Using the EAST behavioural model to improve website experiences and conversions

Behavioural insights has been traditionally applied to health, policy and social issues for many years. In more recent times, marketers realised that its principles and models could also be used to help the people they were trying to communicate to take actions and ultimately improve their choices and experiences.

Out of all of the behavioural models, EAST is one that I feel is really useful when it comes to improving your marketing, communications and fundraising activity. It’s simplicity means that anyone can use it, regardless of any level of behavioural science knowledge and in fact, it’s a really good introduction to some basic principles of behavioural insights.

In this article, I take a look at where the EAST model came from, what it is and how it can be used to help improve the experiences your users have on your website and importantly, the conversions that you need to generate.

Where did the EAST model come from?

The EAST model was first devised by the UK Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) and released in 2014. This was around the same time that BIT became a standalone organisation – up to that point, it had been embedded within the British Government.

The model has become globally popular since then, so as a result BIT updated it at the end of 2024.

A key reason for its popularity is that it is a relatively simple framework, especially when compared to some other behavioural ones that are much more complex. As a result, you don’t need to have an in-depth knowledge of behavioural science or behavioural insights, as it’s fairly self-explanatory in its nature.

What is the EAST model?

The EAST model is made up of four key components and works on the basis that if you want to encourage users to change a behaviour (for example, engaging with content on your website or donating online), then you need to make it…

Easy – this is in terms of the person understanding what needs to be done (the cognitive effort) and how easy it is to perform an action (the practical effort)

Attractive – make something more appealing with how it looks and how it sounds as a proposition (the attractiveness of the messaging used)

Social – take advantage of the fact that we humans are social beings and are often influenced by those around us.

Timely – this plays on the importance of putting something in front of someone when it’s the optimal time for their interest to be piqued.

How to use it to improve your website?

When it comes to your website, you will have a whole host of different audiences using it for different purposes (based on their needs) and at different stages of their journey.

As a starting point, work out who these different users are and consider what the behaviour is that you need to try to change. For example, do you need service users to be able to find the right information for them more quickly, or do you need people taking part in a sponsored event be able to pay in their sponsorship monies more easily.

Once you have that initial list, then prioritise it to focus on trying to optimise for the most important audiences first.

Let’s take a look at some uses of the EAST model from the viewpoint of MarComms or fundraising activities…

Easy

To make something easy, there are three key factors:

• Harness the power of defaults – humans prefer sticking to pre-set options, so take advantage of this by presenting things as the default. In website terms, this could be presenting users with set donation amounts on a donation page, or being explicit with ways people can support.
• Reduce the effort required – how can you remove barriers, even small ones, on your website to help users move through it better? This might include restructuring the website so that the user has less clicks to get to where they need to. Or perhaps it could mean redesigning some key pages, so that users can find the key information (including calls-to-action) more easily.
• Make the message simple –  if more people understand what you are saying, they will then be able to learn or take an action. Look at your copy that explains what people need to do and then see how you can simplify this.

Attractive

This is all about making things appeal more to people, attracting their attention and engaging them with visual elements.

Look at the design of your website, including elements such as images, graphics, CTA buttons and even video content. Does it feel like it will attract attention? Would the overall ‘look and feel’ appeal to people and make them do something?

You can also use incentives as part of attraction, so in website terms this could be making it clear what the incentives are for people who support your charity (or take an action such as donating or signing up to become a member).

Social

Social influences are important – as humans, we do like to typically follow the crowd. So make sure you:

• Show other people who perform the desired behaviour – use testimonials and case studies to promote supporters
• Recognise the power of social networks – how can you encourage people to share your website content more? Are there any community elements you can incorporate?
• Create feelings of reciprocity – we like helping when someone has done something for us (direct reciprocity), but will also support people who have helped others, even if we did not benefit ourselves (indirect reciprocity). You can use this concept to show clearly the ways in which your charity’s work clearly impacts the lives of others. Again, use case studies to show what has happened as a result of your interventions.

Timely

Timing is everything, so make sure you think about ways to get the right content on your website in front of people at the right point in time. This could include having seasonal or topical content that’s relevant to people in that moment. Or you could make sure that the logical journeys people take through the website will give them what they need in that moment.

Also, look at how you can provide immediate costs and benefits, as these are more appealing to people. A simple approach is to reframe messaging around, for example “Did you realise that donating today will change the life of someone tomorrow?“.

As an overall piece of advice here, if you are going to make positive changes to your website in one area or for one group of users, then make sure you consider the impact on the rest of the website or users too.

And if you feel like you’re not certain on which are the most important things to change, or want to validate internal stakeholder opinions, then carrying out user testing will help.

What else can it be used for?

As you might have realised, the EAST model could actually be really useful when applied to lots of different areas of MarComms and fundraising activity or in fact even some of the operational or service focused areas of your charity.

Here’s a few other ideas on where you could look to use it:

• Helping to sense-check ideas for new initiatives or services (can you rate them well against all four components?)
• Optimising fundraising (or other) campaigns
• Reviewing content across your marketing channels, such as email or organic social media
• Improving other digital platforms, such as apps.

You can read more about the EAST model in general, including seeing wider examples of application, in the updated BIT publication.