4 Ways to Raise Fast Awareness of a Social Issue
The following article has been posted on
The Actionable Ideas Blog by
Julie Huang, President of
Kaimen Company.
You have a big social or political issue you are tackling and you need the world to know now. You do not have the time or the resources to create a website/blog that is search engine optimized.
So what do you do? Where do you go to launch fast?
1. Create a Facebook page. Facebook may be the best place to galvanize interest and recruit interested people about a social issue and recruit interested people. This is especially true if you already have a personal page with some friends who understand your issue. You can get your friends to support your social issue and they can do the same. You then have your initial base of supporters who can help champion your cause. It's not easy to start by trying to get strangers to care about your issue(s).
Ideally, your Facebook social issues page should be separate from your own personal page. This separation might make it easier for you to bring strangers into the mix. Proceed, nonetheless, with caution, especially if you are addressing an issue that may be controversial and/or raise blood pressures. You still need to monitor and moderate what your new "Facebook fans" on your social issues Facebook page are saying.
Here's how you create a page separate from your own personal page. Look at the left hand column of your own Facebook page. Once you click on the "Ads and Pages" button, it should take you to a page that lets you create a page.
Be sure to create a name for your page that is specific enough, and not too general. Anything too general is not going to be easily searchable via the Facebook search engine or any search engine.
2. Create a Twitter Account
Consider setting up a Twitter account. Twitter is a hotbed of information. People are not necessarily waiting to have a Web site or a blog to get the word out about a topic of interest. Many news media outlets are using Twitter to break news first before a related article gets written and published through traditional media. Consider using the search feature to find and follow other twitterers who might care about your issue. The act of your following them may draw their attention to you and your Twitter account. Make sure your profile on Twitter is clear and descriptive. If you don't have a Website and use the Facebook social issues page you created in Step 1 as your primary Web site, then be sure to list the Facebook page link in your Twitter profile. Feel free to Tweet the link to your Facebook page regularly, too.
3. Now that you have Facebook and Twitter Accounts - what next?
Treat your Facebook page like it's a webpage. It's faster and you are in control. You can post notes (like it's a blog), links, photos or videos. When you do, use your Twitter account to tweet the link to the Facebook pages. You can continuously draw new people via Twitter to your Facebook page with new content. New and marketable content creation is what will drive new like-minded individuals and potential supporters to your Facebook fans page.
4. Contact Other Groups, Hold a Meeting, Invite Elected Officials and the Press
Often times, an event posted on a short notice can light a fire on a social issue. We recently wrote-up an example of this in our Company News. Have a look to read an example.
References
4 Ways For Non-Profit Organizations to Use Facebook to Raise Awareness by Don Marges
How to Build a Great Company Facebook Pageby Pradeep Chopra in The Wall Street Journal.
@2011 Kaimen Company.