Getting creative with financial literacy: building skills and measuring impact with social media

Demonstrating the impact of a project is one of the most important aspects of international development work – how do you ensure that your efforts have made a positive impact on beneficiaries while also assuring donors and sponsors that their funds were wisely used? Some indicators might be easily measurable, such as how many people attended a training workshop. In contrast, other indicators may feel less tangible, such as the confidence level of those same attendees putting lessons into practice. 

Traditionally, tools such as focus group discussions, surveys, and key informant interviews have been used as part of a broader impact evaluation framework and theory of change to measure aspects such as how a program has improved women’s empowerment, confidence, or capability. It helps to give context to the project and allows beneficiaries to tell their stories of change. However, there are also opportunities to integrate new digital tools alongside these to help learners build their knowledge and skills and measure impact. Social media platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, can be an excellent opportunity to spread information amongst a broad audience at lower operating costs. Combining traditional impact evaluation tools with creative social media use can also provide a more holistic view of a project’s impact in real-time and allow for transparent reporting. 

In many Asian countries, such as Cambodia, where Facebook use is particularly widespread, integrating social media into a project can be an effective tool to directly connect with beneficiaries regardless of location, economic status, or education level. About 70% of Cambodians use Facebook, making it the most popular social media platform in the country. From Good Return’s learning, needs, and resource assessment research at garment factories in several provinces, Facebook was mentioned as one of the main ways people interacted with each other online and accessed information. When tackling a challenge like building financial literacy for women, using social media can be a helpful tool.

Financial Literacy in Cambodia

In Cambodia, only 18% of the total population is financially literate. Women also have slightly lower levels of financial literacy than men, scoring 11.74 out of 20 on the OECD International Network on Financial Education methodology. Additionally, 38% of women are financially excluded, meaning they have no access to financial products and services. Women have different financial challenges and needs to men, including interrupted employment due to caretaking roles and longer life expectancies, which means that improving their financial literacy is incredibly important for supporting their livelihoods and reaching their future goals.

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), the country’s financial regulator, has further noted in their 2022 Annual Report that the majority of complaints they receive on their consumer hotline are about loans, indicating many consumers do not fully understand how to apply for or manage loans safely and responsibly. These issues are compounded when digital financial products and services come into play, with low levels of digital financial literacy leaving many Cambodians vulnerable to loan sharks or scams. 

Improving financial literacy rates, therefore, is a priority in Cambodia, especially for women and others who have been excluded from the financial system. It is one of the key activities in the government’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), aiming to empower more Cambodians to understand their rights and responsibilities regarding financial products and services. When financial literacy rates increase, financial inclusion increases alongside it. As people build their confidence in using and accessing financial products and services, they are able to better withstand financial shocks/emergencies, even leading to an increase in women’s participation in the workforce.

As part of their strategy to improve financial literacy rates, NBC in partnership with the international development agency Good Return, developed the Let’s Talk Money! campaign in 2016. This was the first time that NBC had reached out directly to consumers, using six short and humorous video Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to educate the public about the importance of managing money and making informed financial decisions. One of the key components of the campaign was creating an official Facebook page where the videos could be easily accessed and shared. When Let’s Talk Money! reached over 480,000 Cambodians through Facebook alone in the first three months, it showed an excellent opportunity to use social media to spread financial education through creative financial literacy campaigns.

The Let’s Talk Money: Little by Little Campaign

Following the success of Let’s Talk Money! and recognizing the potential for using creative storytelling and social media for education, NBC and Good Return partnered again in 2020 on a new financial literacy campaign, Let’s Talk Money: Little by Little. Inspired by one of the PSAs in the first campaign, Little by Little is a love story about a young couple as they meet, move to Phnom Penh, and start a business, following the ups and downs of their financial life together (Photo 1).

Phase 1 of the campaign was launched in 2020, combining face-to-face training for garment workers and women entrepreneurs, radio and television broadcasts, and a new public social media campaign. The drama series was also uploaded to the NBC’s official YouTube channel so anyone could access the episodes and watch them at any time. With so many Cambodians actively using Facebook and YouTube, it was an effective method to share educational messages in an approachable, engaging way. At the end of Phase 1, over 2 million Cambodians had been reached by social media alone – more than the reach of other traditional media such as television and radio. 

