Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology (YHIoT) SERVICES PR, Social Media 78 items of media coverage 2.7 million estimated views through media coverage 637% increase in search impressions 76,991 social media impressions In July 2024, Carrington was hired to plan and execute a PR and social media strategy for the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology – a partnership made up of regional employers and education providers to support learning in STEM industries. We were tasked with creating and implementing a 12-month PR and social media strategy to raise the profile of the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology across the region and encourage people of all ages to consider undertaking a STEM qualification. We set ourselves the following targets to help us achieve this: Our target audience included young people aged 16+ to educate them on the benefits of working in STEM, as well as adults already working in STEM industries to educate them on the benefits of upskilling in their current role. As well as students, we were also tasked with reaching local businesses in the region to make them aware of the support the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology could offer them in upskilling their employees and improving business efficiency. Our PR strategy consisted of targeted press releases, thought leadership articles, active press outreach and media relations. Press releases were focused on newsworthy updates and events related to the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology, including being relicensed for a further 10 years by the Department for Education, the launch of the Institute’s School STEM Challenge, a new partnership with Quickline Communications and the Institute’s first-ever Immersive Technology in Education Conference. We also tapped into national awareness days, such as International Women’s Day, to shine a light on women in STEM and how the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology helps women on their STEM education journey. Thought leadership activity was focused on educating businesses and potential learners on what the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology does and how it can help. Target publications included regional business and consumer titles including Commerce & Industry, Business Works Magazine, Yorkshire Business Insider and Yorkshire Times. As a result, we secured 78 items of media coverage in 12 months, with estimated views of over 2.7 million and 34 new backlinks through our PR. In addition to our press activity, we also curated a 12-month blog schedule to ensure the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology website was informative and up-to-date. Over 12 months, we drafted and published 16 website blogs, helping to contribute to a total of 663 website sessions – up from three the previous year – and a 637% increase in search impressions. We took over management of the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology’s Facebook, LinkedIn and X accounts, as well as creating Instagram and TikTok accounts – both of which were grown from the ground up. Our social media strategy focused on informative, educational content to raise awareness of what the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology offers and drive traffic to the website. We designed and created attractive graphics to accompany each social media post, ensuring content was visual and engaging. We also created bespoke video content which highlighted student case studies across various education partners. Over the course of 12 months, we filmed at four colleges and created 28 video case studies suitable for use across all channels. As a result of our social media work, we achieved a total of 76,991 impressions across all channels and gained 243 new followers in 12 months. In addition to managing and creating content for the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology channels, we were also tasked with creating weekly content for seven of the nine education partners. This involved sharing two posts per week for use across Facebook, LinkedIn, X and Instagram, which included informative graphics for each post. Raising awareness of STEM education in the Yorkshire & Humber region
“Working with Carrington has been an invaluable experience for the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology. The team’s creativity, flexibility and variety in their strategic approach has been exceptional, and the team have introduced the Institute to a wide mix of thoughtful interventions tailored to our needs.”
Hannah Wilson
Head of Operations, Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology
Results
The Brief
Our PR Approach
Our Social Media Approach
