In the last couple of weeks, you have likely seen at least one part of the effort No Kid Hungry has been making to end childhood hunger. There was their “Lose-A-Palooza” effort:
On Twitter, you can see a lot of avatars bearing the distinctive orange Twibbon tied to No Kid Hungry.
They have their Dine Out for No Kid Hungry campaign going on all through September:
But the campaign that really caught my attention was one they called #tweatout, which happened all day on Monday, September 17th. There were three really smart and interesting things about this campaign.
- No Kid Hungry made it simple– As you can see on their TweatOut post, they offered all of the content you’d need to tweet or blog for the cause. Easy calls to action mean it’s harder for people to rationalize NOT participating.
- The goal was to raise awareness, not money— The TweatOut campaign was intended to raise awareness about the Dine Out for No Kid Hungry campaign, so people didn’t have to make the extra click to a donation page. Retweeting someone else’s post is still a win in a campaign like this.
- The campaign crossed many platforms– Calls to action tied to the campaign included liking the Facebook page, writing a blog, or Tweeting for awareness. Beyond the social media there is of course the additional step of participating in the Dine Out for No Kid Hungry program itself.
How Did It Do?
You might see a lot of stories about social media campaigns for social good. There never seems to be any evidence, or at least not a lot of evidence, that all of that hubub does much good. I asked Ty Sullivan, who was a major force behind the effort, if he had any idea what impact the #tweatout campaign had. Here was his answer:
IN ONE DAY:
6,200+ tweets
by 1,600+ unique tweeters
reaching 11.2+ million tweeters
leaving 68.6+ million impressions
It was also a trending topic in Los Angeles, Dayton, DC, San Antonio, Atlanta, Miami, Boston, Lexington, NYC, Houston, and Dallas.
Ty also noted that about 200 restaurants signed on to join the Dine Out campaign during the course of the day. All in all, those are pretty powerful results. Although we can’t tie a monetary accomplishment to the campaign, it’s clear that the goal of raising awareness was accomplished, and then some.
What No Kid Hungry Does Right
If you are running your own cause or helping one out in your free time, what lessons can you take away from this #tweatout success?
As John Haydon recently discussed, using Twitter hashtags can be a big help. No Kid Hungry makes it easy to support them: the use of memes on Facebook, catchy and clever campaign names, and succinct, easy-to-fulfill calls-to-action make helping them out almost a no-brainer.
Even more than all of that though, No Kid Hungry lets participants in their campaigns know that their efforts are appreciated. The Facebook page is filled with “thank you” messages, and excited, passionate retorts from an engaged community. It’s easy to feel like you are accomplishing something when you help out No Kid Hungry, so when they ask for help, it’s gratifying to make their goals happen.
The Take-Aways
Can you create a campaign that generates as much interest and participation as the #tweatout campaign? Of course you can, but it takes a lot of community building and preparation. Your calls to action need to be clear and when the campaign is over, you need to not only express gratitude but also let people know what they helped you accomplish. Using multiple platforms can be great as long as you can use each one effectively. Make it easy and rewarding for people who help you out.
Have you tried anything like the #tweatout campaign? What worked for you and what didn’t? If you participated in the No Kid Hungry #tweatout campaign, what encouraged you to participate?
We’d love to hear from you!