How to actually implement a digital strategy

We hear a lot about digital strategies in the charity sector.

 

Since the pandemic in particular the sector has seen how vital it is to incorporate technology into its operations. In the absence of face-to-face contact, many charities had to learn about new technology quickly – and adapt.

 

This article helps charities put their digital strategies into action and implement them. If you haven’t developed a digital strategy for your charity yet, read Charity Digital advice for creating and writing a digital strategy.

 

 

Why digital strategies are important

 

Kirsty Marrins, freelance copywriter, writing for Charity Digital says that “a digital strategy is plan of action to achieve an overall business aim”. She explains that a digital strategy “will likely look at how technology can help a charity to improve performance, efficiency and processes”.

 

A digital strategy can give a charity direction. It will do this by providing clarity on what’s needed to achieve the organisation’s goals and set out the steps needed to get there.

 

You want your digital strategy to set out:

• Your charity’s goals
• How the goals can be achieved through digital
• Key milestones between now and where you want the charity to be
• Initiatives needed to reach the milestones, what they will cost, and how long they will take
• The barriers to carrying out the initiatives and tasks
• What success looks like for your charity

Below we explore best practice advice for putting your digital strategy into action.

 

 

Share the strategy with your colleagues

 

To implement a new digital strategy, you may need to change the mindset and culture of the organisation. It’s not enough to just communicate a strategy to colleagues. You need the digital strategy to be “aligned across departments, levels, and business units for effective and successful implementation”.

 

Doing so will let people have a clear understanding of what the charity wants to achieve and how it plans to do this. Without visibility, people won’t have a shared vision or an understanding of the role they play in progressing the strategy. As a result, they won’t be able to make informed decisions about how to move the digital strategy forward.

 

 

Give people space to ask questions

 

It’s worth creating a summary of the strategy to have on the wall in your office and a digital version for staff who are working remotely. This will help people to understand the key points.

 

Also, use internal blogs and message boards, and department meetings to talk about what the strategy is with colleagues and how it will inform and influence their work.

 

 

Develop a plan to implement the strategy

 

Think of a strategy as “what you do” and a plan as “how you do it”. To implement the strategy, you need a plan to move things forward. This includes setting out and planning a series of initiatives and tactics to move the strategy forward.

 

Tactics should be small, practical, and achievable steps to keep staff motivated and the work progressing. To make sure these steps are completed, assign them to relevant colleagues. This will rally people together and ensure they understand who is accountable for what.

 

A plan should also include timeframes for reporting on progress. This could involve setting up workshops at regular intervals for key members of staff to come together to review the digital strategy. This will help to provide transparency and accountability – and keep the strategy on track.

 

 

Offer staff relevant training

 

It’s important to give people the support they need to learn new digital skills and use technology. This will help them to carry out the tactics they are responsible for in the plan for achieving the strategy.

 

 

Celebrate progress

 

When different steps have been completed and progress has been made, acknowledge people’s contributions. This will help them to see their efforts are making a difference and make sure they are fully behind the strategy.

 

 

Track KPIs against the digital strategy

 

You need the right metrics in place to monitor and understand how your digital strategy is progressing. Without this, it can be difficult to identify successes and areas where you need to make changes and improvements.

 

 

Update the plan at regular intervals

 

You need to update your plan on an ongoing basis for your strategy to be effective. External factors could mean your charity needs to accommodate changes that weren’t anticipated when you first developed your strategy. By adopting an agile approach you can monitor, adapt and adjust the plan to accommodate any changes.

The Digital Marketing Institute says that implementing a strategy “is not a linear process”. You may need to test and experiment with different initiatives and tactics to see what works. Again, by being agile, a charity can make changes to the plan.