Social Media plays a role in disaster relief

Originally posted 1.18.2010 by Gabriel Mederos of  Communications Reloaded

I was reading some of the coverage about the earthquake that ravaged Haiti and one article really caught my attention. CBS had run a story about how social media is being used as part of the Haiti Relief campaign. According to the story, an SMS (short message service) relief campaign is being coordinated by the U.S. State Department where people wanting to help the relief effort could text 90999 and make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross. The campaign raised “$1.7 million in its first 24 hours” and has since eclipsed the $10 million mark. Add to this the prominence that Haiti Relief efforts have enjoyed on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and it is not surprise that most people you talk to are fully aware of the devastation that took place. If there were ever any doubts about the positive impact that social media can have, this campaign should dispel them. The success of this campaign demonstrates that, when done properly, a social media campaign seamlessly integrates into a larger strategy and helps you to not only reach, but connect with your audience. In this case, the most important factor is the ever-growing amount of help being funneled into Haiti. Please be sure to do what you can to help… hopefully this disaster will bring us all closer together globally.

Click to help

Advertisement