How charities can prepare for their #icebucketchallenge moment

Like #nomakeupselfie, the #icebucketchallenge campaign wasn’t started by a charity, but quickly took off and had raised $31.5 million in donations for the ALS Association at the time of writing.

The campaign has now hit the UK. A couple of weeks ago, Macmillan retweeted an #icebucketchallenge video made by one of its supporters. Since then David Beckham and Richard Branson amongst 50,000 others have all undertaken the challenge.

However, Macmillan has been accused of shifting the focus away from the original cause associated with the campaign (MND is a form of ALS). Other critics have argued that Macmillan has used its might as a large charity with a well known brand to ‘take over’ the #icebucketchallenge.

I was asked to comment on this issue by The Guardian for an article by Kirsty Marrins of Just Giving. As I said, the whole point is that, as with #nomakeupselfie, one cause cannot ‘own’ a movement like #icebucketchallenge. With social media no-one is ultimately in control.

I predict that we will see different causes competing for funds again, not least because these viral campaigns are so popular. In the run up to #Giving Tuesday, the hugely successful global day of giving which is being launched by CAF in the UK on 2 December this year, there are going to be a lot of charities launching fundraising appeals. Surely all of this is a good thing though, right? There is clearly huge appetite amongst the public to support charities and innovative social media campaigns like #icebucketchallenge are stimulating that.

So how can you prepare for your #icebucketchallenge moment, particularly if you are not a large charity? I believe that every charity has a fantastic story to tell and I think there is still plenty that you can do even if you have a smaller team.

1. Make sure you are listening to your audience. Use social media monitoring tools to find out what they are saying about you, and respond quickly when you see an opportunity. Cancer Research UK did this very effectively with #nomakeupselfie which went on to raise over £8 million.

2. If you’re a smaller charity, try and draft in some additional resources. This could be as simple as some volunteers who can assist the digital team when a big campaign hits.

3. Push your USPs. If you’re up against another cause, think about your advantages. Perhaps you have amazing stories of people you’ve helped, a popular celebrity patron or a beneficiary who is a great champion of your cause in mainstream media. Make the most of everything you have.

4. Consider ramping up the competitive element. If I was a smaller charity in this situation I would have treated the campaign as a friendly competition in good humour, and focused on bantering with the bigger charity on social media about who would raise more funds. If this was done in the right spirit on both sides, I think this could have worked brilliantly, raising awareness of both causes and creating even more excitement. I’m thinking of last year’s Harlem Shake Charity Dance Off between the RNLI, Mencap and Macmillan, which was great for all of their brands. Everyone was ultimately a winner. And as you may have seen from Gregg’s surefooted handling on social media of a potential PR disaster this week, witty content goes down a storm on Twitter.

5. Keep sharing the story of the campaign. People love these campaigns because they feel like they are part of a huge global phenomenon. During #nomakeupselfie Cancer Research UK regularly announced fundraising milestones. Positive progress encouraged people to keep giving. If you want people to support your charity, the reason has to be more than ‘our mission is important.’ Instead, as a small charity I would keep reminding people how sharing the campaign on social media and donating is creating a whole new level of awareness of the cause. If people feel like they are part of an even bigger picture than the new internet meme then this will create longer term engagement.

6. Plan. Sure, you never know when the next viral campaign could arrive, and what it will look like. But as a trustee I’d encourage every charity to put together a plan for this situation so you can respond as quickly as possible. Make sure everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing and when.

Is your charity ready for its #icebucketchallenge moment? We’ll be looking at how organisations can embrace the future of social media at a special CIM Charity event on 10 September, with speakers from UNICEF, the British Heart Foundation and Crimestoppers. Hope to see you there.

I think that there are amazing opportunities for charities of all shapes, sizes and causes on social media. Let’s get out there and make the most of them.