April LBM with Fashion Targets Breast Cancer
The April edition of the London Bloggers meetup is nearly upon us and I am delighted to say that charity Fashion Targets Breast Cancer has asked if they could support our event with some food, drinks, goodies and a fantastic competition.
Haven’t heard of the charity before?
Well as a quick intro, it was setup by Ralph Lauren in 1994 as the fashion industries response to breast cancer. The campaign raises funds for Breakthrough Breast Cancer, the UK’s leading breast cancer charity and to date has raised over nine million quid, nice!
So what’s the competition then? Well, you all have the opportunity of getting your sticky mits on £100 worth of gift vouchers for one of the retailers that supports the charity (possibly TopShop or M&S).
What do you have to do to win this prize….? It’s simple answer the following question on this blog in 100 words or less:
Why should charities use online communications to support their cause?
Simple. Just add your entry as a comment on this blog before the closing deadline of 12 midday on Monday 27th April. The winner will be chosen by the charity and announced at the meetup on the 28th April.
In the meantime, don’t forget to RSVP for a place at the meetup. There will be the usual great crowd of phenomenally interesting people to meet, from brand new bloggers, to seasoned hacks and everyone in between. As always, anyone who blogs, or is interested in blogging is welcome.
Andy
There is an ever expanding reach for online communications. It is easier than ever to be able to put out your message, create awareness, interact with others and get them involved.
Charities and non-profits should always include Online Communications as part of their organization. For a relatively small amount of work, you are able to create buzz about your charity, finding people that want to be involved and generate a presence that allows people unaware of you to gain more information and become involved. This will result in people volunteering their time and money to the cause.
Utilizing inexpensive to free mediums is ideal for a charity. Having a website built that explains the organization and its goals is a great way to spread information and create awareness. Services like Twitter, Facebook and others allow you to reach out to a very large community to pass your message along.
The addition of a blog to your site is also a great way to engage with your supporters and future supporters. Keeping it up to date with event details, useful information and facts and easy ways to get and stay in contact is a great direction to take.
Online communications for a Charity is a basic necessity in this day in age. The commitment that goes into this is most always returned in the rewards that incorporating this tactic brings.
Online communications allows messages to be published instantly with a global reach. Obviously there’s standard web metrics to benefit from but there’s also new tools that allow for more insight into conversations and relationships.
I work as the CTO of a company that creates social networks ondemand and we’re always looking at how we help others with their online communications by facilitating conversations through blogs and forums, or knowledge sharing with rss, links and file sharing. To generate more effective online communications target the thought leaders where there should be an extended audience.
p.s. Yes, first time I’ve seen the ftbc site… nice with the wardrobe background and product downloads but as my name is Peter, the fashion is not my style
Online communication facilitates any charity to bring their cause beyond the few and into the hands and minds of the many. Technologies like blogs, forums, twitter, and social networking apps make it possible for any charity to go beyond the grass roots stage reaching the long tail of like minded people world wide. To stay truth to their cause, charities do not just have the right to open online communication and campaigning, but also the duty to do so to its members.
I think a well-known quote by the cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead can be applied to both charities and to online groups such as bloggers. It reads:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
It is a given that charities engage with any community that can further their cause. There can be no other way. Online communications represent a means to acheiving that goal in communities on the internet, such that they are.
One of the most unique features of online communication and social media is the ability for a message or story to change in its telling as it is passed from one person to the next. Blogs add commentary, Twitter quips give context, social bookmarking sites influence though tagging. A message that experiences all of this change as it passes through individuals has a different sort of power and meaning than a marketing message that is static, as in an advertisement on TV or in the paper – or even online.
Charities can’t afford to miss out on the opportunity for their own message to become personalised by others again and again as it passes through the many online communication tools. It is often the power of personal experience and the individual reasons for aiding a charity that carry more weight than any message the charity itself could create and social online communications allow others to enhance a basic message with their own stories.
…because in their own individual, unique and particular way blogs (and other online communities) reach the parts that other (mainstream) publications don’t. They have an implicit trust for speaking from the heart – with sincerity and often with no holds barred. Their impact may be quiet(er) but they have a significant, effective impact and appeal to their loyal readership and following. Perfect for conveying an important message, real thoughts in a meaningful way.
Charities need to work the Internet – blogs, e-mail, web and social networking sites – to reach and maintain contact with new generations of donors, both in this country and around the world.
The Internet enables charities to convey their message to people who would otherwise never be aware of it, and to organise them into effective pressure groups.
Used sensibly it provides a cost-effective method of reaching new people and maintaining and strengthening contact, a straightforward and direct link that is also fun, motivating both staff and supporters.