Engagement pays off. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS? Millions of people who likely had never heard of ALS took to their social media accounts and posted videos of themselves dumping icy-cold water on their heads.
In fact, there was enough attention drawn to the cause to total $100 million in donations.
While the origin of the ice bucket challenge is unclear, research shows it most likely went viral when a recently diagnosed college student posted a video on his Facebook page.
In our industry, we would refer to this college student as an “influencer” or “opinion leader.” While this campaign happened organically, many organizations establish metrics for content, reach, quality of posts, etc. to find their top influencers and cultivate them. It is a complex process but can produce incredible results– for all types of organizations.
