JA:2021-38. Assessing Facebook Advertising as a Recruitment Strategy for In-Person Workshops

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose: We conducted an evaluation of paid Facebook strategy for in-person workshop recruitment. In the summer of 2019, Child Agricultural Injury Prevention workshops were scheduled in Lexington, KY and Hershey, PA. Each workshop was a 2-day event with a registration cost of $249 ($199 early bird). In addition to traditional recruitment methods (conference announcements, brochures, friends, colleagues, listservs, press releases), a targeted Facebook campaign was employed. The targeted campaign included twelve posts, three paid for (boosted), and nine standard (not boosted), plus an additional paid advertisement for each of the two workshops. Facebook posts covered three content messages types (a location attraction, an educational message, and a fear-based message). Each content message type was used one time per week for 4 weeks and had one paid posting, with $100 budgeted per post ($300 total) during the campaign. The targeted audience for the paid posts varied by workshop location. Additionally, a $200 advertisement for each workshop ran on Facebook for 4 weeks prior to each workshop. Methods: To assess the effectiveness of the Facebook strategy for in-person workshop recruitment, 48 participants were asked how they heard about the workshop on the workshop evaluation form. At the Lexington, KY workshop, 44.44% of participants completed the evaluation form, and 76.19% of participants at the Hershey, PA workshop completed the evaluation form. Findings: Hearing about the workshop through Facebook was noted on two individuals’ workshop evaluation forms (one from each workshop). Both individuals selected Facebook in combination with other sources (friend/colleague, listserv, brochure/flyer, traditional media/press release). With the data available, the cost of promotion per end workshop participant exceeded $500/participant recruited through Facebook. The Lexington, KY Facebook campaign reached 33,279 people, and the Hershey, PA campaign reached 9,658 people. Additional workshop recruitment details and Facebook analytics related to the strategy is available. Practical Application: Our findings are applicable to other organizations recruiting for in-person training programs, as well as those interested in targeted social media campaigns.