Using Facebook to Recruit Members & Empower Advocates
Overview
Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts are an American institution and widely recognized brand. But like many membership organizations, recruitment and retention are an ongoing challenge.
Services Provided
Digital Engagement
Nonprofit & Trade Organizations
Challenge
The Scouts have had to think differently about where and how they communicate due to marketing limitations in schools, increased competition for kids’ attention and the emergence of digital media. The Boy Scouts of America, Denver Area Council asked Linhart PR (LPR) to connect with parents online to illustrate the value and variety that Scouting offers young men.
Solution
To capture the attention of parents, LPR focused on one simple question: “Would your son enjoy being a Scout?” LPR developed a Facebook quiz that asked parents five multiple choice questions about their sons’ hobbies, habits and preferences. After parents answered the questions and provided an email address, the quiz displayed a variety of Scouting badges and videos that are relevant to a wide variety of boy’s interests, demonstrating that with 130+ badges to earn, all young men can have fun learning anything they choose in Scouts - from athletics to architecture - along with valuable life lessons. As an additional incentive, 10 randomly selected Facebook quiz participants received a $50 gift card to ScoutStuff.org.
Results
In just 23 days with a very narrow target, nearly 1,200 people visited the Facebook quiz; the program garnered 300,000+ impressions; and the Denver Scouts Facebook fan base increased by 20 percent, giving them a larger audience to engage regularly. Registrants opted to receive recruitment-related information and many existing Scout parents also took the quiz, commenting on the accuracy of the results and how much fun their sons have earning badges. The quiz also became a powerful recruitment tool, giving Scout parents an easy way to promote Scouting benefits to friends and peers.
Facebook page following grew by 20%
Quiz completions gave the Denver Scouts insightful data for the future, since the quiz gathered kids’ ages and zip codes
Web traffic to denverboyscouts.org increased 86% over the previous time period
Built strong brand awareness and activated brand advocates
“Boy Scouts of America, Denver Area Council came to Linhart PR to find a way to reach new recruits online. LPR presented and executed our first Facebook program to connect with parents in the greater Denver area. The campaign’s positive fan growth, sentiment and clicks to our website highlighted the importance of being where our audience is – online. LPR was able to engage and grow our otherwise static Facebook audience. Thanks to the success of this program and the increase in new members, we plan to continue running social media campaigns.”
- John Cabeza, CEO, Boy Scouts of America, Denver Area Council
