Charity: water has been blowing up all over the scene lately, but their specialty is definitely social media. The organization is just shy of being three years old, yet they have a massive following and world recognition – and a huge factor in that growth is social media.
How many people are thirsty for charity: water updates? Over 1 million on the organization’s Twitter account (and thousands more on each employee’s Twitter account). Over 44,000 on Facebook. About 1 million on YouTube.
They have used social media to promote events, such as Twestival. Twestival was an event that raised money around the world for charity: water and was organized using Twitter, drew in over $250,000 in donations, but most importantly, the event took place in 80 cities across the globe.
Their website even caters to the social media addicted, by offering borninseptember.org, a site where people that were born in September can create a profile where they can collect donations that go to charity: water in lieu of birthday gifts. So far 1,646 (including one of our own) have given up mediocre and unnecessary birthday presents for charity: water.
The key takeaway from charity: water’s practices? They treat their social media fans and followers like friends –constantly letting them know what’s happening within the organization. They let people know about campaigns, especially ones that are location specific (which, hello, only adds to ROI), they talk about events (like how Blake Lively hosted one of their recent events), they talk about the people they help (”Not having to share water with animals makes us feel more human” says woman with a new village well), they upload a picture everyday that either shows what they’re up to that day or something they’ve done recently and much more.
So, you’re probably thinking, “I’m a CPA and I own my own business…what exactly could I talk about that would be interesting?” Well, you’d be surprised… Blogs for small businesses such as accounting firms and law firms are a great way to show future clients your voice, such as offering tax tips to small business owners or starting a blog and commenting on legal issues in the news. Twitter and Facebook are great for small retail businesses, offering deals to fans and followers and letting them know about upcoming sales. There are tons of ways to apply what charity: water teaches us to your own business.