Welcome to DECA.
How I turned 19 RSVPs into 60 through an integrated recruitment campaign.
GCU DECA
Campaign strategy / Creative direction / Graphic design / Copywriting / A/B testing / Social publishing / Event planning & execution / Performance analysis
Challenge
Grow interest in GCU DECA's Welcome event and turn attention into RSVPs and attendance.
Objective
Build a recruitment campaign that moves students from awareness to an actual event commitment.
Strategy
I structured the campaign around a clear progression: introduce the event, show its value, make participation feel tangible, create timely urgency, and give students a direct path to RSVP.
Execution
I led campaign strategy, creative direction, graphic design, copywriting, social publishing, and the event planning and execution. Each piece had a job in the larger recruitment journey.
Creative
Campaign posts ranged from an informational Welcome post to an entertainment-led LinkedIn Headshot carousel and a day-of Tonight reminder. The six-slide headshot carousel connected first impressions, professionalism, recognition, and personal branding to a free headshot offer at Welcome to DECA.
Test / Measurement
Across 14 tracked Instagram posts and stories, the campaign recorded 16,461 reported views, 163 likes, 46 shares, 50 content-level link clicks, 76 profile visits, and 10 follows.
The entertainment-led LinkedIn Headshot post (Test B) received 5,224 views versus 2,000 for the informational announcement (Test A): 2.61× as many views. It also recorded 2,380 viewers versus 1,147. This is an observed creative comparison, not proof that format alone caused the difference or that either post drove all RSVPs.
The Tonight reminder recorded 3,272 views, 1,718 viewers, 46 likes, and 14 shares. The final reposted Tonight story has no views figure in the spreadsheet, so 16,461 is the sum of reported views, not a complete unique-reach measure. Viewers are not added across content because people may appear more than once.
Campaign performance
16,461
reported views
163
likes
46
shares
50
content link clicks
76
profile visits
10
follows
| Post / Test | Views | Viewers | Likes | Shares | Link clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome announcementA / Informational | 2,000 | 1,147 | 27 | 7 | 3 |
| Your LinkedIn Headshot MattersB / Entertainment-led | 5,224 | 2,380 | 41 | 11 | 1 |
| TonightA / Informational | 3,272 | 1,718 | 46 | 14 | 1 |
Source: Welcome to DECA — Campaign Numbers, supplied campaign spreadsheet. Totals include FOI content tracked in the same sheet; Instagram link clicks and bio link taps are separate metrics and are not added together.
Results
RSVPs
attendees
YoY RSVP growth
30 of 60 RSVPs attended, a 50% RSVP-to-attendance rate. The +216% YoY RSVP growth compares 60 RSVPs with the previously documented 19; the supplied spreadsheet confirms 60 RSVPs and 30 attendees but does not include the prior-year baseline. Linktree recorded 43 Welcome to DECA RSVP clicks and 9 FOI application clicks (52 total). These are separate channel measures, not an attribution claim for all 60 RSVPs, and are not added to Instagram's 50 content-level link clicks.
LinkedIn Headshot Post
1 / 6
Tonight Post
Event Presentation
1 / 11
What I Learned
A campaign is more useful when each creative decision can be connected to a specific stage of the journey and then measured against what happens next.