Client Overview:
Foster for East Midlands is a fostering hub funded by the UK government, focused on recruiting foster carers across four councils, Derby, Nottingham, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire. Tasked with the vital mission of increasing foster care participation, Foster for East Midlands sought the expertise of The FireBrand Agency to design and execute a multifaceted marketing strategy.
The Challenge:
Foster for East Midlands faced the challenge of attracting more foster carers in a highly regulated industry while adhering to government policies and regulations, whilst also satisfying the needs of all four councils simultaneously, all with their own targets and needs. The organisation required a comprehensive marketing approach spanning website optimisation, paid advertising, social media strategy, event marketing, and SEO, all while ensuring compliance with stringent governmentally mandated regulations such as GDPR.
The Solution:
The FireBrand Agency collaborated closely with Foster for East Midlands to develop and implement a holistic marketing strategy tailored to the unique challenges of the fostering industry. The following steps were taken to address the challenges:
Website Optimization: The agency worked directly with the councils web team to design and optimise the Foster for East Midlands website, ensuring a user-friendly experience and clear calls-to-action to drive foster carer inquiries.
Paid Advertising Campaigns: Comprehensive paid advertising campaigns were implemented across Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and TikTok to reach potential foster carers effectively. The agency monitored campaigns closely, adjusting targeting and creative elements to maximize ROI.
Sales Process Support: The FireBrand Agency supported Foster for East Midlands’ recruitment teams with lead generation and sales process optimization, facilitating seamless communication and follow-up with potential foster carers.
Organic Social Media Strategy: An organic social media strategy was developed to attract followers in local areas, leveraging third-party agencies for network marketing, influencer and user-generated content (UGC) campaigns, and display and PR campaigns.
Event Marketing: Digital marketing for in-person and online events was managed, utilizing paid media to generate consistent sign-ups and attendance.
SEO Strategy: The agency built out an SEO strategy to improve organic ranking and visibility in search engine results, ensuring Foster for East Midlands’ website was easily discoverable by potential foster carers.
Regulatory Compliance: The FireBrand Agency and Foster for East Midlands navigated regulatory challenges, including GDPR compliance and verification and policy violations on paid media platforms, resolving issues promptly and finding workarounds to optimize campaign performance.
Results:
The collaborative efforts between Foster for East Midlands and The FireBrand Agency yielded significant outcomes:
Surge in Leads and Interest: The targeted marketing campaigns resulted in a substantial increase in foster carer inquiries and interest, aligning with Foster for East Midlands’ yearly budget goals.
Adaptability and Optimization: Despite regulatory challenges and policy limitations, The FireBrand Agency demonstrated adaptability and optimization skills, adjusting strategies and platforms to utilize spend effectively and maintain campaign performance.
Improved Accessibility and Compliance: All content and media were made completely accessible to all audiences, ensuring compliance with government regulations and GDPR laws while still optimizing campaign effectiveness.
Conclusion:
By leveraging website optimization, paid advertising, social media strategy, event marketing, and SEO, Foster for East Midlands successfully increased foster carer inquiries and engagement while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.