brand comparison paper

S a v e t h e C h i l d r e n

W o r l d V i s i o n

vs .

Social Media Marketing Brand Comparison By: Sophie Frankham-Smith

Social Media Marketing Comparison | 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Overview World Vision Pg. 3 Save the Children Pg. 4 Goals Pg. 5 I I . Overall Online Presence Social Mention Pg. 6 I I I . Platform-by-Platform Comparison Pg. 7

Website Pg. 8 Blog Pg. 11 Email Pg. 14 Facebook Pg. 18 Twitter Pg. 21 Instagram Pg. 24 LinkedIn Pg. 27

IV. Comparative Social Media Maturity Pg. 30 V. Recommendations Pg. 31 VI. Conclusion Recap Pg. 32 Overall Winner Pg. 33


World Vision is an Evangelical Christian humanitarian aid, development and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1950 by Robert Pierce as a service organization to meet the emergency needs of missionaries. World Vision is both local and global, working at the grassroots in almost 100 countries all around the world. World Vision is dedicated to working with children, families and communities, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender, to overcome poverty and

injustice. They provide emergency assistance to children and families affected by disasters and conflict and partner with communities for long-term solutions to alleviate poverty. This can be done through sponsoring a child, organizing fundraiser or simply volunteering time.

Though this is an international organization, this paper will focus on World Vision US platforms. World Vision US is headquartered in Federal Way, Washington and has between 1001 and 5000 employees.

FAST FACTS Headquarters: Federal Way, WA

Founder: Robert Pierce Founded: 1950

CEO: Kevin Jenkins Size: 1001-5000 employees (couldn’t find specific size)

Number of Countries: Serves 97 countries


FAST FACTS Headquarters: Fairfield, CT

Founder: Dorothy Buxton & Eglantyne Jebb Founded: 1919 (UK), 1932 (US)

CEO: Carolyn Miles Size: 1001-5000 employees (couldn’t find specific size)

Number of Countries: Serves 120 countries

Save the Children Federation, Inc., commonly known as Save the Children USA, is a non-profit organization working to improve the lives of children in the United States of America and around the world. Their headquarters is located in Fairfield, CT. Save the Children USA was formed in 1932 to help children in the Appalachian mountains during the Great Depression, and modeled on the Save the Children Fund which had been established in the United Kingdom in 1919.

Save the Children USA is part of the global Save the Children movement, with operations in over 120 countries around the world. Save the Children has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for the past 11 years. Though Save the Children is an international organization, this paper will focus on Save the Children USA. Save the Children works to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as providing emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts.


SOCIAL MEDIA OVERVIEW: GOALS

GOALS • Inspire online audience to

make a donation • Encourage audience to care

enough to engage with the organization on social media

• Educate followers about the work that World Vision does

• Increase brand awareness online

GOALS • Inspire online audience to

make a donation • Encourage audience to care

enough to engage with the organization on social media

• Educate followers about the work that Save the Children does.

• Increase brand awareness online


Social Mention is used to aggregate and compare the real-time social media usage across all platforms for any brand.

STRENGTH

47%

SENTIMENT

5:1

PASSION

47%

REACH

27%

STRENGTH 48%

SENTIMENT

3:1

PASSION

33%

REACH

34%

There is a 47% likelihood that people are talking about World Vision online. There are 5 positive mentions about World Vision for every negative one. World Vision is in the 27 percentile of reach/influence.

There is a 48% likelihood that people are talking about Save the Children online. There are 5 positive mentions about World Vision for every negative one. World Vision is in the 27 percentile of reach/influence.

Overall, the results for the two organizations are fairly similar. World Vision appears to be talked about positively more frequently with a higher sentiment ratio of 5:1. However, Save the Children has the higher reach of 34%. We will now take a deeper look into the online

presence of both organizations to see who is performing the best.


