Action for Children: Digital Marketing Strategies to Boost Charity

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of digital marketing strategies for Action for Children, a UK-based charity focused on helping vulnerable children and their families. It begins with a sector review, highlighting the challenges faced by charities in the UK, particularly concerning funding and donor acquisition. The report emphasizes the importance of digital marketing in addressing these challenges, noting the increasing reliance on online platforms for communication and fundraising. It then presents a strategic approach, detailing how Action for Children can leverage digital tools such as user-friendly websites, visual imagery, and social media engagement to enhance donor acquisition and retention. The report underscores the need for charities to adapt to digital technologies to improve their market presence, build trust with donors, and ultimately increase their impact on the communities they serve. The analysis includes insights on utilizing social media for communication, gathering feedback, and tracking philanthropic activities, along with recommendations for using digital platforms to raise funds and attract more donors. Desklib provides students with access to similar solved assignments and past papers.

Digital Marketing
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Sector review..............................................................................................................................5
Strategic approach......................................................................................................................7
Conclusion................................................................................................................................14
Reference list............................................................................................................................15
Appendix 1...............................................................................................................................18
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Introduction
The charitable industry generally comprises of the not for profit organizations (NPO) or non-
governmental organizations (commonly known as NGOs). The main objective of the charity
sector is to work for the well-being of the society or community and other philanthropic
activities. In legal terms, the meaning of the charitable organizations varies from country to
country. The taxation and other legal laws and legislation of operation also differ in a
number of ways. In the United Kingdom, the registers of the charitable organizations is
managed and organised by the ‘Charity Commission for England’. In order to register itself
as a charity organization, the organizations need to abide by the legal requirements of the
charity commission of the country. Such organizations are partly dependent on donations
from different sources apart from the business. By donating funds to such organizations, the
other business organizations correspond to a key type of corporate philanthropy (Anheier,
2014).
The charity sector of the United Kingdom experiences a number of challenges when it comes
to the economic environment of the country. As per reports (2009), the economic downfall in
the country in that year has affected almost 62 % of the charity organizations, thus resulting
in a huge drop in the income of the not for profit organizations. In addition, the small and
medium sized charity organizations were equally affected in the same year and experienced a
loss of nearly 52 % in the overall income of the business. Therefore, this has resulted in the
charity organizations being more dependent upon fund raising (refer to appendix 1). As per
reports, nearly 15 percent of the funding for the charity purpose of the charitable
organizations is acquired by the public sector. Only 8 percent of the funds are raised through
their business operations (Charities and the Economic Downturn, 2018).
The changeable amount of the sources of revenue and budget results the marketing of the
charitable organizations to be restricted and decision making process being difficult. In the
present scenario, social media being the most recommended source of marketing, the
charitable organization can also gain a number of benefits from it. With the advancement in
digital technology, a number of opportunities to gain revenue have opened up for the
charitable organizations. For instance, the different charitable organizations can make use of
the digital tools such as pay-per-click and others can be used by the different charitable
organizations to raise funds. In addition, in order to increase its market presence and
awareness in the market, the charitable organizations can opt for Google and other search
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engines for sponsor and subsidiaries. Google offers the not-for-profit organisations with
$10,000 USD, which is equivalent to approx, £7,800 GBP in advertisement paid every month
in order to sponsor the terms that are most pertinent to the concerned charity (Evevo.uk ,
2018).
Company Background
Action for Children is a UK based charity for children and works towards helping the
neglected and vulnerable children including their families, in the different regions of the
country. Action for Children is registered under the ‘Charity Commission for English and
Scottish law’ and is headquartered at Watford. As per reports, the charity organization works
with nearly 300,000 children and teenagers and provides them with facilities concerning,
child neglect, disability interval therapy, adoption and foster care (Actionforchildren.org.uk,
2018).