To keep the momentum going, in 2022 Phase 2 of Little by Little began. NBC and Good Return chose to target female garment workers as the garment industry is the biggest employer in Cambodia, and the majority of them are female. Female garment workers also send the most remittances home to their families, on average about 40% of their monthly salaries. Once again, face-to-face training was an important part of the campaign, with an hour-long session devoted to watching episode 1 and learning practical ways to manage money. Over 1000 garment workers in 16 factories in seven provinces participated in these sessions (Photo 2).

One of the challenges of working in garment factories, however, was the limited amount of time available to conduct face-to-face training sessions. Phase 2 involved a pilot in select factories, creating 15 private Facebook groups for those who attended the training. Garment workers were shown how to join and use the Facebook group during their face-to-face session. Because the majority of garment workers already had Facebook on their phones and were familiar with using it, this was an easily accessible way for them to continue to engage with the campaign after the training finished. 

To foster active participation from group members, Facebook posts were scheduled to fit in with their daily responsibilities and leisure time. Each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7 p.m., a new post and simple prompt on financial literacy were shared, including weekly competitions to encourage responses. Posts included the next video episode of Little by Little as well as other educational materials such as a new comic on digital safety, safe lending tips, and using free digital tools like My Money Tracker to track income and expenses.

Social Media for Building Skills and Impact Measurement

Little by Little Phase 2 highlighted the potential of using targeted social media interaction to help build financial literacy as a complementary methodology to the broader social media campaign. Facebook groups worked well in building confidence and skills when paired with an initial face-to-face training session. The groups provided a supportive, safe space for learners to share ideas, learn from each other, and continue to engage with the educational lessons in Little by Little (Photo 3).

During focus group discussions, one garment worker said that participating in the Facebook groups was good because “Before we didn’t know how to share our ideas, but now after we learned, we can post our comments to show our ideas. We’re braver.” Another explained that sharing the next episode in the groups at 7p.m. worked well with their busy schedules. She said, “After I come back home, I have some time to watch movies or relax, so we use this time to watch educational films [Little by Little episodes]. They are better than watching a TV program because we can gain more knowledge.” 

This qualitative data was backed up by Facebook analytics, which showed over 12,000 total views and over 7000 reactions or comments in the groups alone. Additionally, over 300 participants completed a face-to-face or phone survey after attending training. It revealed that the primary motivation for joining and participating in the Facebook groups was the opportunity to learn more about saving for the unexpected and managing money (83%), not just the chance to win competitions. In the phone survey of over 100 garment workers, 74% reported that they learned how to manage their money better, and 57% learned how to use digital tools like Good Return’s My Money Tracker to track their income and expenses. This was also demonstrated by an increase in the ongoing use of My Money Tracker, with an estimated 40% of learners still using the app one month after downloading, according to the app’s back-end data.

The Advantages of Targeted Social Media in Projects

To date, over three million Cambodians have been reached as part of Phases 1 and 2 of Let’s Talk Money: Little by Little. The Little by Little videos were also officially selected for screening at the 12th Annual Cambodia International Film Festival in 2023 as an example of how film can be used for social impact. The extensive reach of this financial literacy campaign is due in large part to its promotion and use of social media, both publicly and in private Facebook groups, allowing the story of a relatable young couple to reach Cambodians across all education and income levels, in urban and rural communities all across the country, just with their phones. 

It has also allowed for more in-depth reporting on the campaign’s impact and shown how social media can be useful for development projects. Facebook analytics, for example, can provide comprehensive, quantitative details like popular times of day to interact online, which posts were most and least popular, and how people interacted with materials.

Broad social media campaigns have the advantage of a wide reach and scale. Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign is just one example of how social media has effectively been used to spread a social message, engaging men and women in conversations around gender issues. On the other hand, targeted engagement through private Facebook groups or direct messaging via platforms like Telegram has the potential for more lively and candid dialogue between people. Participants are able to directly share their thoughts and experiences, with moderators able to view and directly respond to their comments and questions, fostering a sense of community and accountability in a digital space. While there has been more research into using targeted social media in higher education, this case study also shows an opportunity to explore its uses in the international development sector, especially in an increasingly digital world. The possibilities are endless, from Facebook to WhatsApp to TikTok, to engage beneficiaries on social issues in fun, creative ways while measuring a project’s impact (such as sustained use of an associated money management app) through digital analytics.