PLATFORM-BY-PLATFORM

COMPARISON

W o r l d V i s i o n

S a v e t h e C h i l d r e n


W e b s i t e : W o r l d V i s i o n

At first glance, the World Vision website is very appealing. The site is very clean, has a consistent and alluring color scheme, and is very aesthetically pleasing. Upon further analysis it is clear that the site doesn’t just look great, it works great as well. There are accessible and descriptive tabs that lead to pages that have every piece of information one could possibly need to know about the organization. At the top of the homepage, there is a search bar to optimize maneuverability of the website. The site isn’t just text heavy either, it includes beautiful, professional pictures, creative infographics, and entertaining and informative videos. The infographics make subjects easier to understand and the site easier to maneuver. The site also connects to all social media channels in multiple places, this allows the audience to click-through and engage on social sites effortlessly. The site is also mobile compatible, which is extremely important in today’s mobile-centric society. Overall, the World Vision website is educational and informative while also being beautifully designed, easily accessible and effortlessly maneuverable.

Overall Evaluation: A


W e b s i t e : S a v e t h e C h i l d r e n

At first glance, the Save the Children website is very appealing. The site is very clean, has a consistent color scheme, and is aesthetically pleasing. Upon further analysis it is clear that the site has great content. There are accessible and descriptive tabs that lead to pages that have important information, such as how to donate and how to get involved. At the top of the homepage, there is a search bar to optimize maneuverability of the website. However, the ‘About Us’ page, that goes into large details and multiple pages of information on the organization, success stories, celebrity ambassadors and more, doesn’t stand out and is just small in the top right corner. This section is very important and needs to be emphasized more.

The site isn’t super text heavy either; it includes pictures, infographics, and some informative videos. The infographics make subjects easier to understand and the site easier to maneuver. The site also connects to all social media channels in multiple places, these allows the audience to click-through and engage on social sites effortlessly. Also the site isn’t mobile compatible, which is extremely important in today’s mobile-centric society. The user has to zoom in on their device to read the content. Overall, the website is educational and well designed but needs a little bit more improving.

Overall Evaluation: A-


WEBSITE WINNER: WORLD VISION

1st This was a very difficult decision considering how wonderful both the World

Vision and Save the Children websites are. Overall, World Vision has a better website. It is easier to use, has a better color scheme, engages the audience more and is easier to maneuver.

At first glance, both websites are very appealing. However, World Vision has higher quality photos and a color scheme that draws the audience in more. The Save the Children website has a lot of empty, white space that therefore does not use all of the space on the site efficiently and effectively.

The World Vision site is also mobile accessible versus the Save the Children site that requires the user to zoom in on the content.


B l o g : W o r l d V i s i o n

Just like their website, World Vision has an excellent blog. It is consistent with the look and feel of the website, as it is just an extension of it. The blog is easy to access from the website and social media channels as well. Search bar is helpful.

The blog is updated fairly regularly and features a variety of different bloggers. Currently there are new blog posts at least once every three days. The audience can easily share the blog posts through email, Facebook and Twitter. Features almost all of the same content that can be found across their other platforms as well.

At the end of every blog post there are suggestions for other posts that have similar content that the reader might be interested in. For example in the post “Highlights from Armenia” (pictured above), there is a small section at the end of the post saying, “See what other members of our blogging team are writing about Armenia” with links to additional posts. The blog is mobile compatible and easy to read.



B l o g : S a v e t h e C h i l d r e n

The Save the Children blog titled “Voices from the Field” can be found on the homepage of the organization’s website. At first glance the blog is not very visual. It looks outdated. It is also difficult to find on the organization’s website.

The blog has great content, as it is stories of emergency response staff from

around the world. However, from the way the blog looks it doesn’t make me want to click through any links to actually read the content. The posts are also lacking accessible and easy to use ways for readers to easily share the posts on social media.

The blog site has five tabs at the top to navigate the site. The ‘Images from

the Field’ tab has not been updated since May 2010. This tab should just be removed all together from the site. The blog needs to be completely redesigned with a new template and new pictures for it to even come close to competing with the competition.

Overall Evaluation: B-


BLOG WINNER: WORLD VISION

1st World Vision wins the blog competition by a landslide. Unlike Save the Children, their blog is well designed, up-to-date, has beautiful pictures and a variety of content.

World Vision updates their blog frequently and shares all of the blog posts on their social media accounts to increase the number of readers will see the post. The post is then easily sharable, which also increases reach. To also increase the number of readers, World Vision has suggested blog posts at the end of each one to further the audiences’ reading and engagement with the site.

The blog is easily accessible and is just an extension of the website. World

Vision is using their blog very effectively and the Save the Children blog is not even comparable.