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Sector review
The charity sector of UK includes several not-for-profit organizations that are working
towards social development objectives. Many of these charities are specifically children’s
charities. These charities are attempting to improve the lives of disadvantaged children by
providing education, child-care, mental health services and even arranging for adoption. The
charity sector depends largely on the provision of funds in the form of donations. However,
gaining access to funding is difficult for children’s charities like Action for Children as they
are facing the challenge of acquiring and retaining donors. The best practice to address this
issue would be the application of digital marketing and digital technology to processes in the
charity sector. Due to technological innovation, digital marketing has proven itself to be a
valuable tool aiding in the advertising and promotion of products, services and websites
(Chaffey and Smith, 2013). Since the children’s charity sector relies considerably on
donation, digital marketing can build the charity’s presence and brand value. Using digital
technology, charities can easily store important information in online databases. Digital
marketing tools and technologies help in simplifying work processes in the charity,
enhancing efficiency and productivity. Effective marketing via social media, the charity’s
website, and promotional e-mails, draws the attention of quality donors.
With the development and innovation in the digital technology, communicating with
individuals physically is becoming difficult day by day. The process of acquiring information
and updates concerning a subject has changed exceptionally. In the present times, people
prefer to search online for the information they want rather than obtaining it through the
traditional sources. Therefore, it has become necessary for the charitable organizations to
adopt digital technology within its functions and operations. Digital technology will further
facilitate the charitable organizations, such as Action for Children to improve its presence
and generate donations. The charitable organization can make use of the different social
media platforms in order to communicate its messages to the society. In addition, it can make
the people aware of the different events and activities that they conduct in order to gather
funds for the development the children they work for. This will help the organization to
address more number of people, thus opening occasions for raising more amount of fund
(Blogs.ncvo.org.uk, 2018). The digital technology is an excellent medium for the charity
organization in order to attract more number of donors. In the present times, the individuals
are highly involved with social media and other technological mediums, therefore, in order to
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draw their attention, it is significant for the charity organization to incorporate digital
technology in its operation and decision making process.
Figure 2: Sector Analysis
(Source: Facts and Figures - UK Charity Sector, 2018)
Social media being the new marketing platform helps the charitable organizations to gain
recognition in the society. As per reports, nearly 74 % of the population makes use of social
media, and the number is growing at a rapid pace. Therefore, digital marketing provides the
charitable organizations with an opportunity to give out its message more clearly to a much
larger section of the society.
With the changing phase, digital technology has made a number of advancements, thus
facilitating the different organizations to improve and develop its performance and
productivity. With the digital technology, the charity organizations can provide the users
with the access to the necessary information concerning the charitable trust. This will help the
company to gain the trust and loyalty of its donors, as people generally prefer to fund the
organizations that are transparent and lucid concerning their social activities. The different
digital technological tools further facilitate the charity organizations to gather response and
feedbacks concerning its social events and activities through diffident social media platforms
and emails. This helps the company to identify the reactions of the donors and the society
concerning their activities and get further suggestions for improvements. Furthermore, with
the help of digital technology the charity organization can keep a track of its social and
philanthropic activities, funds and donations, business income and so forth, thus avoiding the
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risk of miscommunication or mistakes. The charity sector can also make use of the different
digital technological tools in order to raise funds digitally (Blogs.ncvo.org.uk, 2018). They
can upload their social campaigns into their official websites and with the help of digital
technologies generate funds. This will help the organization to increase its number of fund
donors, thus benefiting its cause.
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Strategic Approach
The charity sector is facing severe funding issues, particularly in UK, where the
repercussions of Brexit are still being felt by the economy (Hind, 2017). Funding is a major
problem for children’s charities in UK, as most of the charities’ income depends on the
donations people make to the charities.
Figure 3: Impact of economic change on donation to charity
(Source: cafonline.org, 2016)
It has been observed that donor acquisition and retention has emerged as the main funding
issue for children’s charities such as Action for Children, UK. Donor acquisition is an
important process, particularly for charities, which do not have many sources of funding due
to their not-for-profit organizational nature. Donor acquisition includes advertising the
charity and its work on websites, social media and other public forums, and identifying key
potential donors (Breeze, 2013). Donor retention is the process successive to donor
acquisition, and is continuous in nature. In order to retain the donors, the charity must
convince them that the cause is worthy (Boenigk and Scherhag, 2014). Additionally, the
donors must believe that the charity is putting in full effort as well as strategic thinking to
fulfil the cause.
