How the Gulf Coast Benefit is Using Social Media to Rally Support

Today, the Gulf Coast Benefit will present the Coast to Coast series of concerts in 60 different venues across the United States. Monies from the effort will be channeled through What Gives!? to the Gulf Restoration Network’s community-based Gulf Future Campaign. While local marketing is being handled by independent club owners, social media is being used to orchestrate the effort.

Nick Adler, Sloane Berrent and Casey Phillips organized and marketed the effort in less than one month. Social media was used as the overarching national tie to the 25 primary events and more than 65 locally organized awareness events. In all, the Gulf Coast Benefit hopes to raise $100,000 in collective donations.

Sloane Berrent, co-producer of the Gulf Coast Benefit said, “I have always believed that our online interactions are meant to facilitate our offline experiences and the Gulf Coast Benefit is a perfect example of that. You can find an event or make a donation online and we are using social media tools to bring people together … It’s a way of extending the conversation that wasn’t available even three years ago and it’s a game changer.”

Sloane met with us in New Orleans this past Tuesday and outlined the rapidly built social media efforts.

Coast to Coast Social Media on One Site

The central social media hub is a national microsite that serves two purposes: Getting people to attend their local event or donate. Using the Meetup Everywhere tool unifies all of the events in one place, though independent clubs make an extra click through necessary for ticket purchases.

The What Gives!? PayPal widget was quickly built by the Gulf Restoration Network for the Coast to Coast donations. According to Sloane, WhatGives?! offered a really fast and easy way to channel contributions directly to the non-profit while circumventing unnecessary transparency questions about donations.

Gulf Coast Benefit Twibbons

Now also offered on Facebook, the Gulf Coast Benefit Twibbon app seeks to create grassroots visibility by getting influencers to badge their avatar. The application was clearly linked on the microsite, and more than 200 people have already donned the Gulf Coast Benefit colors. In another effort to get influencer support, Gulf Coast Benefit built a Twitter background via Tweety Got Back.

PopRule Enables Mobile

In today’s social media world, a mobile solution is a must. By using the PopRule platform, Gulf Coast Benefit was able to extend its reach to Android and iPhone users, as well mobile users of MySpace and Facebook. Founded by Rob Kramer, the PopRule platform was designed for taking and distributing rapid political action.

Social Media Release on Pitch Engine

Invariably, when creating an event of this scale, people ask for more information. A free social media release on Pitch Engine served as a flexible platform for blogger, business or even media conversations that required back up. The release offers video and pictures in addition to background information and links.

Beachheads

Gulf Coast Benefit used the usual beachhead social media properties on major social networks. Of the three main efforts — Facebook, Google and Twitter, the Facebook community has been the most vibrant. The Page features PopRule application elements for donations, as well as a lively wall conversation.

It is clear that social media has been instrumental in the planning, organizing, and publicizing of the Gulf Coast benefit and will continue to be an important part of getting the word out and spreading media from today’s events.

More Social Good Resources From Mashable:

- How Open Data Applications are Improving Government
- 4 Social Media Efforts to Aid the Gulf Coast
- How Social Media is Helping Veterans Connect
- How Non-Profits Should Approach Making iPhone Apps
- Are Social Media Giving Contests Good for Non-Profits?

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