E m a i l : W o r l d V i s i o n

Email marketing is extremely important and is an effective way for organizations to connect with their audience right in their reader’s inbox. World Vision has an option to subscribe to their email newsletter on their website. The sign-up area is easy to use and for the most part accessible. The problem is that the user has to scroll down to the bottom of the page to sign up. If World Vision is trying to drive the audience to sign-up for their email newsletter, there needs to be other options for ways to sign-up too. For example, I think there should also be a way to sign-up for the email newsletter at the top of the page as well and it should also be promoted on social media to increase the audience.

As soon as I signed-up for the email newsletter, I didn’t receive any

confirmation on whether they successfully received my email or whether I am now on their email list. There wasn’t a confirmation email or a welcome email like other organizations have.



E m a i l : S a v e t h e C h i l d r e n

Save the Children has an excellent email marketing process. The Save the Children website provides multiple ways for the audience to sign up for emails, these can be found on the homepage and throughout the site. The sign-up screen is easy to use and accessible for the most part.

As soon as I registered for the email newsletters, I immediately received a ‘Welcome to the Save the Children family’ email. This was a very impressive touch as I immediately felt as though the organization really valued by choice to sign-up to stay more connected with the company. The welcome email was colorful, clean, and educational.

The welcome email is mobile compatible and had links to the website and links to all of their social platforms. The content is also very relevant as it gave me a concise overview of the organization and told me how I can get involved. I immediately felt more connected to the organization and the overall mission. Overall Evaluation: A


EMAIL WINNER: SAVE THE CHILDREN

1st

Save the Children wins for email marketing. They have an immediate advantage over World Vision as they have multiple ways to sign up for their email newsletter on their website and they also send you a “Welcome to the Save the Children Family!” email immediately upon signing up. This increases the user experience and makes the user feel immediately connected. In order to compete on this platform, World Vision needs to increase the number of ways you can sign-up and needs to at least send a confirmation email immediately. Overall I feel encouraged to immediately learn more about the organization and how to be involved up on signing up for the Save the Children email newsletter, which makes them a winner to me!


OVERALL SOCIAL MEDIA

COMPARISON

World Vision

Facebook: 1,034,949 likes

Twitter: 342,000 followers

Instagram: 5,704 followers

LinkedIn: 922 followers

Save the Children Facebook: 1,227,828 likes

Twitter: 1.2 million followers

Instagram: 73,200 followers

LinkedIn: 3,427 followers


F a c e b o o k : W o r l d V i s i o n

World Vision currently has 1, 034,949 likes on Facebook. Immediately upon first glance, the Facebook is very appealing due to the beautiful photography.

The different posts include quotes, pictures, videos and articles. World Vision has posted about bible versus, has asked for donations, shared stories and had great pictures. Content is posted at least once a day and links directly back to the website. The content is also diverse and gets posted throughout different times of the day to mx things up.

Sometimes the page lacks variety and seems repetitive. The audience may have trouble staying engaged and interested when the brand continues to post similar pictures and captions. World Vision also never responses to people’s comments, even though it is important for brands to engage with consumers.

Overall the Facebook page is great because use hashtags well and beautifully designed pictures and graphics to engage consumers.



F a c e b o o k : S a v e t h e C h i l d r e n

The Save the Children Facebook page currently has 1,227,828 followers. This organization users this site effectively by posting regularly, connecting back to the website via a bit.ly link in ever post, and by using beautiful pictures that stand out on the page.

They have posted about world events such as World Oral Health Day, shared how to sponsor a child, shared stories of employees in the field and used infographics to educate the audience. The posts consistently receive a lot of engagement. The audience is enjoying the posts but I think that Save the Children can continue to improve on differentiating the content.

Save the Children does a great job of responding to user comments and answering questions. They do so in a timely matter and this increases the important two-way communication.

Also they have their logo at the bottom of every picture, which creates consistent branding and shares the Save the Children logo whenever a picture is shared or reused.



FACEBOOK WINNER: SAVE THE CHILDREN

1st Both the Save the Children and World Vision Facebook pages were very good. They both used beautiful graphics and consistently posted content that engaged consumers. However, there are a few reasons that Save the Children came out on top. Save the Children has a higher level of engagement on posts. They consistently have more likes, comments and shares meaning that the content resonates more with consumers and is then seen by more people. Also unlike World Vision, Save the Children responds to user comments. This is extremely important because

it increases the two-way communication between the organization and the user. I also like that at the bottom of every photo, there is a Save the Children logo. Not only does it look good, but also it creates consistent branding.


