How can charities engage with a new generation of ‘Digital Dans’ on social?

One of the biggest challenges currently facing charities in the UK is the gradual fade of ‘Dorothy Donor’ (women aged 55 or above, who are often targeted by charities through traditional marketing methods). As the elder generation of regular donors continues to decrease, charities must tackle the problem of finding a new younger generation of regular donors. And in doing so, they need to go beyond the single transaction.

This transition has been made particularly problematic due to the huge difference in the way various age groups consume media. Traditionally, print media was the bread and butter marketing method for charities to reach Dorothy Donors. But this simply won’t fly for today’s younger target audience who do near enough everything through digital.

Charities need to find a way of identifying and engaging with the digitally savvy donor. Digital Dan, if you will.

Engaging with 'Digital Dan'

It’s no secret that social media is a great way to support and promote one-off events, whether that be an individual running a marathon, a group of colleagues cycling from London to Paris, or an organised event such as UNICEF’s Socceraid or Comic Relief. In fact, charities have been real pioneers in their use of social media to raise awareness and encourage one off donations (just look at the no make up selfie and ice bucket challenge phenomenons). What has been less successful is taking those who have given one off donations and transforming them into regular givers.

But why is this? Brand advocacy for charities on social media is huge; people feel good about giving to charity and they want to share this with their friends and followers. The individual has done half the work for the charity already, identifying themself as a fan of their work and using their voice to tell their online networks about it.

However, it doesn't often go much further than this. The donor has enjoyed instant gratification – they’ve donated to charity, told their friends, had a public 'thank you' message from their chosen charity - job done in their eyes. Charities, therefore, must go beyond this singular transaction and open up a meaningful dialogue that leads to a successful conversion from a onetime advocate to a regular giver.

Going beyond singular transaction

The way to do this is simple: understand your audience (or perhaps desired audience).

When an individual posts about their act of support, a charity learns who they are on social media. And by taking this person along with everyone else who has also posted a one off donation, it is possible to create a robust dataset of individuals who clearly support the charity but are yet to be converted to regular givers.

The resulting dataset can be analysed and segmented to create actionable insight. By understanding their audience of potential donors (topics of conversation, tone of voice, behaviour patterns), a charity can then tailor their content accordingly to create excitement about the work they do, keep themselves relevant online and generate further support.

Once a charity has understood their audience and are communicating with them, it's worth stressing the importance of a consistent online voice. When we say consistent, this doesn’t necessarily mean constant self-promotion. Check out the Instagram post (above) by Movember UK that really highlights the value genuinely interesting content creates:  16% of Movember UK’s Instagram following directly engaged with the respective linked post.

By ensuring a consistent brand voice across all social platforms, it then becomes easier for individuals to identify with the brand and become synonymous with their mission, thus leading them to become a regular giver.

If you'd like to find out how you can identify and reach out to the ‘Digital Dans’, or you'd simply like to explore how Pulsar can compliment your charity's marketing strategy then we’d love to hear you! Please send an email to [email protected].