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This week on Social Brand Chat presented by KXIC we discussed the growing online phenomenon of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The movement, in which people challenge one another to donate to ALS or dump an ice-cold bucket of water on their head, has spurred countless videos and celebrity awareness from the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, and George W. Bush. Like anything popular, it wasn’t long before people began piling on these fun videos. Let’s chat about this.
You should just give money! This is nothing more than slactivism! I wish I had more profound insight to offer but, at the end of the day, haters gonna hate. While this is a pretty typical social dynamic, in the case of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge it’s incredibly uninformed. While there’s no single ALS charity behind this snowballing campaign, many are already reporting double-digit percentage increases in their fundraising when compared with the same period in previous years.
Jay and I discuss this more during the show but this campaign has huge implications in terms of user-generated content and non-profit social media marketing. First, any brand looking for their fans to create content could take a page from this playbook. ANYONE can make an Ice Bucket Challenge video. This brings me to my second, point. Not to sound like a hater but we’re bound to see more video challenges from a series of copycat charities. And if it works, is raising more awareness and money for good causes a bad thing?
Where’s my video? That would be right here. Enjoy! And please consider donating to ALS now.
For this week’s social media news we discussed a new release of Foursquare, the mobile-based social check-in app, which hopes to take a swipe at both Google and Yelp by being a better local search engine.
Speaking of taking your digital marketing to the next level — Registration is open for this year’s Social Brand Forum at the Iowa River Landing. The Midwest’s premier digital marketing event features keynotes from Chris Brogan, Ann Handley, John Jantsch, Jason Falls, Joe Chernov, Kerry Gorgone, Matt Ridings, Amy Schmittauer, Darin Adams, and more. You can use promo code KXIC here as well to register now for the best rate >>
Do you have a question about social media you’d like answered? Ask in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or on Twitter using #SocialBrandChat. Check out previous episodes of the Social Brand Chat podcast here.
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Until next week, see you on the Internet!
