Five Simple Ways Charities Can Start Doing Digital Better
Words by Amina Khan, Head of Digital Communications, IPPF
Working in the commercial sector, the word “digital” was ingrained into every piece of content we created — it was digital-first, second, third and fourth.
So, when I made the leap into the NGO sector I was surprised to see that this magic word was nowhere to be seen — not even in the job titles of those working in digital. This is how severely misunderstood and underestimated the role digital plays in delivering your organisations message is, and according to the Charity Skills report 2019 the future of digital is not looking promising.
At the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), we fight for the right to a free and informed sexual and reproductive life, for reproductive justice and against reproductive coercion. There are millions of people around the world that share the same values as us — but how do we reach them? How do we get them to actively engage and support the work we do? A big part of that answer is digital.
I am the senior digital communications officer at IPPF and yes, investment in digital is a hard sell — but slowly, people are beginning to understand the importance of digital. From my learnings in the commercial sector and from my experience in the NGO sector, I’ve compiled a list of five things that digital teams can start implementing to put digital firmly on the agenda.
1. Internal digital buy-in:
Possibly the most important action on the list; if your CEO, your director, your board of trustees or your even colleagues do not understand the importance of digital within your organization, your job is going to be a lot harder. According to the Charity Skills Report 2019, 67% of charities in the UK cite a lack of funding as the biggest obstacle to making the most of their digital presence. It’s simple: if people don’t understand digital, they won’t invest in it.
Therefore, at every opportunity, you need to be bringing up the importance of having a digital presence in all external communications. Work with other departments, turn that PDF upload into a set of pictograms, an interactive page or even an animation! Make the most of your internal communications platforms — every time you put something out in the digital world, shout about it on your internal communications platform. Believe me, people will start to notice.
2. Understand where you are now
You cannot move forward if you don’t know where you are now. This is where an audit of all your digital assets can really start the ball rolling — from newsletter templates to your social media visuals. If there is a budget, get yourself a brand/digital audit done by an external specialist. If you don’t have the budget, then block out a few days in your diary, sit down with your team and go through what you have.
Once you’ve done an inventory, benchmark against other NGO’s/commercial brands and start picking away and improving on where you are. From here, you can slowly start to piece together your digital presence and that leads onto your digital strategy.
3. Invest in a digital strategy that works for you
The most obvious point on the list but surprisingly 52% of charities in the UK do not have a digital strategy, yet over half of that figure is using digital. Define your goals, your target audience, create realistic KPIs and get started on your strategy.
If you have a digital strategy, make sure that it is relevant and reflects where you are now. Digital is ever-changing and your strategy should remain flexible to incorporate the speed and agility of the digital world.
4. To meme or not to meme — digital trends
Who doesn’t love a meme? The origins of the meme are hard to pin down but what we do know is that they are the most shared type of content on social media today, but does this mean we should start flooding our social media platforms with memes? Well, that depends on your audience, your style and tone of voice on social media and if, of course, the meme is relevant to the work you do.
And digital trends go beyond memes — so keep an eye on a diverse range of social and digital media platforms to ensure you are keeping your finger on the pulse and that your social media feeds are looking relevant, exciting and fresh.
5. Data! Data! Data!
So, you have your shiny new strategy, your social media is popping and you are producing some of your best content to-date. Pat yourself on the back: you’ve just started your digital marathon. Now it’s time to see how your target audience is reacting to the great content you are producing and that is where your data comes in. Data can be really scary and brutal to the ego but you need to start feeding results into your digital presence.
If you find your audience reacts better to a certain style of illustration, incorporate more of it into your social media and website. If your Google Analytics is telling you a certain phrase is driving people to your website but that they’re exiting pretty quickly, it’s possible you don’t have the relevant content they want — you can then create that content and will be much more likely to retain those users. Monitor, evaluate, incorporate and repeat.
Free digital tools for charities
- If you are a charity you can apply for a Google Ads Grant but it comes with some hefty restrictions and requires a lot of time and effort, so you have to be sure you have the skills and time to ensure you are making the most of it.
- To keep up-to-date with digital trends and grants around digital inclusion, bookmark Charity Digital News.
- If you don’t have an in-house designer and don’t have the budget to hire one for a project, use Canva. The basic version is free and good enough to produce social media assets, publications, and pretty much any online or offline material. If you don’t have the budget for Photoshop but need to edit images, Photopea is a free online alternative for basic editing.
- If you’re trying your hand at podcasts but need some basic (and free) audio editing software, download Audacity. It looks scary but is really simple to use and there are plenty of YouTube tutorials on how to use it.
Please ensure you always read the terms and conditions when downloading or using online software.
