Social Media in an Informal Learning Center: A New Way to Tell a Story

Abstract

This exploratory study examines how the Go For Broke National Education Center is using social media as an education and communication tool. It analyzes the implementation of social media activities and looks at how the organization is using these social media platforms to engage with audiences. This work was informed by the relationship between the organization, external drivers, and strategic processes that are necessary to produce social media content in alignment with the organization’s mission and purpose. Findings from this study found that social media brought unexpected opportunities for the organization they were able to use their platform to address current social and political conditions not only affecting the local community, but with a broader national resonance. This study also found using storytelling techniques as an effective way to communicate and sell the organization’s mission and vision in a way that transformed facts and figures into a personal, emotional, and compelling organizational message.