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Donor acquisition and retention aim to equip the charity with a continuous flow of funds
from loyal, long-time donors. Continuous support in the form of donations ensures that the
charity’s work is not hampered, and can proceed smoothly. Donations also provide the much-
needed financial backbone for a charity to survive. The problem is that many charities still
rely heavily on traditional methods of donor acquisition and retention, such as sending
promotional material and donor forms via post. This makes the process slow, tedious and
unproductive.
The use of digital marketing tools and advanced technology can increase the efficiency of
donor acquisition and retention significantly. However, studies show that 58% of total
charities lack knowledge of digital skills (Salfordcvs.co.uk, 2016). Action for Children has a
website on which potential donors can enter their location and locate charity funds and
projects near them. Although the charity has attempted to get the best results from the use of
the Internet, it still has much to improve upon in order to acquire new donors and retain them
successfully. The charity can utilize a number of digital marketing tools in order to achieve
good results.
User-friendly website: Much of fundraising and donation is done online currently. Potential
donors tend to log on to the charity’s website and browse through it before making the
donation. Their aim is to examine the issues raised by the charity, the actual work done, and
the credibility of the charity. To leave a good impression on the donor, the website needs to
be easily accessible and must have a user-friendly interface (Ryan, 2016). The website for
Action for Children should be maintained in such a way that important events, key
accomplishments of the charity, and success stories are able to stand out to a person visiting
the site. An important aspect for the charity to keep in mind is that the basic design of the
website should be clean and uncluttered. However, the donor should get access to all the
necessary information on the site, which will assure him or her that donating to the charity is
a reliable option, and their funds will be utilized well by Action for Children.
Visual Imagery: Potential donors as well as current donors would prefer to see the impact of
their donations on the communities the charity is working to aid. It is recommended that
authentic images be used in website content, social media posts, newsletters and other
material reaching the donors (Frick, 2013). Since Action for Children aims to support
disadvantaged children, it would be effective to share pictures of the processes helping the
children, and the children who have benefited from the aid. A useful element would be to add
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the donor’s name and a short description of how that exact amount donated, has helped the
children. This will show the donors the true result of their donations, and will inspire them to
donate again. It may also encourage potential donors to make their first donation to Action
for Children.
Call To Action: An essential component of digital marketing is the Call To Action statement.
The CTA has to be placed strategically so that the current donors feel immediately motivated
to donate again, and the potential donors decide to start making donations (Kohavi et al,
2014). Suitable areas to place the CTA include the space just below or next to pictures of
events organized by Action for Children. The CTA may also be placed under a section
detailing the suffering of disadvantaged children and how exactly the smallest donation can
improve their lives. However, it is not recommended to position the CTA everywhere on the
website and in promotional material. If the CTA urging one to donate appears too many times
on the page, the individual will feel pressured, and will have a bad impression of Action for
Children. Using the CTA sparingly but powerfully is the key to acquiring new donors and
retaining existing ones.
Open communication system: An effective way of retaining donors is to enhance the
communication system from the charity’s side (Connolly and Hyndman, 2013). Donors often
have questions, advice or feedback that they wish to convey to the charity. Action for
Children has to ensure that their social media management team is diligent in replying to
comments, queries and feedback on the charity’s social media posts, in a positive and helpful
manner. Replies can be supplemented with working links to the website. For instance, if an
individual wishes to access some statistical data as proof of Action for Children’s impact, the
team may add a link to the “Our Impact” section of the charity’s website. Remaining open to
feedback and constructive criticism will help Action for Children gain the confidence and
trust of new donors, and will help the charity retain them. Action for Children can provide
more options to communicate with the charity, such as live web chat, and posting donor
testimonials/experiences on the website. This will build a stronger relationship between
donors and Action for Children, and will keep the donors interested in making further
donations.
