I am in awe of the simplicity, agility, and humanity of Tweetsgiving. If you work for a brand or company, take this short post as free consulting. This, in my opinion is a viable model for how "social media" could potentially work for you. Below are the steps in which someone can participate. Participate being the operative word here. As I've stated since day 1 of this blog, it's all about moving people from passive consumption to active participation:
1. TWEET THANKS: Share something you’re thankful for with all your twitter followers. Your tweets can be touching or silly, poignant or fun. Just tweet from the heart and be sure to include the #TweetsGiving tag and a link to http://tinyurl.com/4thanks.
2. GIVE: Make a donation in honor of whatever -
or whomever - you’re grateful for.
- Every $10 buys a brick to build a classroom in Tanzania. (1,000 bricks = new classroom!) Email your TweetsGiving tweet to tweetsgiving@gmail.com, and it will be painted on your brick!
- For $100 or more, you’ll be named one of our “Top Turkeys” and we’ll list your gift on our site.
- Or, with the holiday season approaching, you may buy unique gifts at http://shop.EpicChange.org. With each purchase, you’ll add one or more bricks to a new classroom at the school.
3. SPREAD THE GRATITUDE: Follow @TweetsGiving to fill your twitter stream with gratitude, then blog, retweet, or even change your avatar to the TweetsGiving Turkey.
At TweetsGiving and Epic Change, we’re grateful for some pretty
amazing people who are helping to make TweetsGiving such a success. Our
TOP TWEETERS have been instrumental in helping us spread gratitude
across the Twitterverse. Follow these birds…they’re good eggs!
The formula here is really simple.
1. Find a good cause that aligns with your business/brand
2. Plan and design an ego trap
3. Make it convenient to participate and distribute
4. Do something good for your fellow human beings
The Web is literally polluted with examples of "viral" efforts that never went viral and "social media" tactics which either backfired or went un-noticed. If you need proof, just look at the hundreds of branded Facebook applications which never get used, gimmicks which never gain traction or videos that barely get views. Tweetsgiving offers up another way. Tap into the desire for people to be a part of something bigger than themselves such as a cause and let them carry the message for you. If done right, if it really helps make the world just a little better, than your brand gets to tag along for the ride.
And more importantly, do something. Here's a widget that lets you make a donation that will help build that classroom. With Paypal it took me 3 clicks. Good for them and us. Special Thanks to Cone Johnson for getting my attention on this.
