Post by jefflint on Oct 1, 2014 9:29:02 GMT -5
Doctors Without Borders, or MSF is a great organization that has done amazing work in over 70 countries. They are extremely active on social media, with accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and YouTube. Engagement rates are high, and most of their accounts have thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of followers/likes. As Mr. Owen pointed out, they know they have a large following and work hard to keep engagement alive, this is something they need to keep doing to keep the conversation alive and well.
The visual social media strategy that stuck out to me the most was Doctors Without Borders Tumblr account, doctorswithoutborders.tumblr.com, and they do an amazing job. Not only have they been posting eye catching, tear jerking pictures like their Instagram, but they include stories and anecdotes that tug a little bit more at peoples’ hearts, and more than likely, their wallets/support.
They use great strategy with posting a lot of content, but they aren’t to overbearing about it. They include various tabs for different issues on their Tumblr, like HIV/AIDS, Malnutrition and neglected diseases. Cross-references are apparent all over the blog, with links to their Twitter and Facebook as well as most posts linking back to their home webpage for Doctors Without Borders. This strategy of driving traffic across their multiple platforms is what I think sets them apart from other nonprofits. Everyone wants to cross-reference and drive traffic back and forth through their channels, but not everyone does. When someone stumbles upon a Tumblr post and ends up spending 15 minutes there, and then a few minutes on their Twitter and Facebook, maybe following, liking or sharing some of their content. What you have in the end is a lot of exposure. When this exposure drives traffic to your main site, your donations, support and allies increase.
While I mainly wanted to hail their Tumblr account, I believe their Instagram account does a great job also. Like Mr. Owen said, it doesn’t allow the message of what they are trying to do get out there, or link back to their site, but it does tell a story. He used the age of adage of “a picture says 1000 words,” and it does. With the pictures posted on their Instagram account, and the strings they pull on individual person drives curiosity and interest. People want to learn more, and while it might not drive the mission or traffic back to the home site like you would want; it does get people thinking. The next time they see something with Doctors Without Borders they will be more likely to pay attention, and even better, act.
The visual social media strategy that stuck out to me the most was Doctors Without Borders Tumblr account, doctorswithoutborders.tumblr.com, and they do an amazing job. Not only have they been posting eye catching, tear jerking pictures like their Instagram, but they include stories and anecdotes that tug a little bit more at peoples’ hearts, and more than likely, their wallets/support.
They use great strategy with posting a lot of content, but they aren’t to overbearing about it. They include various tabs for different issues on their Tumblr, like HIV/AIDS, Malnutrition and neglected diseases. Cross-references are apparent all over the blog, with links to their Twitter and Facebook as well as most posts linking back to their home webpage for Doctors Without Borders. This strategy of driving traffic across their multiple platforms is what I think sets them apart from other nonprofits. Everyone wants to cross-reference and drive traffic back and forth through their channels, but not everyone does. When someone stumbles upon a Tumblr post and ends up spending 15 minutes there, and then a few minutes on their Twitter and Facebook, maybe following, liking or sharing some of their content. What you have in the end is a lot of exposure. When this exposure drives traffic to your main site, your donations, support and allies increase.
While I mainly wanted to hail their Tumblr account, I believe their Instagram account does a great job also. Like Mr. Owen said, it doesn’t allow the message of what they are trying to do get out there, or link back to their site, but it does tell a story. He used the age of adage of “a picture says 1000 words,” and it does. With the pictures posted on their Instagram account, and the strings they pull on individual person drives curiosity and interest. People want to learn more, and while it might not drive the mission or traffic back to the home site like you would want; it does get people thinking. The next time they see something with Doctors Without Borders they will be more likely to pay attention, and even better, act.
