Why charities need to monitor social media trends

What should smart charities do to take advantage of the new opportunities offered by social media? The answer is simple – watch for trends and turn them to their advantage.

Earlier this year the #nomakeupselfie social media craze raised £8m for Cancer Research UK – enough to fund 10 clinical trials. It simply asked women to post photos of themselves without make-up with the hashtag #nomakeupselfie. The source of the trend, which began on social media one Tuesday afternoon in March, is unclear. Taking the charity totally by surprise, it raised more than £1 million through 800,000 text donations in its first day.

But how did this happen? When Cancer Research UK noticed donation links to their charity popping up among some no makeup selfies, they gave the craze a boost through their own social media channels, promoting details of the trend and how to donate to their charity via text message. As the #nomakeupselfie went viral, donations poured in.

Hijacking trends

Water is Life is another example. Back in 2012, it hijacked the trending #firstworldproblems hashtag. It used irony to promote third world problems and raise funds. It used social media and the hashtag to direct people to a video showing, among other things, a Haitian boy sitting on rubble reading a tweet from a boy complaining that his leather seat is too cold. The video ends with a call for donations.

Charities need to be watching out for what is trending social media – looking out for opportunities to hijack trends and turn them to their advantage.