Adult Education learns how to get results from Facebook
Using social media to raise awareness of North Lincolnshire Adult Education’s services is part of Brian Altoft’s wide-ranging brief. As Digital Engagement Officer, he had been using Google to learn how to use social media. The organisation’s largest audience is on Facebook, but Brian needed more training to use the platform to its full potential. He also wanted to learn how to use Instagram and X (previously called Twitter). He contacted Karen Locking at Evolve BD for training sessions.
Initial Meeting
“Facebook is a bit of a rabbit warren,” said Brian. “I could do the basics, but I was trying to learn more. And that was the idea of getting some sessions with Karen.”
For the first meeting Karen visited Brian and discussed what Brian wanted to achieve. “I said I wanted to get to grips with some of the tools on Facebook and look at some of the data on how much was being seen, how many clicks posts were getting etc. I also wanted to know how I could use it more productively and have more ideas for content.”
Coaching
Karen coached Brian in one-hour-long online sessions. Brian enjoyed the flexibility this offered. “The great thing about working like that was we could plan something in for me to learn more about, but if I then felt things were going okay with that, we could reschedule for something else,” he said.
“Between sessions, I had a chance to write down anything I was trying to do or couldn’t do or note things that were happening and if I needed to learn more about it so we could discuss it in our next session. For example, I post to about 20 different groups, but I needed to understand why the admin of a group refused our posts.
“When you have a whole day session, the chances are you are making lots of notes and then not listening, or you forget stuff. Having the flexibility with these sessions means any problem you have, you can easily go back to Karen — that was the best thing.
“Having online meetings meant I could bring my screen up and share anything I was struggling with.
Results
Since Karen started coaching Brian, North Lincolnshire Adult Education’s Facebook following has grown to 2,500. “We have more followers, but the most significant benefits of working with Karen have been improving my skills, learning how to use the platform’s tools, and understanding more what those tools mean. For instance, I can now create adverts, and I can set an audience for those adverts.
“Karen has helped me understand the jargon of Facebook and how we need to interact more rather than just posting. Facebook is a bit less of a rabbit warren now.
“We now have Instagram, which we didn’t have before, and we looked at Twitter and talked about LinkedIn and will be doing a LinkedIn profile.”
“The flexibility Karen offers in the way she works is the best thing. Karen’s knowledge of social media is excellent, and she goes beyond, which is great.”
