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Positive news: comms and social media
13 Sep 2021by Mary Wessel
In the latest in our positive news series, we look at some uplifting news from the world of comms and social media
Collaborative campaigning. Smart use of social. Impactful videos. Here are some of the comms and social media good news stories that have caught our eye.
Better communication with stakeholders
When the Media Trust and CharityComms surveyed charity comms professionals in spring 2021, 57% of its 289 respondents said their ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders had improved since the first UK lockdown in March 2020.
This goes hand-in-hand with the fact that more than 60% had more confidence in their organisation’s digital skills. Both Media Trust and CharityComms offer a wealth of free information and support for comms professionals.
Media Trust’s Resource Hub has free guides and information on topics from digital fundraising to creative campaigns. And the CharityComms website has free guides, toolkits, and tips created specifically by sector experts for charities and not-for-profits.
Impactful visuals to raise awareness
Every day, the UK dumps 1.8 million kilograms of plastic waste onto other nations. Greenpeace UK, working with humanitarian and sustainability specialists Studio Birthplace, created a hard-hitting video to help its audience comprehend exactly how much that is.
‘Wasteminster’ uses CGI to show the actual amount of plastic that the government claims is being recycled (but in reality is being dumped on other countries and burned overseas) being dropped on Boris Johnson’s doorstep. It then calls on the audience to act by signing a petition telling the government to take responsibility for the plastic pollution crisis.
Another visually impactful campaign was Prostrate Cancer UK’s partnership with Papa Johns. The pizza chain removed ‘Papa’ from their social media profiles and website to “honour all dads and men lost too soon to prostrate cancer”. The campaign ran ahead of Father’s Day to raise awareness of the disease and the charity’s work.
Celebrating acts of kindness
During COVID-19, painted rainbows and children’s thank you notes stuck in windows have been commonplace. So when the British Red Cross ran its ‘This is human kind’ campaign, it chimed with its pandemic audience.
To celebrate human kindness, the British Red Cross commissioned a mural by Yinka Ilori MBE. Colourful and joyful, the 15-foot mural brightened Shoreditch High Street in London.
The mural reflects acts of kindness shown in communities across the UK during the pandemic. Images of it were shared on social media with the text “Everyone has kindness in their soul”.
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The power of collaboration
Charities Against Hate, a collective of more than 40 UK charities, is showing how collaboration is crucial when challenging online hate.
In September 2020, a survey carried out by the collective showed that 81% of the charity beneficiaries who responded had experienced hate online themselves or witnessed others being targeted.
To help combat this, it’s working together to develop long-term recommendations to prevent hate speech on social media. It’s also created a free best practice guide to help other charities with ethical digital marketing and communications.
Another powerful collaboration was the 20 for 20 campaign. Twenty charities representing people affected by rare and less common cancers launched a fundraising campaign in autumn 2020. It challenged participants to fundraise for 20 days, giving the option to support one of the charities or all twenty.
Key to the campaign was clarity in why the campaign, and the collaboration, was necessary at that point in time, with the messaging: “Cancer doesn’t stop for COVID”.
It also headlined the fact that during the pandemic fewer people were coming forward when having symptoms, leading to cases going undiagnosed, and that some had faced delays in treatment. The campaign has raised almost £100,000.
Showcasing social media talent in the sector
CharityComms’ Inspiring Communicators awards have proved that there’s an abundance of creativity, passion, and talent in the sector.
Award winners included Alissa Johnson, senior digital officer at Mayhew, the animal welfare charity. Her work there has contributed to the charity’s increase of Instagram followers (from 6,000 to 29,5000) and one of her online campaigns during the pandemic raised £10,000 for care packages for animal owners in need.
Another winner was Scott Roberts, media and communications manager for Barnardo’s. He used his creativity to drive the launch of a new online station, Barnardo’s Radio, during lockdown and arranged for a young carer to meet Billie Eilish.
Making an impact with social media and collaboration
Women’s Aid used both collaboration and social media to raise awareness of domestic abuse and secure funding for its cause. Through its network of 170 local groups it presented robust research on the rise of domestic abuse during the pandemic and shared it on social platforms including Twitter.
Through this, the charity secured around £30 million in emergency funding from the government to tackle domestic abuse and violence against women and girls, and subsequent campaigning led to top-up funding of £12 million.
Mary Wessel
Mary Wessel
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