Project Colt is a community organisation based at Bridgefield Mills in Elland, supporting people recovering from addiction, trauma and other life-controlling issues.
Its work spans recovery support, employability programmes, volunteering, community activities and opportunities designed to help people rebuild confidence, develop skills and take positive steps forward.
Project Colt also operates a social enterprise model, with activities including its shop and café helping to generate income to support its wider work.
But there was a challenge.
For somebody discovering Project Colt through social media, the scale and impact of what happens behind the doors at Bridgefield Mills wasn't always immediately obvious.
That gave us an important story to tell.
In June 2026, Project Colt appointed Youbee Media for an initial three-month social media pilot.
The objective was to understand whether investing in more strategic and consistent social media support could strengthen Project Colt's online presence and help its channels contribute more effectively to the organisation's wider goals.
Ultimately, the pilot needed to answer a simple question:
Could a more strategic approach to social media make a measurable difference?
Our objectives were to:
Rather than simply increasing the volume of content being published, we focused on changing the way Project Colt's story was being told.
Our approach centred around people, purpose and action.
We created content that helped audiences understand what happens at Project Colt, why that work matters and how shopping, donating, volunteering or simply visiting Bridgefield Mills can contribute to its wider impact.
One of our first priorities was helping audiences understand that Project Colt is much more than a charity shop.
Instead of relying solely on general updates and promotional graphics, we introduced more human-led storytelling, connecting the visible activity at Bridgefield Mills with the recovery, employability and community support taking place behind the scenes.
One of the first posts created around this message generated approximately 44,500 Facebook views, reached more than 27,000 people and generated over 300 interactions.
There was no major event or campaign behind it. It simply told the Project Colt story differently.
Video was not previously a regular part of Project Colt's social media activity, so this became an important part of our approach.
We began using short-form video to introduce campaigns, communicate impact and give audiences an opportunity to see more of the people, place and purpose behind the organisation.
Several of these videos became some of Project Colt's highest-performing content during the pilot, demonstrating the opportunity for video to become a much bigger part of its social media presence.
We also created content around specific organisational priorities rather than treating engagement as the only measure of success.
A post encouraging people replacing furniture to donate their good-quality unwanted items generated approximately 32,900 Facebook views, reached almost 18,000 people and was shared 46 times.
The content wasn't simply generating visibility; it was helping Project Colt communicate a practical way its community could support the organisation.
The strongest example came when Project Colt launched a campaign to secure the future of Bridgefield Mills.
Youbee Media was commissioned to provide additional creative support for the campaign, developing dedicated messaging, graphics, imagery and three social-first videos.
The launch video alone generated more than 50,000 Facebook views.
Across Facebook and Instagram, the three campaign videos achieved a combined 98,664 views.
Within four days of launching, the campaign had reached 24% of its fundraising target, supported by 100 donors.
The fundraising target was subsequently achieved before the campaign ended.
Social media formed one part of a much wider fundraising effort, alongside grants, investment and other funding, but the campaign demonstrated the role strategic content could play in communicating the story, generating momentum and mobilising Project Colt's community.
The three-month pilot was designed to answer a straightforward question: could a more strategic approach to social media make a measurable difference for Project Colt?
The results provide a strong case that it could.
Project Colt's content reached substantially more people, generated more interaction and created more opportunities for audiences to take action. But one of the most valuable findings came from looking at which content performed best.
On Instagram, Youbee Media created 35 of the 65 posts published during the pilot. Despite accounting for just 54% of the content, Youbee-created posts generated 75.5% of all post views, 76.3% of reach, 81.1% of likes, 84% of shares and 88.5% of comments.
On average, a Youbee-created Instagram post achieved 164% more views, 175% greater reach, 268% more likes and 351% more shares than content created internally.
And this wasn't simply a case of posting more. Youbee and Project Colt published an almost identical number of static and carousel posts during the period.
The pilot established a much clearer formula for Project Colt's social media:
Human stories + short-form video + strong creative + clear calls to action.
Introducing video was particularly important. It wasn't previously a regular part of Project Colt's social activity, yet several of the videos created during the pilot became some of its highest-performing content.
The Bridgefield Mills campaign demonstrated this at its strongest. The three campaign videos generated 98,664 views across Facebook and Instagram, helping Project Colt communicate an important organisational story, build momentum and mobilise its community.
Other results showed that the same approach could work outside major campaigns. A post simply explaining that Project Colt was more than a charity shop generated approximately 44,500 Facebook views and reached more than 27,000 people, while a post encouraging good-quality furniture donations generated approximately 32,900 views and was shared 46 times.
Project Colt also reported informal positive feedback from members of the community who had noticed the change in its social media presence and commented positively on how the feeds looked.
Ultimately, the pilot demonstrated that strategic social media can do more than keep Project Colt's channels active. It can help people understand the organisation, see the impact behind its work and give them a reason to get involved.
For Project Colt, that means connecting everyday actions – shopping, donating, visiting, volunteering and participating – with the wider impact of its work.
Following the initial pilot, Youbee Media's work with Project Colt has continued, providing an opportunity to build on the momentum created during those first three months.
