Regent Training Centre provide education opportunities for 16–19 year olds for whom traditional schooling hasn't worked out. Their courses are practical, relevant and interesting, with learning options including building, forestry, computing, and a host of other pathways into higher learning and employment.

Course offerings:

• Building trades: Hands-on construction and carpentry skills
• Forestry: Outdoor skills and environmental work
• Computing: Technology and digital skills training
• Multiple pathways: Routes into higher education and employment
• Alternative education: Supporting students who need a different approach
• Practical focus: Real-world skills with tangible outcomes

The Challenge

In order to better promote all that they do, we looked to increase their social engagement, so that more of our youth could have the opportunity to learn and grow with the support of their incredible tutors.

Goals:

• Increase awareness: Reach more young people and their families
• Showcase quality: Demonstrate the value of alternative education
• Build engagement: Create active community conversation
• Break stigma: Change perceptions about vocational training
• Drive enquiries: Generate interest from potential students

The Strategy: Student-Made Prize Competition

Competitions are a reliable way to drum up renewed excitement on social media, enticing followers to engage with your page and spreading your content to their friends and friends of friends (that's what we call going viral baby!).

For this promotion the people at RTC did something clever in that the prize — two fantastic pieces of outdoor furniture — was actually built by the students.

Why this worked brilliantly:

• Student showcase: Demonstrated the quality of work students produce
• Tangible proof: Physical evidence of skills learned at RTC
• Conversation shift: Focus moved from "competition" to "quality education"
• Organic endorsement: Entrants became advocates for the school
• Visual appeal: Beautiful furniture attracted attention and shares
• Pride moment: Students saw their work celebrated publicly

The Results

Many of the entrants were so impressed with the quality of the furniture that the social conversation became largely about what an amazing job the school must be doing to turn out such a great looking end result!

Campaign achievements:

• 15,000+ people reached through strategically placed post boost
• Target audience engagement: Most reach fell squarely within RTC's demographic
• Conversation quality: Comments focused on educational quality
• Perception shift: Changed minds about vocational training
• Viral spread: Shared among friends and family networks
• Student pride: Created positive momentum for current students

The Multi-Channel Approach

The good people at RTC went one step better by promoting the competition at a community event they appeared at, breaking down barriers between the digital and physical worlds.

Integrated campaign elements:

• Social media: Facebook competition with strategic boost
• Community events: In-person promotion at local gatherings
• Physical touchpoints: Materials at community events
• Word of mouth: Event attendees sharing online
• Digital-to-physical bridge: Online engagement driving event interest
• Community presence: Showcasing RTC as active local participant

This is a fantastic way to build excitement around a competition draw, while showcasing them as an active participant in the surrounding community.

The Innovation: Student Work as Marketing

The genius of this campaign was using student work as both the prize and the proof point:

• Quality demonstration: Furniture showed tangible skill development
• Student investment: Young people saw their work valued and celebrated
• Social proof: Community validated educational outcomes
• Authentic storytelling: Real results, not marketing claims
• Pride builder: Students became ambassadors for the school
• Differentiation: Stood out from typical educational marketing

Looking Forward

We've got plenty of similarly ambitious stuff planned for RTC over the coming year and look forward to helping them grow!

Future initiatives:

• More student work showcases and competitions
• Enhanced community event integration
• Student success story features
• Behind-the-scenes content from courses
• Graduate pathway tracking and sharing

The Takeaway

The Regent Training Centre campaign demonstrates powerful principles applicable to any organization:

• Show, don't tell: Student-made furniture proved quality better than any claim
• Multi-channel integration: Digital + physical = amplified impact
• Pride drives sharing: People love celebrating tangible achievements
• Strategic boosting: Small ad spend for massive reach when content resonates
• Community connection: Being present locally builds online engagement
• Authentic proof points: Real work beats marketing copy every time

Want to Increase Your Social Profile?

If you're looking to increase your social profile through competitions, events, or just want to throw around some ideas, our door is always open!

Get in touch with our team at Easy Social Media and let's create campaigns that showcase what makes your organization special — just like we did for Regent Training Centre.