We were working with two of our chosen charities yesterday (with Kids and Revive MS Support) talking about social media and how they can use various tools to engage and communicate with staff, volunteers, clients, and donors.
During lunch, we were discussing jogging and some of the people who had completed 10k and half marathons for the charities and one of the girls commented that she could never do such a thing. In response, I said this was all right because she could make her own contribution by blogging instead of jogging.
The comment served as a useful example to all present that the world is made up of lots of different kinds of people; active people who like to get involved and do physical stuff either for fun or, to raise much needed funds for their chosen charities. Less active people, like myself, might not throw on the running shoes and do a marathon but we can still play an effective part in the whole fundraising process.
Writing blogs, sharing fundraising news on Facebook and sending out Tweets about the exploits of others is a very valuable contribution; by doing this you immediately widen the reach of the particular persons efforts to include your community and that of anyone who in turn shares it over again. It's for that very reason that I have been happy to talk about and share information on Kenneth Martin's kidney transplant and his appeal to raise funds for Yorkhill Hospital. I see, via the Just Giving page, many of my friends have made donations to the appeal and I thank them for that and, it proves the point that blogging, tweeting, and sharing his story on Facebook has made a difference to the appeal.
So, if you're not inclined to scale a building, run a marathon or zip slide off the Forth Road Bridge don't be too hard on yourself, you can play a valuable role by talking to your community about those who do.
You can help right now; if you found this blog post valuable please share it using one of the social media "Share" buttons at the top of the right hand column or, email someone a link to it or, post a comment below for other to see.
Hi Gordon #fatbuzz. It's fair to say that blogging has been the key factor that has allowed us to raise the profile of our business and more importantly my current fundraising activities.
ReplyDeleteWhilst facebook, twitter, linkedin, ning etc are all great social media tools, the fact that you can share blog posts via these tools has been the largest contributing factor to the fundraising activity. Without the blog posts I genuinely feel that facebook, twitter etc would not have been so successful.
Other than my corporate e-flyer(another great tool)blog posting and therafter pushing the blog through social media has contributed to almost all of the funds that we have raised to date totalling some £2000 and well in excess of my original target.
On a business front we now have approx 200 hits a month to the blog and 800hits a month on our web page. These results are way in excess of our starting point.
Apart from all of this I am so thankful that you introduced me to my iphone and social media tools because it's actually great great fun. I have so many friends and business contacts who are now contacting me and asking me how can I spend so much time on the internet but actually I probably only spend 30-60min a day. I don't think that this is a long time; not when I see the results. More and more contacts think that I have a huge internet marketing strategy. Well I suppose I am trying to do this but it's really on 1 person (me) who is fronting this. (with a but of assistance from fatbuzz)
If I were to do it all again I would definitely start with a blog first. It's, in my opinion, the best way to promote your news, articles, updates and doing the videos is particular fun.
Thank you Kenneth.
ReplyDeleteI think you are a particularly good example of someone who has committed to social media; posting regular relevant content is imperative.
Your particular brand of post have also managed to humanise Block Architects which I'm sure is a contributing factor to your growing success on social media.
It's a bit of a tangent but possibly a surprising parallel.
ReplyDeleteDoing a marathon or 10k for charity undoubtedly benefits the charity. But the fundraiser also benefits significantly. Be it in terms of improved fitness or mental well being.
Similarly the motivation for blogging or sharing is usually to benefit the organisation you work for or support (be that a business or a charity). But the blogger also benefits, often significantly.
Retweeting or blogging about someone's charitable efforts works in a "what goes round, comes round sort of way". It may positively impact your brand (personal or business), it may open doors in unexpected ways, it just may make you feel good, or might even make you realise that anybody willing to put their mind to it could do a 10k!
One of the biggest spin-off benefits I get from blogging on the Attacat Brain or sharing my thoughts on Twitter etc, is the increase in my personal knowledge. Many of the articles I write require me to do some research or at least verify a thought. I learn, perhaps more than I teach, even though teaching was the objective.
I couldn't agree more Tim. I was saying this to someone else the other day about the New Media Breakfasts - preparing for a presentation forces you to research and double check facts which very often leads you to places with information you didn't know.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing this out.
Hi Gordon
ReplyDeleteWhen I do charity fundraisers I tend to find that people will contribute when there is something in return for them. That's not people being selfish; it's reality that people pay a lot on taxes and are asked to contribute to many charities as well. I find that golf days, pop quizzes or 5 aside football, where people pay a fee to take part is more profitable than a simple give us your cash. of course, some people prefer to do just that and that's fine.
But social media is great to spread the word that there's a quiz on or whatever...actually now you come to mention it.... there is a brilliant golf day, based on the Ryder Cup at Mearns Castle golf club on Friday 24 September. Proceeds to football4life.
