Twestival - Twitter For Charities

Editor's Notes

1. The first Twestival took place on September 25 th 2008 The brainchild of pub conversation about harnessing the energy of online networks – a “tweet-up with a social conscience” It brought together 300 early adopting Londoners in a bar and raised £500 for a London homeless charity But...’Twestival’ was the most tweeted and blogged word that day = a realisation of the potential energy there was in spreading the word via twitter and bringing people together from the online world in this way for a good cause
2. New team members came on board & we thought BIG Go global - Twitter allows us to chat instantly, publically with global friends and contacts – the spread of a simple, good idea was natural, so we gave it a push and invited global cities in Get big media attention – PR plans put in place to compliment the natural online news spread with traditional media attention Raise proper money – Use our skills to acquire sponsors, prize donations, build on the first one for favours and freebies
3. We kept the momentum up for the fast-paced Twestival audience, and key Twestival global organiser Amanda Rose went to Ethiopia in April to drill wells with Twestival money. Video feeds and twitter commentary kept this present and relevant to Twestival supporters.
4. Choose a global cause – charity: water was a very ethical charity, aiming to get clean water to the 1bn on the planet who don’t have it Involvement commitment - Cities had to commit a reasonable amount of information – contacts etc before we gave them a city platform eg: www.twestival.sydney.com, linked to and therefore verified by the .com Ticketing and donation partners - They had to agree to submit their donations through global partners Messaging & PR support - We provided global press materials with local templates – to provide guidance, not rules. Press releases, logos etc Sponsor support – blogs etc
5. Professionals donated time in every city – and brought their contacts with them Standard press work – press releases, media spaces, calling journalists, offering interviews etc Use of @twestival stream – complimented by Twitter ‘buzz’, blogging cities round the world Targeting Twitter’s big names = High-profile ‘Re-tweets’ – Jonathan Ross, 10 Downing Street, Hugh Jackman etc People wanted to be involved, to show they were part of it, on their blogs, on twitter and offline.
6. Twitter was on the cusp of being a big news story, and a big-volume site, it grew 1,382% from Feb 08-09 ‘ First’ factor, in terms of movements on twitter Obama - the ‘digital president’ – fortnight of his inauguration Celebs on Twitter – Jonathon Ross, Britney Spears etc Most journalists we wanted to reach were long term twitter users and advocates – plus get some good press for the power and positivity of twitter Early-adopters are noisy, and twitter is full of them!
7. Some cities, were like London Twestival One – wrapped up in the fun of the community feeling and event… … so they didn't all make as much money as they hoped Knowledge about how to get event sponsors and donations, how to talk to brands is important to convey Make the point of donation/purchase as easy as possible
8. It’s so viral – one click and you pass it on to thousands People want to tell others about their passions. People like to publicise their charity Causes work well online – from chocolate bars to presidents Asking people to support without commitment of physical volunteering - Shel Israel: “It gives you an opportunity to get engaged without actually becoming a volunteer” People engage quicker with networks they trust Twitter is so transparent and open
9. Twitter doesn’t suit the hard sell - bring them to the cause first Work in stages - easy to get supporters & draw people to events They may well become evangelists before they become donators Influencers Look at ways to get them to donate incrementally micro-donations
10. Some cities, were like London Twestival One – wrapped up in the fun of the community feeling and event… … so they didn't all make as much money as they hoped Knowledge about how to get event sponsors and donations, how to talk to brands is important to convey Make the point of donation/purchase as easy as possible