Blog Post 3

4. Social Media Marketing:

Social Media Marketing is a very effective way to promote non-profit organisations, not only it is free, it is one of the easiest ways to engage with young people, who are the target audience for The Next Generation of Liberia project. Instagram is used to post photo and video content targeted towards the  younger audience and Facebook targeted towards the parents and other relatives.

The content shared overlaps across both platforms, I aimed to post at similar times each day, more less. The content constitutes of news, repurposed content, reaction piece from a newspaper, video posts and facts using the key messaging detailed in my marketing plan.

Instagram page was already created in 2020 but only featured 4 posts in that time and had around 60 followers. Since the Instagram's re-branding and regular posting, the number of followers increased to 94. 

I created a brand new Facebook social media page and adopted techniques to boost engagement and brand reliability. I ensured all the logo iconography was integrated in both social media accounts.

Social Media Marketing is a cost effective way to promote non-profit organisations. In an increasingly digital age it has become one of the most productive ways to engage with young people, who are the primary target audience for The Next Generation of Liberia project. Instagram is used to post photo and video content targeted towards a younger audience while Facebook content can also be marketed towards the parents and other relatives.

The content shared overlaps across both platforms, I aimed to post each day consistently before 4 during the week in order to engage and reach as many active audiences. The content consists of relevant news and International holiday posts, repurposed content, articles, a reaction piece from a newspaper, video posts and facts utilising the key messaging detailed in my marketing plan.

The Instagram page was first created in 2020 but was left in active for 2 years and featured only 4 posts in that time, accumulating around 60 followers. I was given full access to the page in April 2022 and since the re-branding and scheduling of regular content the Instagram has amassed an increase in the number of followers to 91. 

I created a brand new Facebook social media page and adopted techniques to boost engagement. I ensured the logo iconography, tagline, theme and posts and website URL were similarly integrated in both social media accounts in order to promote the website, brand consistency and synergy across platforms to ensure brand loyalty.

Social Media Posts 

Post 1: ULOUK - featured a single photo from the ULOUK event in Manchester, which was taken after The Next Generation Project was presented to a local community in Manchester. It includes content   marketing, with a detailed caption. 

Post 2 and 3: Feature two photos of the Ambassador planting trees with children at a school in Liberia. It is a repurposed content, which I reused from a post featured in January on the Embassy's main Facebook page. I decided to re-use this post to raise awareness about the Ambassador's effort in striving to combat the serious effects of climate change in Liberia and to emphasise one of the Ambassador's main initiatives, "Plant one Tree this year".

Post 4: Liberia's Handshake: I created content related marketing campaign, which aims to provide fun or interesting facts on Fridays, which is relatable to the targeted audience. This post has attracted the highest viewings, with 41 likes.

Post 5: National Unification Day in Liberia, content related post to celebrate a National Holiday in Liberia

Post 6: Liberia's Biodiversity Hotspot post, an animated interactive post, designed to raise awareness of the beauty of the Guinea Forest in Liberia.

Post 7: Liberia Cuisine post features several typical Liberian dishes, it is a post to introduce a member of the team who will be featured in the future posts, talking about Liberian food and sharing her favourite recipes. 

Post 8: The Next Generation Logo- this post was created to announce the launching of The Next Generation website.

Post 9: Video content post: I filmed a short introduction to the next generation of Liberia. I interviewed my colleague at the embassy of Liberia: leader and curator of the project, who detailed the aims and purpose of the project, which showcased the face behind the project and has the ability to connect to fellow youth in the UK and provide a sense of authenticity and connection to the initiative, communicating trust and reliability. The video was filmed in the Liberian Embassy conference room and was filmed using a canon 700D to ensure video quality. This post has been approved and is  awaiting the Ambassador's decision of post-date.

Post 10: Climate Change music video to inspire youth to preserve the earth. I compiled a video using the song ‘Save The Planet’ which was produced by a young Liberian artist called Bigtree, who was inspired by the Ambassador’s Tree Planting initiative. The contemporary Liberian song aims to spread awareness of the detrimental effects of climate change that Liberia is facing while also promoting a tree Planting event to inspire climate action among the next generation. The Next Generation Of Liberia invites young people in the UK to join the programme to aid in the fight against climate change and also provides the opportunity for participants to discuss and meet with Bigtree who may be featured as part of the Next Generation programme to celebrate Liberia’s popular culture and unique music.

5. Nonprofit Website:

It is beneficial for most non-profit organisations to have a website, which includes important information about the project, videos, key messages, social media links, donation button, activities, dates, events, news and more. 

First Home page on godaddy.com

I wanted to ensure the website I created engaged the audiences as well as inspired them to want to learn more about Liberia and its culture, history and unique biodiversity. I began creating the website on godaddy.com which provided a free website designer and hosting platform, however after creating a preliminary site I found the site offered limited accessibility and customisation of design elements. In addition, when attempting to publish the site I discovered the monthly price plan did not include the option to create a free customisable domain address for a year in order to authenticate the brand as its own website separate from godaddy.com which would decrease the appearance of reliability and professionalism. 

After conducting research about affordable customisable website hosting platforms, I decided to change the website hosting platform to HOSTINGER, which allowed me to download and launch a WordPress website using Wordpress.org while activating an SSL certificate to ensure security and professionalism of the website. Wordpress.org provided additional digital marketing features opportunities for brands to personalise their content through the employment of customisable themes. After experimenting on a variety of vastly different themes which catered for coding and HTML CSS input for customisation and the application of multiple plugins, I discovered a theme called INSPIRO which allowed for visual editing/customisation of the home page and navigation tabs as well as the and integration of multiple media formats and multiple pages under the menu tab after I managed to successfully discover the functionality of each application feature.

WordPress.org integrated SEO Plugin AIOSEO offered SEO tools when creating page titles utilising key words/key phrases to help a web page appear on a higher ranking search engine result to increase website traffic. I was also able to customise hyperlinks on different pages.

When designing the Next Generation website I created a Home page, sign up page, Programme, News page and Facts about Liberia page which included a variety of design elements such as a Block Library which allows for the imbedding of content in different media formats such as social media icons, quotes, media, video, column designs, page break, and buttons. I used Media and text blocks combining visual images I created using Canva and text on the home page as well as a spacer to sperate the content clearly, promoting white space and clarity in order to guide the reader. I also applied buttons at the end of home page sections to direct users to additional pages by integrating the URL links of the sign up, programme, news and facts page.

In addition, I synergised the social media platforms by integrating links on the website to the Instagram and Facebook pages, embedded in the Footer of the page to allow for easy access across all The Next Generation mediums, establishing a clear recognisable brand identity. 

Utilising a theme with applied plugins I adopted a variety of widgets such as a footer, header and side bar to increase interactivity. I aimed to maintain a youthful, interactive aesthetic as well as synergise the theme by integrating animated designs I created for the home and webpage covers.

Plugins: are external platforms which can add additional functionality to a website such as WPS forms I utilised to offer an online form which allows potential participants to submit a form to register to the Next Generation programme. However, after discovering this option did not allow for the viewing of form submission entries, I was able to download a plugin called Formulator which I used to create a new form for the Sign Up page.