This post is written especially for fellow bloggers! But anyone who owns an online business or uses a public social media profile might be able to use the tips as well.
I am honoured to be speaking at the Kids Business Bloggers Brunch tomorrow to share the story about how the Grateful Mama Project came to be and why it inspires me as a blogger.
Preparing my presentation got me thinking about all the amazing ways I have seen bloggers use their social influence for good. Just take a moment to consider. There are millions of bloggers around the world. What if we all dedicated 5% of our time to supporting a cause we are passionate about?
If you spend as little as 20 hours on your blog a month (that’s 5 hours a week), then 5% would be one full hour dedicated to charity.
If you, like me, spend more like 100 hours doing blog related work each each month… that’s five full hours dedicated to raising awareness, supporting fundraisers, or discussing important issues.
What could you achieve in that time? How many mentions in blog posts, Facebook posts or tweets? What difference would your efforts make in the world?
Most people – our readers included – want to help causes and issues they care about. Sharing a specific way to donate or raise awareness for an important cause is just like asking someone to take your advice about anything you are writing, really. If you share products your love or use affiliate links, why not do the same for a charity?
If you haven’t done so already, now is a great time to choose a cause or organisation that you are passionate about and use your blog (and related social media profiles) to make a difference. If you commit yourself to working for this goal at least once a month for an entire year, imagine how all those little actions could add up.
For more practical inspiration, here are some specific ways you can utilise your blog to make a difference.
10 super easy ways to use your social influence for good
Add a button
Stick a button on your sidebar. This is probably the easiest and most passive way to be a supporter. Most companies have a logo you can use or, if you email them, they may even have a little badge especially for this purpose.
Be social
Like, comment, share and retweet their content. Just like we appreciate interaction on our posts, your interaction can help their social media profiles as well. Using your blog profile links your brand to their organisation, as well.
Tag generously
Tag their social media profiles with interesting articles from their blog or re-sharing memes they post. Just like you would like to support a blogging buddy, do this with your selected charity. Seek out great content and try to help boost their profiles.
Newsletter love
Share a link with (or without) an image in your newsletter, pointing people to their main site or putting a call-out for specific fundraising or awareness raising campaigns.
Write a “sponsored” (non-sponsored) post
Treat the organisation like a brand you are writing a sponsored post for. Think of the ways you can organically tie their key messages into your article and add links where appropriate.
Reach out
Contact the charity and ask about ways you can help. They may have a social campaign in the works or a specific message they are trying to get out, and some organisations even have a bloggers ambassador program. You’ll only know if you ask. Sign up to their mailing list to keep tabs on general news that you may like to share as well.
Team up with other influences to create your own campaign
If you have some blogging buddies who are also passionate about the same cause, team up and create a campaign together. Write posts to publish during the same week to broaden exposure, add a badge to your sidebars for a month, and share each other’s content on social media.
Some friends and I did this for the The Kid’s Cancer Project when one of our friends’ sons was diagnosed with cancer a couple years ago. We decided on some key messages and chose specific links to promote, created some special images, and each wrote a post to publish on a specific day so that we could all link up with each other. You can see examples of our posts at the bottom of this article.
Get involved
Is there a 5K walk or dance-a-thon being organised by your charity? Get involved yourself or, if you cannot personally be there, raise awareness on social media and encourage your followers to get involved.
Brand yourself
A few years ago I teamed up with Mother’s Day Classic by wearing their T-shirt during a blogging conference. It was an easy way for me to initiate conversations with other bloggers about this event and, as blogging events usually include tons of photographs on social media, it was also a way to get the Mother’s Day Classic logo out on various profiles.
Of course you can also just wear promotional items for your own social media posts, as well!
Sell a digital product to fundraise
Create your own fundraising initiative where you sell a printable or some other kind of digital product, like Sarah and I did for the Grateful Mama Project. We collect the funds and send them on… it’s really quite simple. You can sell a portion of the proceeds ($1 or 5% are examples I have seen elsewhere) or give the total sale price, it’s up to you.
What other ideas do you have for using your social influence for good?
If you are wondering what you can really do to make a difference just remember: brands know and invest in our value as influencers. Are we truly making the most of it?
Feel free to leave feedback or share any initiatives you have started in the comments below!
To learn more about the Grateful Mama Project, click here! (Pinterest worthy images shared on that page, hint hint.) Thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy/enjoyed my presentation at the Bloggers Brunch!
xx Chelsea
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