This weekend is the anuual Blog World & New Media Expo in Las Vegas. I was there last year and it’s one of the few conferences I would happily attend again. Due to personal reasons (32 weeks pregnant as I write this!) I couldn’t attend this year.
I’ve found quite a few smart folks to connect with just by keeping up with the twitter stream. I’ve also watched several of the the live webcasts (which will be archived for on-demand viewing later). It’s the best that junior and I can do, but nothing beats going to a live event. You get a lot of information from the sessions, usually from some of the top professionals in their field. The social networking during and after the sessions is just as important though, if not more so! I’ve made some valuable contacts just sitting next to someone in the audience or introducing myself at lunch.
At Blog World this year there are several “cause sessions” with leaders from various charitable efforts. There was a session yesterday just about cancer and a conference wide follow-up campaign: Every time #BeatCancer is mentioned on Twitter or Facebook 1 cent will be donated to charity:
In a 24-hour period of time starting Friday, October 16th at 9 am (PDT) and lasting until Saturday, October 17th at 9am (PDT) people all over the internet stratosphere will be asked to send tweets and Facebook status updates and to blog using #BeatCancer in their posts. Ebay/Paypal and MillerCoors Brewing Company will donate a penny ($0.01)* for every Twitter message, Facebook update or blog post that includes the phrase #BeatCancer. All money will be donated to non-profit cancer organizations including SU2C (Stand Up to Cancer), Alex’s Lemonade, Bright Pink, and Spirit Jump. All of the non-profits are 501 (c)(3) organizations and accredited by The American Cancer Society. A listing of all organizations and a live stream of postings can be found at www.beatcancereverywhere.com.
In addition the campaign encourages people to donate directly to one of the four beneficiaries of the campaign. I’m sure they are all great nonprofits but I’m a big fan of Alex’s Lemonade so that’s where I made a special gift. Coincidentally, I recently included their Mike and Ike candy partnership as a good example of cause marketing.
It will be fun to see the results from this social media fundraising campaign. Yes, it’s true… nonprofits can raise funds online through blogging and other forms of social media! Of course money is just part of the picture. Just like in traditional nonprofit fundraising, demonstrating results on mission, building great relationships with donors and consistent marketing generally precede funding. And blogging can help with all of these efforts.
So if you don’t have a blog yet, you might wonder, is it too late to get into the game? No way! This is perfect timing. More people are using social media (of which blogging is a part) than ever, making it easier for you to connect with them about your issue. Plus the tools are getting easier to use and more cost effective. Sound cool?
Next week I’ll launch a series of blog posts I’ve been planning to do for a long time on cause blogging fundamentals.
We’ll start with a very basic question… What is a blog?
Subscribe or connect with me on Twitter or Facebook now to find out when each post in the series is up.
