Three Non-Profits Using Social Media in an “Out of the Box” Way
You’d have to have been living under a rock to have missed the ALS ice bucket challenge that’s swept the web. A few months before the ALS challenge, women were posting photos of their bare faces, free of make-up and hashtagging #NoMakeUpSelfie. Believe it or not, these efforts weren’t even planned by non-profits. But, with some strategic placement and interjections from groups like the ALS Association and Cancer Research UK, the results have been millions raised for both organizations. What follows are three non-profits using social media in “out of the box” ways that deserve notice. Or I should say, more notice.
1. WATERisLIFE
True hashtag hijackers, Water is Life mastered the idea of taking something with a negative reputation and turning it into something for a greater good. #FirstWorldProblems, a trending hashtag, highlights issues that – only those far more fortunate than others – could even deem ‘problems’. For instance, “My in-flight movie was longer than my flight” is a typical first world problem. Water for Life hijacked this hashtag and created a video featuring third world kids and adults in their natural environments (in front of a hut, bathing in dirty water) reading typical #FirstWorldProblems aloud to show just how outrageous our issues truly are. The results? Donations that totaled over a million days worth of clean water to those in need! (1)
2. Cancer Research UK
The #NoMakeUpSelfie trend wasn’t started by Cancer Research UK, but when a bunch of women began posting pictures online of themselves without make-up and encouraging their friends to donate to the cause, the non-profit very wisely jumped on board. The charity sent out a tweet saying:
The campaign isn’t ours but every £ helps #beatcancersooner.” The results? They raised $13.3 Million USD in six days! (2) Why is this my favorite campaign so far? The honesty of Cancer Research UK created a transparent and honest relationship with participants. Also, as a woman proud of her face and body as they are, make-up or not, a campaign promoting women to bare their natural beauty gets an A+ in my book!
3. ALS ASSOCIATION
It’s the biggest viral trend today and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon. It’s the #IceBucket challenge. With this campaign, individuals have two options: pouring a bucket of ice cold water on themselves and making a small donation to the ALS Association, or making a much larger donation to the ALS Association but dodging the polar bear-esque plunge. Time limit? 24 hours! With the sharing capabilities of social media and the naturally occurring domino effect that comes with any contest that asks you to challenge others, the #IceBucket challenge has taken over social media. The results? $94.3 Million raised from July 29, 2014 to August 27, 2014. (3)
The use of social media for non-profits has proven to be successful time and time again. The results are in the numbers and as we all know, numbers don’t lie. One of the biggest draws for companies to use social media, is the rate at which a message can spread.
One thing is for sure, whether these non-profits raised money or not, they met their most important goal, awareness. When done right, the buzz around these non-profits and their purpose continues to rise with every share, post and call to action. The ice bucket challenge has not only raised millions of dollars, it has also proved a very important point. As Oscar Wilde once said, “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
*Sources
(2) http://guardianlv.com/2014/08/ice-bucket-challenge-better-than-the-no-makeup-selfies/
(3) http://www.alsa.org/news/media/press-releases/ice-bucket-challenge-082714.html
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