We'll have two teams of 12, have an early afternoon start after coffees on arrival and go out in matchplay 4 balls for 9 holes, then after bacon rolls etc back out for head to heads for the second 9. Point scoring etc on the same basis as the Ryder Cup.
After the golf there's a meal, prizegiving etc laid on for the golfers at 'Mr Singh's Cafe at the Castle' which is part of the complex.
Anyone who's game, just let me know. ATB, John
John
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and, an example of how events can be publicised on a blog.
I'm certainly interested in taking part in the golf event, it depends on the timing though, fatBuzz have a New Media Breakfast in Glasgow that morning.
Let me know the full details when you have them.
Gordon
Hi Gordon,
ReplyDeleteThe seminar at 'with kids' on Friday really helped my understanding of how New Media can help out Revive MS Support with brand awareness. I guess I still have a lot to learn but that's where you come in and the next New Media Breakfast at 29. I am really looking forward to coming along.
Just to show how quick on the uptake I can be, I w'd like to take the chance to advertise an event to raise vital funds for Revive MS Support.
Kathleen McDermott, our ambassador, is hosting a Karaoke Night in Shanghai Shuffle on Thursday 28th October from 7.30pm. Tickets for a three course meal and entertainment are £15 each and are available by contacting Dave on 0141 945 3344.or david@revivemssupport.org.uk.
It 's going to be a great night, so get in quick!
Amazing the events that have just been highlighted all through one simple question and a few blog posts thereafter.
ReplyDeleteHi Gordon
ReplyDeleteI too am a fan of blogging although pressure of work recently has not allowed me to write as many as I would have liked! I first became aware of Kenneth and his fundraising through your posts on Twitter and subsequent blogs which I've been happy to retweet and post on our Facebook page to further raise awareness.
From what I have seen, blogging and indeed many aspects of new media aren't utilised as much as they could/should be by charities. As you know, we have had some attendees from charities at the New Media Breakfasts in Edinburgh as you have in Glasgow and what has been learnt has definitely been of benefit to them.
We will be fundraising on behalf of http://dreamz4u.org at our Formal Dinner & Awards Ceremony on the 30th of September at Prestonfield House and at a meeting yesterday, we were discussing what new media mediums they use. Whilst they have a Facebook page, they don't use Twitter currently due to time pressures and also have no blog for similar reasons. Through our Twitter and Facebook pages, we have been able to get the word out to a considerably larger audience than they would have been able to achieve through their own means. The next blog that I will be writing is about the work that they do making dreams come true for sick and disabled children. Additionally, the blog will also be promoting our dinner and via our Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn group, we will drive more traffic to our blog.
Another interesting point to note is that via Twitter and Facebook we have been looking for donations to raffle prizes and auction items and have had a very positive response.
Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to you and the team at fatBuzz for having re-created our blog which now looks much more professional, all I need to do now is contribute to it on a more regular basis!
Thank yo Belinda, as Kenneth mentions above, it's amazing how many events have been brought to people's attention just by answering this one post.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to the Winning Entrepreneurs Dinner and Awards on the 30th September, it was a great event last time round - an extremely good networking event.
Hi Gordon
ReplyDeleteI suppose blogging has been similar to my jogging!
I say this because I have constructed a blog page (which FatBuzz are going to make much needed changes too!) which I never actually blog on. My links to it are from my twitter and facebook feeds. This is very similar to my jogging as I haven't been doing any prolonged periods of it, just dribs and drabs. I think, "how will I get fit?" and the obvious answer is by jogging more.
As you have already said about Kenneth, his blogging has added a "human" touch to Block Architects and as Kenneth himself says, he spends 30-60 mins a day, not a tremendous chunk out of his day but nevertheless it is a prolonged period he invests into his business, to help get it fitter and produce better results in certain areas.
That's where my link comes in (at last) as jogging alone won't get you really fit. You need to add a healthy diet etc to get the full package of fitness. I firmly believe that Social Media is a very important component to a business (just like a healthy diet) when carried out in conjunction with SEO, well built website with good content and other good housekeeping practices. I think this can help our businesses become really fit and reap the rewards from being in good shape.
I would like to say that this really interesting post made me think about this in a completely different way. That is why I try and skim every blog to see if it can help spark something off, you never know where you will get inspiration from and the great thing about social media is that it puts individuals in touch with so many more people than they would usually have contact with.
See you at the next #NMB!
Duncan
Duncan
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, you make some interesting points and draw some great parallels here. Really gets the message over that the whole mix of activity, both social media and traditional marketing, has to be right.
Thanks again for the comment.
I hear our big pal is safely through the op.