T w i t t e r : W o r l d V i s i o n

World Vision currently has 342,000 followers on Twitter. The Twitter account retweets a good amount of tweets but doesn’t respond to any.

They know how to use hashtags and links to track clicks to the webstie. World Vision has also successfully engaged celebrities as part of their World Water Day campaign.

They post consistently multiple times a day and intentionally from their verified account. The content links directly back to the website or to other social media account. The content is also diverse and gets posted throughout different times of the day to mx things up.

The different posts include bible versus, videos, links to articles and lots of pictures. The most successful tweets include a picture with it. There is definitely room for growth in terms of users favoriting, replying and retweeting content.



T w i t t e r : S a v e t h e C h i l d r e n

Save the Children US currently has 1.2M followers on Twitter. The account knows how to use hashtags and how to mention other Twitter users effectively.

The different posts include quotes,

pictures, videos and links to articles. Save the Children has posted about current events, has asked for donations, shared stories and had great pictures. The most successful tweets include a picture with it. A lot of their tweets are retweets of the Save the Children International account.

The content can sometime lack variety and seems repetitive. The audience seems to have trouble staying engaged and interested when the brand continues to post similar pictures and captions. Considering how many followers the account has, tweets rarely get higher than 30 retweets or favorites.



TWITTER WINNER: WORLD VISION

1st The winner for Twitter is World Vision! Even though Save the Children has

significantly more followers on Twitter than World Vision (1.2 million versus 342,000), they don’t have significantly more engagement. World Vision averages the same number of favorites, retweets and replies. A lot of the content on the Save the Children Twitter account is retweets of the Save the Children International Twitter account. World Vision successfully uses beautiful graphics to engage the audience and always links back to the website to continue the user experience. Overall, the World Vision Twitter has better content, has a better design and easily connects consumers back to other online platforms. Of course there is always room for improvement and they can continue to improve their engagement numbers and


I n s t a g r a m : W o r l d V i s i o n

Even though World Vision US recently launched Instagram in April 2014 and only has 5,704 followers, it is a very strong social platform for the organization. Since Instagram is a picture heavy platform, it makes it easy for World Vision to show how they are helping others through things such as education and providing clean drinking water. The posts and photographs are consistent with the brand and look and feel of all of their online platforms. Also World Vision is great at engaging the audience by posting at least once a day at different times. Since Instagram is just a feed of pictures it’s important post continuously throughout the week to stay in people’s minds. All posts are clear, relevant and correctly use hashtags and tag users. The most engaging post of February (below) had 461 likes and 10 comments. This is a great platform for World Vision but there is definitely a lot of room for

improvement to gain more followers.



I n s t a g r a m : S a v e t h e C h i l d r e n


Save the Children launched their Instagram platform July 2012 and has over 73,000 followers. Instagram is a very strong social platform for the organization. Since Instagram is a picture heavy platform, it makes it easy for Save the Children to show all the incredible things they are doing around the world.

The posts and photographs are consistent with the brand and look and feel of all of their online platforms. Also Save the Children is great at engaging the audience by posting consistently once a day. All posts are clear, relevant and correctly use hashtags and tag users. The captions aren’t too long but use language that tugs at your heart and connects you to the picture posted. The most engaging post of February (below) had 2525 likes and 41 comments. This is a great platform for Save the Children but there is always room for

improvement to gain more followers and higher engagement numbers.


INSTAGRAM WINNER: SAVE THE CHILDREN

1st Even though I really enjoy and like World Vision’s Instagram account, Save the Children wins in this category due to their high level of engagement and significantly more followers. By consistently pouring in resources to their Instagram, I believe that eventually World Vision will be able to have the level of engagement Save the Children does, but it is just going to take some time. Save the Children averages around 2,500 likes and 50 comments per photo, which is significantly higher than the 300 likes, and 5 comments World Vision averages. Also on every photo, Save the Children has a logo in the bottom right corner, just like on their other social media platforms. This makes the brand more consistent and if followers repost a picture, the Save the Children logo is automatically on there.


