How to build a social media following?
Working with beneficiaries on the move can be a challenge — social media is often the more direct way to reach them with information, remedy, and community.
What do your beneficiaries want to know?
Before we get started with the tools to build out a digital marketing plan — it is important to consider why we're making the effort in the first place.
​
One way to start is to inventory the challenges faced by your beneficiary population and scope out which of these your organization seeks to tackle with its online footprint. Further research on which interventions you are investing in should shed light on how to proceed.
​
Depending on these parameters and considerations of your organization's structure, resource, and mission, you can begin by determining which interventions you want to deploy online. Do you want to:
-
Offer direct assistance?
-
Provide information at the right time?
-
Connect them to in-person resources with your organization and others?
-
Create an online community?
Migrasia as a Case Study
Indebted before departure.
According to research conducted in partnership with the University of Hong Kong, Migrasia found that domestic workers often fell prey to agency intermediaries prior to deployment. In particular, workers would be pressured by agencies to undergo training not required by law. Fees charged to pay for unnecessary training would start a vicious cycle of debt, leaving workers to work months or even years before being able to send money back home.
​
With this research, Migrasia has worked to implement interventions at multiple stages — information during the application process, free training resources prior to deployment, refunds if excessive fees had already been corrected.
​
To provide this information and direct assistance, Migrasia has worked to boost engagement on its social media pages and launched information campaigns to raise awareness. Progress can then tracked based on case intake, engagement rates, and refunds collected.
​
Where are your beneficiaries?
The first thing to consider is where are your beneficiaries are.
Before embarking on a task of creating an online presence, interview your target beneficiary population to learn more about...
-
Where and from whom do they find their information, do they favor certain platforms?
-
How they connect to the internet (devices) and if there are any limitations (employer restrictions, access issues at sea or remote areas)
-
When they usually access the internet
​
Getting a feel for your beneficiaries' media consumption habits is a good place to start — interviews and desk research will likely point you to the right path ahead.
Migrasia as a Case Study
Working with Migrant Domestic Workers in the Philippine-to-Hong Kong Corridor.
According to research conducted in partnership with the University of Hong Kong, Migrasia found that domestic workers in this corridor rely heavily on Facebook for information throughout their migration journey — even from when they begin to seek out work opportunities abroad.
Building on that research, their work also tracks when Facebook engagement and inquiries come in. Given the restrictive workplace experienced by many foreign domestic workers, social isolation is prevalent. Therefore, an online sense of community and support offered in their home language is a welcome change and a source of comfort.
Some Helpful Tools
Facebook (Pages, Groups, Ads)
Facebook is a commonly used social media channel by Migrant Workers globally. By learning more about what Pages and Groups can do, it can mirror the messaging of your site and reach a more different section of the internet.
Canva
Facebook is a commonly used social media channel by Migrant Workers globally. By learning more about what Pages and Groups can do, it can mirror the messaging of your site and reach a more different section of the internet.