Digital Skills Festival 2025: Social media strategy for charities
Wednesday 16 July 2025 - Thursday 17 July 2025 10:00 - 13:00
Two days of expert-led learning to help you build a confident, purposeful social media strategy
If you’ve ever felt unsure about how well your charity’s social media is performing or struggled to find time to step back and see the bigger picture, you’re not alone. This summer, we’re giving you space to pause, take stock, and design your charity’s approach to social media from the ground up.
Join our new two-day online learning festival designed specifically to help charity communications professionals like you feel more in control of your charity’s digital presence. Sessions will be led by leading media organisations including the Advertising Association, Edelman, Meta, TikTok, ITN and others.
You’ll gain the skills and tools to shape a stronger social media strategy, connect more deeply with your community, and inspire people to act – whether that’s by donating, volunteering, or spreading the word.
We’ll guide you through everything from planning and content creation to analytics and AI, giving you the tools and confidence to develop a strategy that works for your team, your capacity and your cause.
You’ll get expert-led training, practical templates, and the chance to book 1:1 strategic support. All designed to make your job easier and your social media more impactful.
This course helped me better understand the type of content I can make to engage my audience, as well as the importance of making sure that content is tailored for different platforms. It also gave me an excellent starting point for measuring post performance and how I can report this back to my manager.
Jessica Roberts, Academy of Medical Science
What you’ll gain:
- Step-by-step learning to create/rework your social media strategy
- Practical tips for creating engaging and accessible content
- Confidence in what analytics to measure and how to use insights
- Guidance on complex topics like AI and misinformation
- Access to templates, toolkits and optional 1:1 support
- Learning and support framed for the realities of working in the charity sector
Who it’s for:
This festival is ideal for charity communications professionals at all levels, whether you’re building a strategy from scratch or want a refresh. It’s perfect for solo comms leads, small teams, and larger teams looking to reset and refocus.
Agenda
Day one: Strategy & Storytelling
- 10:00 – 10:15 – Welcome: Festival overview and learning goals (Jade Staiano, Media Trust)
- 10:15 – 11:00 – Performance 5 for non-profits (Cheryl Hayden, Meta)
- 11:00 – 11:05 – Break
- 11:05 – 11:50 – Digital Storytelling: Crafting compelling, values-led narratives (Edelman, TBC, Kim Rowell, ITN and Oli Hills, Nonsensical)
- 11:50 – 12:00 – Break
- 12:00 – 12:45 – Behind the campaign: Award-winning charity ads unpacked (Polly Devaney, Advertising Association)
- 12:45 – 13:30 – Building a social media strategy: Objectives, audience, platform focus (Jade Staiano, Media Trust)
Day two: Creating Content & Measuring Impact
- 10:00 – 10:15 – Welcome back and recap (Jade Staiano, Media Trust)
- 10:15 – 11:00 – Content Creation: Short form video (Fred Bhat, TikTok)
- 11:00 – 11:05 – Break
- 11:05 – 11:50 – Tackling isinformation (Joseph O’Leary, Full Fact)
- 11:50 – 12:00 – Break
- 12:00 – 12:45 – Tips for creating accessible social media content (Jodie Hoskin, Media Trust)
- 12:45 – 13:30 – Building a strategy through analytics: What to measure, how to adapt (Jade Staiano, Media Trust)
Optional afternoon 1:1 sessions
Book a 30 min 1:1 strategy session with a volunteer from a leading media organisations. Previous volunteers have been from Amazon, Edelman, Google, Meta, TikTok, Warner Bros. Discovery and others. You can focus on any aspect of your strategy and get immediate feedback.
Event details:
- Dates: Wednesday 16 July and Thursday 17 July
- Time: 10:00 – 13:30 each day
- Location: Online via Zoom
Ticket prices:
We’ve kept pricing flexible based on organisation size to make the festival as accessible as possible.
- Micro/Small charity: £126.00 (incl. £21.00 VAT)
- Medium/Large charity: £162.00 (incl. £27.00 VAT)
- Super charity: £198.00 (incl. £33.00 VAT)
- Private/Commercial: £300.00 (incl. £50.00 VAT)
Why now?
Because social media is changing fast, and your supporters are paying attention. This is your chance to pause, learn, and strengthen your digital strategy before heading into the second half of the year.
Whether you want to reach new audiences, boost vital fundraising, engage beneficiaries, or recruit stand-out volunteers, this festival will give you the skills, tools, and confidence to make your comms count.
Meet the trainers
Fred Bhat, TikTok
UK Publisher Operations & Partnerships Lead, TikTok
LinkedInBianca Brown, Edelman
Senior Account Manager (Digital), Edelman
Bianca is a confident and skilled Digital specialist. She’s bright and articulate as a presenter and public speaker, as well as a thorough thinker, storyteller and copywriter. She’s gathered 3+ years of digital comms experience at Edelman in B2B and B2C client campaigns and always-on social media programmes from end-to-end, including Meta, Microsoft, HARIBO,TONOMUS, DP World and the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Communications is the professional channel for her creativity and penchant for storytelling, grown organically through her initial interested in film and television production, her passion for culture on social media and its opportunities for growing community. She is also an Ambassador in the UK for Edelman’s Gen Z Lab, a global collective focused on demystifying the young audience for agency and clients alike.
LinkedInPolly Devaney, Advertising Association
Head of Content, Advertising Association
Polly started her career as a Unilever Graduate Trainee in Sales and Marketing, working on household name brands including PG Tips, Oxo and Pepperami. The bright lights of New York then lured her away from the Crawley Industrial estate to run a charity in Sir Paul McCartney’s office, raising money for Cancer Research in memory of Linda McCartney. Polly also became the US Columnist for Marketing Week, along with several other freelance writing clients. Back in the UK a few years later, Polly joined the PR & Comms team of Yahoo! UK, before deciding to become a freelance writer, editor and comms consultant, where her key clients were DHL and The Premier League. She joined the Advertising Association as Head of Content in 2024 and runs the daily delivery of their Trust in Advertising workstream, as well as overseeing the production of their publications and content strategy.
LinkedInCheryl Hayden, Meta
Global Business Account Manager, Meta
Oli Hills, Nonsensical
CEO, Nonsensical
LinkedInJodie Hoskin, Media Trust
Marketing Manager, Media Trust
LinkedInKim Rowell, ITN
Managing Editor, ITN
Kim Rowell is a passionate advocate for amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities through storytelling, a commitment that has defined her career over the past two decades.
With an impressive portfolio that spans major broadcasters, independent production companies, and publishers, Kim has established herself as a leading figure in the realm of creative content. Her work is not only recognised for its artistic merit but also for its profound societal impact, often sparking debates in Parliament and prompting legislative changes.
‘Pioneering, distinctive, and innovative’, Kim is a Trustee and Board Member for UN Women UK, an ambassador for the Women of the Future Programme, Chair of the Royal Television Society Technology Centre, Chairs the Global Advisory Board for sustainable changemaking charity ‘In Place of War’, and sits on the Industry Advisory Board for the Media Trust.
LinkedInJade Staiano, Media Trust
Head of Marketing and Digital, Media Trust
LinkedInBook your place
To secure your place on this course, register today via our Eventbrite page.
Tickets