IF YOU BUILD IT, WILL THEY COME? An analysis of volunteer recruitment digital strategiesHCOM 512 July 2014

Lisa Carron Shmerling, J.D. 2014 MPH Candidate

THREE ORGANIZATIONS FOCUSED ON VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT

Founded 1994

Founded 1994

Founded 1971

VolunteerMatch.Org

Volunteers – one click away from home page

Non-profits – one click away from home page

S.W.O.T ANALYSIS: VolunteerMatchSTRENGTHS

• Colorful & “happy” • Easy navigation• Extensive Validation • Convinces you to take the

leap• Sustainability!

WEAKNESSES

• Pop-ups were distracting• Non-profit vs. For-profit

distinction could be clearer

OPPORTUNITIES• Amazing way to “do good” and

create a viable business model• Expandable to other locations

THREATS• Individual non-profit sites that

are cause-specific• Corporations may want to

internally manage their volunteer opportunities

• Numerous volunteer sites

On-line Presence/VolunteerMatch

• Facebook 35,900 likes• Twitter 8,859 tweets/ 25.2K followers• Utube, LinkedIn, Pinterest

Suite of Social Media

Links

• Scaled for mobile devices• Easy to navigateMobile App

• Official site came up 1st

• “Impact online” also directs to site• iTunes, Wikipedia

Google Prominence

Recommendations/VolunteerMatch

“Support” vs. Donation

Add new tab & pages for “For-Profit Corps”

Consider more prominent donation/sponsorship

buttons

Volunteers in Medicine

One click to: Champions, Patients, Volunteers

The rest of the site….

S.W.O.T ANALYSIS: STRENGTHS

• Photos are representative of the volunteers and the patients they serve

• History and need are articulated

• Easy to navigate• News is up-to-date

WEAKNESSES

• Old “codger” look• Drab web pages• Poor quality of photos• Haphazard use of visuals• Where is the social media?• Logo --'#@!%’ ear, udder or

kidney?

OPPORTUNITIES

• Harnessing growing population of retired medical professionals to fill unmet need

• Opportunity to leverage a “business model” to propagate other clinics

THREATS

• Website is unimpressive and does not inspire confidence

• Branding confusion of parent organization vs. individual clinics

• Many “Competitors”

On-line Presence/Volunteers in Medicine

•Facebook 765 likes•No other links

Suite of Social Media Links

•Scaled for mobile devices•Easy to navigate

Mobile App

•Google search: official “org” site came up 2nd

•Used 1 videoOther

Recommendations/Volunteers in Medicine

Refresh website graphics & rethink the placement of photos/videos

Update “retiree” image

Social media!

Medecins Sans Frontiers/ Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders – Field Volunteers

Doctors Without Borders – Office Volunteers

Full Disclosure

S.W.O.T ANALYSIS: Doctors w/o Borders

STRENGTHS

• Well organized “serious” • Effectively use photography• volunteer requirements• Validated (Nobel Peace prize)• Financial Transparency

WEAKNESSES

• Aggressive donation solicitation (may not be weakness…)

OPPORTUNITIES

Huge opportunity to make a difference on a global scale

Household word in medical/health policy circles

THREATS

• Will volunteers be “scared away”?

• Are they so large that they’ve lost the “personal” connection?

On-line Presence/Doctors Without Borders

• Facebook 694K likes• Twitter 11.8K tweets 401K Followers• Google+ 662,068 followers • LinkedIn, Tumblr, Instagram, Utube, Vimeo,

Flipboard

Suite of Social Media Links

•Scaled for mobile devices•Easy to navigate

Mobile App

•Google prominence –website 1st to appear•Blogs, Videos, Press releases, AudioOther

Recommendations/Doctors w/o Borders

Consider “Fact Sheet” or “Executive Summary”

Add a tiny bit of levity/humor/warmth to the site

Revisit donation page as first Google result

COMPARISON?VOLUNTEERMATCH VOLUNTEERS IN

MEDICINEDOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS

CLEARLY ARTICULATES MISSION

Yes, in a “happy go-lucky manner”

Yes, in a mediocre way

Yes, in a “serious, crisis manner”

GENERATES INTEREST

Yes, engaging site with innovative graphics - something for everyone

Not so much – must be interested in what they have to say to continue

Yes, for those interested in global issues. Stunning photo journalism

RECRUITS VOLUNTEERS

Yes ? Yes

STRONG ONLINE PRESENCE

Yes No Yes++

THANK YOU

• QUESTIONS?