Post by saidusupreme on Oct 2, 2014 22:29:27 GMT -5
The Charity Water Google Hangout was by far my favorite of the hangouts thus far. The charismatic speaker was very dedicated to his work, thus, I was excited about what they were doing. I really enjoyed the fact that they didn’t badger people for donations and that they looked for sustainable ways for engaging with their supporters, ways other than viral sensations. The representative focused mainly on inspiring individuals, and that is the starting point of their unique social media campaign.
Inspiration, the speaker said, is more useful and fruitful than the non-profit itself imposing it’s will upon its audience. The most unique part of their social media approach is that they provided information on their website and allowed individual supporters to use their content to raise funds or awareness. The most affective example of this is their Birthday gift campaign, in which participants willingly asked their family and friends to donate money to charity water instead of giving gifts, for their birthday. The gimmick in the campaign that never truly dies out is that the person will ask for an amount equivalent to that of the age they are turning, in any form. For example, if a person is turning 31, they can ask some family members to donate $31 or donate $310- whoever can afford to donate either will do it to make the participant happy.
Charity water is sustainable in the way viral campaigns are sustainable, the success does not rest in the hands of the non-profit, but on its participants. Many non-profits such as Smile Train have attempted to do such a thing with their “when you smile” campaign but Charity Water’s humble beginnings give them an edge that no other non-profit (that I’ve seen) has managed to accomplish. Comparatively, the when you smile campaign is meant to stay on Smile Train’s website, as opposed to Charity Water, who have developed loyal followers that go as far as to remove content from their website to create their own social media campaigns and then route the money back to Charity water. Such a process is truly phenomenal and a testament to what trust and belief and relationship with a non-profit can produce.
Charity Water’s hands off approach to social media is much like anything else widely successful and popular, if no-one is asking you to donate or advocate for something, and their just stating their cause in a noble manner, you will feel more likely to want to partake because it is of your own free will.