Social media is all about sharing human experiences, conversations, photos, videos and interests. But how can it work for charitable causes?
Social media shouldn’t be viewed as a broadcast channel but more as an engagement channel for when you have a message you want people to share and discuss.
Both Social media agency and internet marketing agency alike have started to realise the profitable potential of social media and there is no reason why charities can’t do the same. You only have to look at the success of the recent Movember campaign to see how positive social media can be for a worthwhile cause.
However, charities need to tread carefully and ensure that they maintain the right image and reach out to the right people in order to get the best exposure.
For a charity campaign message to be successful and gain a lot of exposure, it needs to be adapted for the social media audience.
By researching the people you are targeting you can get into their mind-set and engage with them more easily.
Charity events do very well on Twitter and Facebook as those involved in taking part can get talking to each other and spreading the message.
Movember, The Moonwalk, The Shine Marathon and the London to Brighton bike ride are just some examples where social media can really put a message across well. Participants can discuss training tactics, moustache growing prowess and many other topics relating to the event or charity itself. And what’s more, they spread the good word for you through their news and Twitter feeds.
If your charity website page is quite corporate and stuffy then you need to adapt your vocabulary to suit a wider audience.
This way campaigns can really help to generate conversations and get noticed. Popular conversations in the digital world can promote meaningful actions in the physical world proving social media could be very positive for raising awareness and pounds.
One example of how not to run a social media charity campaign is the Kony 2012 campaign. If you are not familiar with the cause you can find plenty of videos on YouTube. The campaign tried to attract attention by playing on the obsession of celebrity.
However, the campaign lacked clarity, was inaccurate in many parts and lacked proper context. Some critics also claim that the producer of the video was trying to attract attention to his production company rather than any charitable cause.
Authenticity is important when running a charity campaign using social media. You need to think about branding, linking back to the charity website and having the resources available to cope with the demand of the campaign once it gathers some momentum.
You might also want to think about handing the social media reins over to a team of marketing experts experienced in raising awareness of charitable causes.
At Jungle Media we have lots of experience in helping businesses to explore the merits of social media as a marketing tool. We can do the same for your charity and help you to raise awareness for your cause and get those donations rolling in!
Speak to our friendly marketing team for more information today.
