Social Media For Social Good
Posted by Ana Yoerg | 15-06-2009 03:26 | Category: Activism, Media, War & conflicts
Organizations are finally catching on to the idea of using social media tools like Twitter and Facebook to really spread the word about their causes.
Above is just one example: Invisible Children - which if you don’t know about already, you should - is using Twitter to spread awareness about their TRI campaign - $3 a week to bring home 3,000 child soldiers. This, coupled with their How It Ends event set to take place in DC at the end of the month, shows how mobilizing the masses around a cause can be a snap with a real-time tool like Twitter.
As part of their campaign this spring to coordinate efforts in over 100 cities in dfferent countries around the globe, the campaign also used tools like Youtube, Mogulus, and Facebook. For details on the “abduction” campaign, see here.
But that’s just one success story. Kevin Jones, founder of a VC firm for social enterprise and the man behind the (awesome!) madness that will be the SoCap09 conference in San Francisco in September, was so kind to chat with me about how socially conscious operations using innovative social media tactics to make real change. Read on for more standout examples.
Forge – In an effort coined “Radical Transparency,” Forge closed a significant funding gap by publicizing the situation via a series of blog posts. It grew to become a highly respected and closely followed story in the NGO community, the business world, and beyond. Donors quickly responded to requests for help.
charity:water - charity:water’s Twitter ‘Twestival’ raised more than $250,000 and brought worldwide public awareness to the global water crisis. The campaign was run entirely by volunteers, taking place in 202 cities around the globe. $250,000 USD = 55 water projects in Ethiopia, Uganda and India...that’s clean water for just over 17,000 people. And in April, charity:water took advantage of a new YouTube feature, call-to-action overlays, to raise $10,000 in one day with just one video. (The homepage feature didn’t hurt.)
The campaigns with the most impact are the ones that utilize the online social networks and real-time notification tools to supplement offline strategies, Kevin noted.
Here’s the formula:
1. Education. A documentary, or some other form of firsthand communication (e.g., a public speaker) that provides information about the cause.
2. a Call to Action. It could be a traditional gathering like a conference, event, or screening, or it could be something else of your own invention - something completely innovative and new. In any case, it has to be a way for people to get up, get involved, and make a difference.
3. the Viral Effect. Here’s where social media comes in. Real-time tools like Twitter and SMS can help you coordinate and mobilize people around that call to action, resulting in exponentially larger results. You’ve put the time and energy into your campaign, why not scale it and see how big it can go?
So where does social capital fit in? Social capital, or for-profit businesses with philanthropic missions baked into their financial models, are on our team. That is, they are part of the movement for systemic social change. Investors in the social capital market, just like people who pour their heart and soul into non-profit work, are interested in the positive social impact of a project. So why not work together?
By using social media tools to harness the energy of crowds of people passionate about a cause, organizations and companies can join the two forces to make a long-lasting, sustainable difference.
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