Times are tough. From the economy and the mounds of job losses that are still taking their toll to world disasters and impoverished countries in need of help. For all the marketing social media does to promote major brands, individuals and products, nothing is making a greater impact than cause marketing. From the explosion of micro lending to help impoverished entrepreneurs start companies to Pepsi launching a $20 million social good campaign for “Good” projects all the way down to fighting hunger and homelessness to saving a heart.
Here is a look at how social media is impacting our worlds, from big to small.
Help Mend A Heart
Social media doesn’t need to affect global issues to be effective and affect live. In the case of Help Mend A Heart, a Ft. Lauderdale family is just looking to build a community around a heart transplant for their mom. Having recently been unemployed due to the economy, Maureen was recently rushed to the hospital over Thanksgiving break only to find out she has a bad heart. Now without health insurance for the first time in her life, she faces a $500,000 procedure.
Through a Twitter account, a Facebook page and a blog Maureen’s family has come together to create an impact felt well beyond their family’s bloodline. Creating videos, sending messages and rallying together, the group has been able to raise over $55,000 in just less than 2 months. The group has also been able to make strides in the press with mentions in the Huffington Post, the Broward New Times and even with Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stumpp and FriendsOrEnemies.com.
The group has also decided to continue Help Mend A Heart even after the situation with their mother. They are going to continue to raise money for families who are suddenly impacted by such a terrible situation.
The Haiti Earthquakes
This natural disaster has been one of the most tragic events in world history and social media has come to its aid. Twitter, with its rapid message delivery has been a front runner in displaying aid and donation information. The first to make a big leap was Wyclef and his foundation Yele. Through social media and mobile technologies Wyclef and Yele were able to raise money in a rapid way through mobile payments. By texting ‘YELE’ to 501501 you can instantly make a $5 donation to Haiti relief. The money is billed to your next mobile phone bill.
Wyclef is also taking to his blog to post videos and announcements of the events. This is a great use of new media and the popularity of a star to use their fame for good to make an impact in the world.
The impact is still being seen on Twitter today with over 86 Tweets mentioning Yele in the past 1 minute alone.
The Red Cross has also been able to act fast using social media and SMS messaging. Texting ‘HAITI‘ to 90999 sends $10 directly to the aid efforts in the Caribbean.
Personal Philanthropy
photo by Vincent J. Brown
The last piece I wanted to touch on today was the rise in personal giving thanks to social media efforts. Sites and communities have been developing that has made it very easy and efficient to donate time and money to specific organizations at the grass roots. With platforms like Kiva, you are able to learn more about individual entrepreneurs and make donations to specific ventures.
With money being tight and demand for actions and results being high knowing exactly where your dollars are going to help out is very beneficial to these new social platforms. With a few Tweets and some connections on social media platforms, you can learn much about organizations, what they are talking about and how they manage their funds.
Other projects like GiveForward allow you to set up efforts for your causes and projects. This allows you to interact with your fans and donors on a 1-on-1 level.
This post was written by Greg Rollett, a music marketing coach from Orlando, FL.
