalled. I went back to my old schedule, but did not see a change, so I determined the stall to just be a typical stall that occurs in social media posting. Over all, the Instagram account did grow significantly and kept an upwards trend in all forms of engagement throughout the course of the semester.
Total Follower Increase: 27
Post with the Most Interaction:
Most Recent Post:
Post with the Least Interaction:
First Post:
Facebook:
When I began the social media marketing, Facebook was the one platform I had enough of a head start in, since the account already had over 1,000 followers. When I began my weekly posting, I stuck to the same schedule as every other platform, then switched to the recommended posting time. Once I did that, the engagement growth increased SIGNIFICANTLY, with some of my posts even going over 500 views. My research concluded with the account at nearly 1.3k followers and a definite increase in interactions and views.
Total Follower Increase: 37
Post with the Most Interaction:
Most Recent Post:
Post with the Least Interaction:
First Post:
LinkedIn:
While admittedly I did not focus on LinkedIn as much as Instagram or Facebook, I still wanted to add some focus on the more professional side of media. LinkedIn was full of opportunity to foster some more professional growth. While LinkedIn didn’t experience as much growth as the other two platforms, it still did grow, which I was happy to see. I’ve even gotten a few notifications letting me know that the profile has shown up on lots of searches, and I’ve noticed a very slow but upwards trend in engagement like new followers, likes, and views.
Total Follower Increase: 2
Post with the Most Interaction:
Most Recent Post:
Post with the Least Interaction:
First Post:
YouTube:
My YouTube research didn’t begin until about halfway through this project, and I only managed to get about four videos uploaded. However, the four videos I did get posted were overall successes and very good in reviving the YouTube presence of the Institute. The views of the channel increased by over 500%, and we gained EIGHT new subscribers in about two months. While those aren’t earth-shattering numbers, it was super interesting research and good to see.
YouTube Subscriber Increase: 8
Video with the Most Interaction:
Most Recent Video:
Video with the Least Interaction:
First Video:
Conclusion
With the new reintegration of social media posting, the online presence of the Institute was revived on more than just one account, and helped bring new attention to the company. My main goal was to promote the Neurodivergent Nutrition Masterclass, and over the course of the semester, sales of the Masterclass increased, proving the effectiveness of implementing social media advertisement, even just a super basic one post a week schedule.
I’d like to thank Clif Palmberg, Omar Brown, and of course Katherine Lawrence, the founder of Food Saved Me Institute for their help and support through the course of my internship and during this project. I learned so much and will be forever grateful for this experience. I’d also like to thank my classmates from my Senior Seminar Class, and my professor, Diana Rojas, for their wonderful feedback and help during this project.
