The best of charity social media in 2020

Show the Salary challenges charity recruiters

 

The charity sector has had to take difficult steps in recent years to address a lack of equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).

 

The NCVO, Versus Arthritis, and the Westway Trust have been forced to ensure they are representative and support a broad range of groups.

 

The #CharitySoWhite social media campaign launched in 2019 and continues to be at the forefront of campaigning and in 2020 we saw the launch of the #ShowtheSalary campaign, which sought to target charity recruitment specifically.

 

The campaign launched to address the charity sector’s failure to detail salaries on offer and only advertising roles as coming with a “competitive salary”. The campaign claims that it was a “discriminatory practice that perpetuates wage gaps”.

 

Social media has been integral to this messaging with the campaign actively challenging charities and recruiters that do not #ShowtheSalary.

 

This included high profile conversations across social media, with many charities publicly backing the campaign and pledging to address EDI in their recruitment.

 

 

The Woodland Trust and the British Red Cross are among charities to be challenged and commit to change.

 

 

 

Share the Mic adds authenticity to equality messaging

 

The charity sector’s drive to improve its commitment to EDI continued in 2020 through the Share the Mic campaign, which sees black women take over the running of high-profile social media accounts of white female business leaders and influencers.

 

Among charity sector leaders to take part was Shelter Chief Executive Polly Neate who handed her Twitter feed for a day to Roli Barker, a project manager at the charity.

 

 

Another to take part was cancer charity CLIC Sargent Chief Executive Rachel Kirby Rider, whose Twitter account was taken over by cancer patient Shellbie.

 

The handing over of high-profile social media accounts to charity workers and service users in this way added considerable authenticity to charities’ ethical messaging and commitment to equality.

 

 

 

Marie Curie promotes emotional user generated content

 

User generated content (UGC), where beneficiaries are supported by charities to tell their stories, gives considerable authenticity to social media content.

 

This has been particularly the case amid pandemic-hit 2020, when the real lives of people being supported by charities take on extra resonance.

 

Among charities to use UGC successfully in 2020 was Marie Curie. It used UGC to give social media users a greater insight into its work around cancer. Its campaigning involved enlisting 63-year-old terminal cancer patient Lin Dalton to produce here own video diary of her day-to-day life, which was released in Instagram. This was released regularly by the charity until her death in June 2020.

 

 

 

London Marathon uses social media for virtual fundraising

 

Social media is always a key part to promotion and fundraising around the London Marathon. But posting on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media channels in 2020 was especially vital as the fundraising side of the event was pivoted online.

 

In April, when the event was postponed, the #twopointsixchallenge was launched urging people to support good causes through sponsored activities based around the numbers 2.6 or 26. Within months this successfully raised more than £11.1 million with social media key to its success. 

 

 

The event was rescheduled for later in the year, but for elite athletes only, and fundraisers were once again asked to take to social media to complete their own race in their own neighbourhood.