Maintaining digital database: The advance in digital technological processes has brought
about the use of new, highly efficient systems to store data. The advent of cloud computing
has enabled the storage and use of large quantities of data using the Internet (Wang et al,
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2012). Action for Children can use such technology to maintain an organized database of
donors, the number and amount of donations, and related data. This will give the charity
valuable information on the retained donors and the frequency of their contributions, as well
as details on newly acquired donors. The data will also help the charity identify at-risk donors
(donors the charity is at risk of losing), and follow up with them to find the reasons for their
inactivity. Storage and analysis of data using digital technology will help Action for Children
make informed decisions on acquisition and retention strategies.
Digital analysis: Another facet of digital technology is digital data analytics. Several data
analytics tools are now available, by which organizations can categorize data that is humanly
impossible to analyze (Kwon et al, 2014). Digital analytics will be able to spot trends in
donor behaviour based on the frequency and size of donations made. Digital analytics can
help Action for Children by reporting important data in the form of charts, graphs and
images, for easy understanding. Digital analytics tools study the effect and result of
fundraising events. They help the charity evaluate the effectiveness of past practices such as
e-mailing donation CTAs to donors. The use of data analytics tools can uncover hidden
patterns and practices, which will enable Action for Children in the donor acquisition and
retention process (Cordery and Sinclair, 2013). As the practice of donation shifts increasingly
towards online donation, digital analytics will be able to aid the charity in retaining active
donors.
Giving thanks for donations: No matter how small the amount of donation is, a charity is
aware that every penny counts, and must acknowledge gratitude for the same to the donor.
Action for Children already has a magazine called “Thanks To You”, which acknowledges
donor efforts and contributions (actionforchildren.org.uk, 2018). However, an e-mail
thanking the donor and detailing how the donation will be used, is a good way to establish the
donor’s trust. Action for Children can additionally integrate the practice of giving a personal
phone call to first-time donors. The phone call could include expressing thanks for the
donation, taking feedback on the experience of form filling and donating, and communicating
with the donor about Action for Children’s vision. Follow up calls can be highly effective. If
a donor has not made any donations for a prolonged period of time, the charity may call the
donor. Firstly, they must gently express concern for the donor’s well-being, to communicate
that Action for Children cares about the donor, not just about the donation. Following that,
the caller may proceed to ask why the donor has stopped believing in Action for Children,
and what can be done to regain the donor’s trust.
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Develop a mobile application: The use of smart phones with myriad applications has become
popular. Several people prefer to use their phones for multi-purpose engagement with work,
entertainment and shopping. A large number of organizations have developed a website as
well as a mobile application so that users can choose between the two according to
convenience(Wallace et al, 2012). For donors, it may be considerably easier and convenient
to open a charity’s app, select the amount they wish to donate, and pay via credit or debit
card. Action for Children has a useful website, but does not have a mobile application for
donors yet. This may be a major factor influencing donors’ decision to stop donating to the
charity. A smart phone application that allows people to donate on the go, will encourage
donors to continue donating to Action for Children.
Digital advertising: The advent of Audience Insights on Facebook has provided new
opportunities for the growth of organizations and the strengthening of brand loyalty (Lipsman
et al, 2012). Action for Children can use Audience Insights to target specific audiences, such
as donors who have previously made large donations or are likely to do so. In tandem, the
charity can use the Lookalike Audience feature to identify new audiences, based on the
provision of previous and current donor details (Habib, 2015). This process will aid Action
for Children in donor acquisition, as the process is based on targeted advertising rather than
sharing the ads with random audiences. Since the new audience is comprised of persons with
similar interests as the existing donors, they will be more likely to be interested in donating.
This method of digital advertising can help Action for Children save money as well as time in
their pursuits.
Use of SEO and social media marketing: The use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
makes an organization or brand more visible, as it includes the use of strategic keywords that
place the website considerably higher in search results (Royle and Laing, 2014). SEO
strategy for charities such as Action for Children includes the presence of important details
such as location, specific child care services, details about sponsors and tie-ups etc on the
website. Using keywords relevant to the fundraising events and donations made will make
Action for Children come up in more Google searches regarding donation to UK children’s
charities. A higher number of potential donors will be attracted to the charity’s website if its
name comes up frequently in search results.
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