by Rochelle Ceira
If you’re someone who’s looking forward to bringing a positive change in the community, you’ve probably tried tons of ways to spread the word about your efforts. This could have been done through brand ambassadors, print media, or other promotional content. It can’t be denied that the most powerful source used to “spread the word” is the one welfare organizations thrive on to do their charity work. Today, our task to find this influential source is cut down because we have exactly what is needed to connect to a large audience—the social media.
How can we effectively use the social media for good? That is a brilliant question we are about to answer. It’s not a cinch to create a post that goes viral and thereby creates a movement. Very often, the most informative and useful posts get buried in an avalanche of so many other “news” items on people’s feeds. Even if it does make an impact, you’ll have to keep preserving and upholding the message before it starts to slip out of the public’s awareness and get replaced with another hot new topic.
Here are nine effective ways you can use social media for social good:
- To Network with Like organizations: One of the best ways to obtain useful information about a concern is by having a little chitchat with other contacts on the same page. Now, in a normal networking event, you are going to do the same by fishing through the crowd and finding like-minded people willing to give their two cents on a subject. On the social media, however, much of the effort to find and fish through the crowd is reduced. Regardless of which social channel you are using, you can join community groups/ like organizations, follow a relevant hashtag, or add to your list friends and followers that belong to similar organizations. Unlike traditional business, these organizations won’t be your competitors. They will be philanthropic organizations seeking to bring good to the community.
- To Connect With Donors: In a traditional non-profit business, where would you look for donors? Set up a stall with a jar of cash? Maybe go door to door and ring bells? Perhaps, ask UK dissertation online services to write about your cause? With the help of social media accounts, you won’t have to go through all that trouble and awkwardness. By creating a sound and solid social presence you will have access to a large community, possibly even an international one. Social media won’t require you to knock on anyone’s door. You will simply share what you have to say or show and the interested bunch of people will show up on their own. No awkwardness, no force needed, and no spammy emails.
- To Share the Facts and Figures: Nothing speaks credibility the way research and statistics do. People love getting to know facts and statistics, especially those they were previously unaware of. Social causes always have a range of statistics, research, and knowledge to share to enlighten an audience. The community is most often unacquainted with these facts and figures. Come up with infographs, charts, and creative images that will make effective posts to engage the community as well as enlighten them about bases of your cause.
- To Share Stories: A great welfare organization always has great stories to share. These could be narratives of people you’ve helped, videos of tours and experiences, heart-wrenching pictures of those who need help, and other content meant to inspire. Don’t let your success stories go wasted either. Let your audience know how you have been making a difference. If you’re following a cause that is meant to raise awareness, telling stories is one of the best ways to do this.
- To Promote and Event: Event promotions are best done on social media these days. Let your fans and followers, as well as the public, know what your organization is arranging for the social cause. With the help of social media, such as Facebook, you can also invite a large number of people and ask them whether they are “going” or “not going” to the event. This will also allow you to judge the number of guests you should be having.
- To Get Your Call to Action Out There: The more the displays of your call to action, the better. Social media gives you that advantage. You can put up your call to action anywhere and repeatedly free of cost. This also makes it easier for your potential donors to find a “link” to the right page where they can donate or find information on how to do so.
- To Gratify to Your Community: After a charitable donor has submitted his payment, what must you do? Thank him, of course! You can use social media to thank your donor personally with a customized message.
- To Celebrate the Voice of the Customer: You don’t always have to be the one to generate content. Sometimes, the voice of a customer speaks even louder than that of the seller. In your case, the customer could be a donor, an internee, or anyone who helped you further your cause. Let the contributors share their experiences with a great story to tell. You can even extend this strategy by sharing posts of other individuals and organizations that share your values and interests. Not all the content you create has to be your own. Why not promote something another crafted for the same purpose as yours?
- To Gather Feedback: Social media accounts have tons of raw data that can be effectively transformed into “feedback” and analytics. Apart from being able to generate useful figures, you can also use your social media accounts to conduct survey and polls. Social media provides us with a simple and speedy platform for our market research. This is essential to the success of any cause, business, or initiative where an audience or customer base plays a major role.