Online engagement, offline action

Abstract

Digital technology has transformed the way that marketers communicate. But all too often it is viewed in isolation, with the prevailing assumption that digital media can only be measured in terms of digital outputs. vInspired, the national youth volunteering charity, wanted to change this. The organisation sought to understand how digital trends could be harnessed to drive offline action. This paper shares the findings of a bespoke piece of research it conducted with the support of insight and innovation consultancy, FreshMinds, designed to get to the heart of this issue. Readers will learn about four digital trends which lead to genuine impact in the real world: advocates and influencers, curating content, incentives and the collaborative economy. The paper shows how vInspired has harnessed these trends to drive volunteering offline, transforming the charity into a truly digital-led organisation in the process. The paper will also present tips for how other organisations and digital marketers more widely can tap into the trends identified to increase offline action and impact.