The beauty of blogging is that topics usually relate back to what’s really happening in your life rather than random theory. Today I’m pondering the level of engagement achieved by the #donate4mike campaign. This is personal, not business, and there’s no commercial interest here on any side – so let’s just talk about how this campaign is capturing hearts and minds, getting people’s energy behind a common vision, and creating the sense of urgency that raises £71K in just 5 days (current figures – check the campaign page to find out what it is now).
This campaign relates to a young couple with a wide network of friends on Facebook and Twitter. After 5 days, 3900 people have thought this page important enough to send others the link. Where we want to communicate messaging far and wide, social media has unparalleled reach. It not only allows frequent updates (after all, we could do that on a web page) but it allows frequent prompts. Status updates on social media platforms are frequent, specific, and clear. We know that communication works best when it has a single message that’s clear and targeted. #donateformike is using social media to build interest through frequent posts using varying perspectives and angles to capture hearts and minds.
The campaign uses different imagery and language for different audiences. It influences people and their behaviour by tapping into the language and culture of those it’s speaking to. This is where ’hearts and minds’ comes in – it builds rapport and a personal connection to encourage people to follow.
#donate4mike seems to be working not only because of the energy and momentum it’s built up, but because it balances the ’away from’ fear and sadness that’s atits core, with the ’feel-good-factor’ and ’towards’ emotion of this Aston Clinton Mix Video. This is the positive visualisation of the desired outcome of this campaign – that this group of friends can continue just like this.
The campaign total is now £74,628 – and that’s just while I’ve been writing this blog.
Keep an eye on #donate4mike!
