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Writer's pictureJasaro In

A Community Engagement, and Referral Case Study!

Key Takeaways on how Masai School focused on building relationships with students to expand its brand!

A Community Engagement, and Referral Case Study!


Instead of paid social media ads, Masai School focused on utilizing the non-tangible things that students experience to create non-formal interactions which eventually gave a sense of comfort and belongingness to every student in Masai School.


It was as simple as the instructors being aware of every student’s name, right to the courses they were enrolled for, to be available by text or call when required.



How did Masai School crack it?


Masai School did not rely on community managers or performance markers but instead placed their faith in the automatic process of community engagement activities.


They gave the students the freedom to express and generate content on what they had to offer by encouraging their creative space - which ended up reaching a larger number of people while retaining a sense of genuinity.


This was done through posting videos, posts, continuing threads, etc.



Referrals


This also included referrals which were primarily of two types. The first was more PR and second-degree effect-based ones, relying on a formal referral program.


But the second and more organic referral was through incentivizing students to refer others. Not only did this expand their brand on platforms such as YouTube and LinkedIn, but also promoted the brand as a fun, engaging, and creative space.



After Effects


This cycle had a positive effect on the monetary benefits (such as an opportunity to even earn back the entire course fee through referrals) to social ones (such as gaining validation and engaging in conversations).


The "Reason to Believe" became the cornerstone of Masai School’s advertising, with maximum networking at minimal costs.



Outcome


  • With a 3X increase in referral sources to a 10X increase in organic search and referral traffic, the brand’s name jumped in value.

  • More than 400 customers out of 2,000 came solely through referrals, clearly indicating a strong strategy.


The company also, as an experiment stopped running ads over months and saw that they still got a similar number of admissions. If anything, this shows that the journey is as important as the destination.



Takeaways


The key takeaways from this can be in identifying the traction that create a brand and a business:

  1. Focus on user acquisition and keeping the brand objectives in mind: matrixes aren’t always important.

  2. Referrals and network marketing are similar (customers and motivation) with one key difference: referrals are meant to bring in customers while offering benefits to existing ones.

  3. Build brand advocates: find new approaches that cater to increasing community interactions.

  4. The journey matters: find ways to get others to buy into what the brand is trying to build, which gives them a reason to promote it.


 


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