October 2020
What we did
Highett Youth Club have implemented a comprehensive online member engagement strategy across several different social media platforms including:
- Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/highettyouthclub/
- Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/highettyouthclub/
- Tik Tok- https://www.tiktok.com/@highettyouthclub
- YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcjzvuxDFUPG0jLeiexjhsw/videos
- Zoom
The strategy has been coordinated by our Operations Manager with individual posts, videos and lessons developed by our coaches, assistants and administration staff. It has included content from our three sports (gymnastics, cheerleading and calisthenics) targeted at a variety of ages and levels of experience/skill. Whilst some of the content has been inspired by social media content by other sporting clubs and community groups, or based on initiatives from peak sporting bodies ACSA, Gymnastics Victoria and Calisthenics Victoria, the majority of the content is original.
Facebook Daily Instagram/Facebook posts include:
- activities to do from home for the week, with example videos from coaches
- weekly challenges
- fun tasks to complete from home
- inspirational quotes
- flashbacks (old club photos)
- videos of our coaches keeping active during lockdown
TikTok posts include fun challenges or tasks posted by our coaches for HYC Members and the public to follow along with.
Our YouTube channel has a number of KinderGym and all-abilities classes for participants to view on demand as well as tutorials for our older and more advanced gymnasts to maintain their mobility, strength and flexibility.
We’ve held weekly zoom sessions (modified training programs and workshops) for most of our classes to keep members from all areas of our club active and engaged. In addition to their regular programs, we have also offered fun-based activities such as aerobics sessions and held themed weeks such as ‘Baking Week’ and ‘Craft Week’.
Why we did it
Our engagement strategy was primarily developed to keep our members (and staff) active and engaged in their sport and our club during the COVID-19 lockdown period. We recognise the large role sport plays in the every day lives of our members and identified the important role sport and our club could play in keeping people connected and engaged in these challenging times.
The strategy was developed so that we could stay in touch with our members (via their preferred social media platform), provide them with an opportunity to continue to participate in their chosen sport and contribute positively to our community's overall sense of wellbeing.
How we know it worked
As the implementation of our engagement strategy is ongoing, we are unable to measure its overall impact, however we do have data regarding the reach, engagement and uptake of individual posts and sessions- see below table. We are particularly excited by the traction created by our YouTube channel, and that such a large number of our members (over 50% membership numbers as at February 2020 have participated in at least one session/workshop on Zoom).
| Platform |
Engagement level |
| Instagram |
We currently have 859 followers. Each of our posts receive between 30-50 likes. |
| Facebook |
Our page currently has 352 likes. Each of our posts receive between 2-15 likes. |
| Tik Tok |
We currently have 102 followers, receiving 150-250 views per video and approx. 30 likes per video. |
| YouTube |
Our videos have had 850+ views |
| Zoom |
Classes and workshops held on this platform have been attended by more than 500 participants |
Through our usual Club compliments and feedback mechanism we know that our members appreciate our engagement efforts and look forward to their online sessions.
The goal of our online engagement strategy was to have had a positive impact upon our participants during this incredibly challenging time. Community is at the core of all we do at Highett Youth Club, and it is hoped that when we are able to resume face to face classes that our community will return to the club with the same enthusiasm and engagement that has seen our club through it's first 75 years.
