If you are someone that grew up before social media and the wide-spread reach of the internet, you’ll be familiar with the concept of hearing about natural disasters on the evening news or in the newspaper the next day or in some cases, a few days later. This type of news delivery definitely invoked some feelings of empathy, but most of the time, there weren’t great numbers of people immediately leaping to the aid of others in distress.
Jump to the modern-day, however, and charitable organizations are using the world wide web and social media to their advantage, able to raise huge amounts of money that can be used to improve the lives of tens of thousands of people every year. Feeding the poor, raising money for educational needs, supporting victims of disasters such as the Cyclone Idai emergency relief and the Tsunami relief fund and aiding those affected by the conflicts of war.
We look at how social media has made such a difference for charity and helping those affected by natural disasters and how it can make an impact on your next campaign;
Greater Reach
Social media is all about social connections, providing a platform for people to keep in contact easily, no matter the distance between them. Not only does it keep friends and family connected but it allows for greater opportunities to network and reach new people with similar interests to yourself. Businesses can make use of social media to connect with a larger audience in more cost-effective means than traditional print mediums, with the added benefit of followers that will ensure you can reach that potential customer every time you post.
Faster Responses
The best and worst thing about social media; it’s an ‘in the now’ platform. While you might occasionally read a post from an hour ago, most reactions and views happen within 5-10 minutes of a post being made. The benefits to this include providing a quick and easy method of communication for your customers. Without the need to pick up the phone. Businesses can make use of social media and media monitoring to connect with a larger audience in more cost-effective means than traditional print mediums, with the added benefit of followers that will ensure you can reach that potential customer every time you post.
Chance of Virality
Every post published online, whether text, image or video has the opportunity to go viral, involving hundreds, thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of shares and millions of views and engagements from all around the world. While going viral is no longer guaranteed to always lead to a sudden increase in followers and customers. It can translate to increased sales and improve trust with your customer base when effectively responded to.
Cost-Effective Sharing
Not only is social media a more cost-effective method of increasing awareness when compared to traditional mediums of advertising such as magazines, newspapers, and billboards. It provides a platform for easily sharing rich content such as videos. Videos are fast becoming the most consumed content on the web and it’s easy to see why. Videos are convenient, allowing you to easily multitask where needed and offer a fantastic way of sharing great visual information for learning new topics and skills.
When it’s free to open a social media account and easy to tie social media metrics into your analytics account, it would be missing a trick not to utilize social media as an online avenue for reaching a greater audience and increasing your conversions.
Give your organization an online advantage today, whether you are a non-profit looking to raise donations for people in need of a start-up trying to get your services or products noticed. Social media can help you connect with your audiences, increase the trust with your customers and potentially see one of your posts go viral, start planning your strategy today!
