Walsall College students get social for St Basils
St Basils is aiming to engage with more young people in need on its digital and social media platforms with help from two Walsall College students. Alex Fletcher and Ela Salts are producing dynamic new content for the charity and housing association as part of an industry placement for their Creative Media T Level course.
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The 45-day industry placement has so far seen the students carrying out extensive research into the social media activities of similar charities and organisations, along with an audit of St Basil’s own platforms. Working from the head office in Digbeth, Birmingham, they are now developing a series of content plans to bring to life on TikTok and Instagram over the coming months, then measuring their success.
Barrie Hodge, Head of Fundraising and Communications at St Basil’s said that he and his colleagues are already enthused by Alex and Ela’s work ethic and insights into youth culture.
“St Basils is keen to be more proactive in reaching out to young people on social media who may need us,” he said. “Working with Alex and Ela allows us to make better use of the right tools, content and messaging to build supportive relationships and help people move in a positive direction.”
Barrie continued: “I would thoroughly recommend T Level placements to other employers. It gives you access to a rich talent pool and fresh perspectives that may be missing from your own team.
“It’s a real opportunity to learn together, making these placements a worthy experience for all involved.”
Alex and Ela both agree.
“I’ve already gained more real-life industry experience than I initially expected to,” said 18-year-old Ela.
“I’ve enjoyed researching how other organisations deliver their social media content and host events. I also have a much clearer understanding of the type of content to post for the best impact. This is something I can apply to my own professional platforms as I begin my career."
Alex, 17, added: “I already feel I have meaningful industry experience to go with my qualification.
“Not only is this placement providing me with a wider set of skills around content production and communications, it’s also made me realise that youth homelessness is a massive issue across the UK.
"I feel have a responsibility to raise awareness in a way that shows empathy towards young people facing difficulties and shows others that youth homelessness is not something to be ignored.”
Alex and Ela have so far created a ‘how to find St Basil’s’ walk-through video and will next focus on collecting voxpops from the local public.
