Less than 48 hours after a massive earthquake destroyed much of Haiti, the American Red Cross had already received $35 million dollars in donations to the relief effort (according to James Morgan's article for the BBC, Twitter and Facebook Users Respond to the Haiti Crisis). $8 million of that was received directly through texts to the ARC donation line 90999. Today the text donations have surpassed $22 million, according to the New York Times, and that amount is largely thanks to social media.
Without time for a traditional print, TV, or online messaging campaign, the ARC turned to social media to spread the word quickly about the 90999 donation line and the necessity of relief donations. The ARC itself does not have many followers on Twitter, fans on Facebook, readers in the blogosphere, or viewers on YouTube, but they reached out to celebrities, athletes, and even the first lady who were able to make a huge impact in the social media world. Following their example, everyday social media users started groups on Facebook, re-tweeted the ARC's message, blogged about the cause, and posted YouTube videos imploring people to donate.
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This mobile donation campaign has had unprecedented success that could not have been possible without the vast numbers of people now connected through social media. While traditional messaging campaigns are still quite powerful, this example shows how powerful messaging through social media can be as well.
This mobile donation campaign has had unprecedented success that could not have been possible without the vast numbers of people now connected through social media. While traditional messaging campaigns are still quite powerful, this example shows how powerful messaging through social media can be as well.
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