L i n k e d I n : W o r l d V i s i o n

With only 922 followers, World Vision USA has made a great start on getting up their LinkedIn page and getting in started but still has a lot more work to do. However, the page is only four months old so they have done the best they can so far. The ‘Home’ page is very nicely laid out, answers all questions that the audience may have and includes a very aesthetically pleasing picture. Save the Children US doesn’t utilize the ‘Careers’ tabs section. People use LinkedIn to search job opportunities but nowhere on their page does it mention where you can go to look for openings or to connect with someone The updates include job opportunities, what employees are up to and ways for audiences to get involved in what the organization is doing. The company is categorized in the 1001-5000 employee size category but it would be also beneficial to have the specific number of employees as well because there is a big difference between 1001 and 5000. I recommend that this organization continues to grow their LinkedIn presence and promotes the page on other social media channels to increase awareness of the page.

Overall Evaluation: B


L i n k e d I n : S a v e t h e C h i l d r e n


Save the Children US LinkedIn page has a moderately good presence with 3,427 followers and growing. The page is 1 year old. The ‘Home’ page is very nicely laid out, answers all questions that the audience may have and includes a very aesthetically pleasing picture. Save the Children US doesn’t utilize the ‘Careers’ tabs section. People use LinkedIn to search job opportunities but nowhere on their page does it mention where you can go to look for openings or to connect with someone. The updates include job opportunities, what employees are up to and ways for audiences to get involved in what the organization is doing. The company is categorized in the 1001-5000 employee size category but it would be also beneficial to have the specific number of employees as well because there is a big difference between 1001 and 5000. I recommend that this organization continues to grow their LinkedIn presence and promotes the page on other social media channels to increase awareness of the page.


LINKEDIN WINNER: SAVE THE CHILDREN

1st With 3,427 followers, Save the Children wins the LinkedIn competition. They

have utilized the page for longer, have a larger following and send updates more regularly. The page is far from perfect but beats out the World Vision US page. The company description is well written and includes keywords that could help drive SEO. The page also includes embedded videos and pictures to make for a more interesting experience rather than just blocks of text. For when the page does get followers, there isn’t really a community on the page to keep followers engaged. There isn’t a group to host discussions or start conversations.

Overall though, Save the Children wins because of their larger number of followers, larger engagement numbers and more frequent updates. If they continue growing the page like they have been in the past year it will be even more successful and add value to current employees, future employees and interested community members.


COMPARATIVE SOCIAL MEDIA

MATURITY

World Vision

Facebook: Joined Aug. 2009

Twitter: Joined Jan. 2008

Instagram: Joined April 2014

LinkedIn: Joined Dec. 2014

Save the Children Facebook: Joined Oct. 2009

Twitter: Joined Feb. 2008

Instagram: Joined July 2012

LinkedIn:Joined March 2014


RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Update the Save the Children blog to be consistent with the look and feel of the website, currently it is very outdated.

2. Twitter account is strong in terms of number of followers but they aren’t necessarily engaging

3. Encourage audience to follow the company on LinkedIn using other social platforms.

1. Instagram is such a growing platform, continue to post excellent photos and this site will be a great asset to the organization.

2. Encourage audience to follow the company on LinkedIn using other social platforms.

3. For email marketing, World Vision should send a confirmation/ welcome to our email newsletter email. This will make the user feel appreciation and immediately connect them to other areas of the organization.


RECAP WINNERS

World Vision: A Save the Children: B-

World Vision: A Save the Children: A-

World Vision: A- Save the Children: A


World Vision: B Save the Children: A

World Vision: A Save the Children: A-



THE OVERALL WINNER: SAVE THE CHILDREN!

1st As you can see from the recap, the competition was very close. World Vision

received higher grades for their website, blog and Twitter account, while Save the Children received close but higher grades for their Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Email newsletter. Both organizations are truly using digital marketing to improve the audience experience with their organization and ultimately make a difference in the world through their initiatives.

Save the Children has outperformed World Vision with the number of likes, followers and engagement on their social media platforms. The larger audience allows for better ways to make an impact. They have varied, interesting and educational content that aligns with the brand voice and design. Even though Save the Children won, they still need to improve their blog to continue being a successful non-profit organization online.

brand comparison paper

Documents