Sleeping out to raise money on Byte Night

The next Byte Night fundraiser takes place on Friday evening, 5 October. This annual event supports the nonprofit Action for Children, a children's charity that helps those in need avoid homelessness. Participants sleep out (this year, in 12 different UK locations) to raise money for the charity, among other special fundraising events.

Founded by leaders in the UK tech sector, Byte Night has a strong social media  marketing element. The poster above shows not only the event's web address but also its Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts. There is also a LinkedIn presence to catch the eye of professionals.

Byte Night's promotions begin months in advance, allowing time for companies and individuals to register and to recruit friends and associates for the fundraising effort. The event is on special event calendars and promoted by other nonprofits, councils and sponsors (Royal Mail, for instance).

In 2018, 1,800 sleepers are expected to participate. Wishing everyone a successful sleep out and successful fundraising!

UPDATE: The 2018 sleepout raised £852,999 for charity. Congratulations!

Marketing Sport Relief

From 17 - 23 March, UK consumers and businesses will again participate in the nationwide fundraising event Sport Relief. The money raised by the nonprofit event is spent making life better for people by fighting malaria, promoting maternal and prenatal health and raising awareness of mental health issues. 

Sport Relief relies on a combination of traditional media and social/digital media to attract and involve individuals and organisations in this weeklong fundraising effort. BBC One will air a special night of entertainment on as part of the media support, which also features BBC Radio and other broadcast media coverage. Social media marketing includes a dedicated Facebook page with more than 240k likes, a Twitter account with 774k followers and an Instagram page with 51k followers.

Try doing an online search for Sport Relief, and you'll see that the number of results exceeds 17 million even before the event begins. Many of those hits are from this year and some are from previous years--a mix of social media comments and traditional media reporting about the celebrities, the challenges and the final tally of money raised. Involving celebrities (as opinion leaders) raises the visibility of the fundraising efforts and encourages fans to follow their lead.

This year, consumers are being challenged to walk one billion steps per day, as measured by the new Sport Relief app. The app includes fundraising ideas and tips from celebrity participants to motivate and inspire. Will the nation achieve the goal of one billion steps during each day of the fundraising week? Will Sport Relief break its record for fundraising? Wait and see!

Marketing accountability and metrics

More than ever before, accountability counts. Marketers are using a variety of metrics (both quantitative and qualitative) to measure marketing and media results.

One of the key quantitative metrics is ROI. The Harvard Business Review defines marketing return on investment as:

(Incremental financial value derived from a marketing investment minus the cost of that marketing investment)

divided by

 The cost of that marketing investment

In this ROI definition, the marketer must not only know what marketing costs, it must be able to gauge the financial value gained as a result of making that investment--not so easy.

Often, a company has difficulty attributing a sales increase (financial value) that occurs because of a particular marketing investment (such as one specific promotional campaign). So many influences can affect marketing results, including competition, other marketing efforts, economic conditions, consumer buying behavior, retailer activities and more. In fact, marketing that used to produce a certain result may no longer induce that same result.

Online marketing can be measured in clicks, for example, but there are also quantitative metrics that can prove valuable to long-term financial success--such as the sentiment of social media comments (positive or negative?). This can be measured, but how does a marketer relate that to financial value? And what about ROI of investing in influencer marketing, meaning paying for popular YouTube or Twitter celebs to promote a brand or product.

B2B marketers have to be accountable too, able to measure social media and other marketing efforts. Nonprofits are thinking long-term, not just measuring immediate marketing results from fundraising programmes and other activities.

Marketing WWF's Earth Hour

Social media and traditional media are helping the World Wildlife Fund to promote Earth Hour on 19 March. The idea is to switch off the lights from 20.30 to 21.30 and go social to support sustainability.

This worldwide effort, which began in Sydney in 2007, increases awareness of our role in protecting the planet's precious natural resources, not just wildlife.

The social media campaign by WWF UK includes:

• #PassthePanda and #EarthHourUK hashtags to encourage participation on Twitter, Facebook and other sites
• YouTube videos
• Incredible nature photos on Instagram
• Pinterest posts
• A Facebook app to 'donate your social power' by posting about local environmental issues and sharing information with people in other areas

Traditional media marketing by WWF includes an unusual and engaging advert to attract attention and encourage participation. Other groups are joining the campaign. The Sustainable Restaurant Association's members will serve dinner by candlelight during Earth Hour, for instance.

The Most Social Byte Night Ever

Friday, 4th October, was Byte Night 2013, a night to sleep rough as a fundraiser for the nonprofit Action for Children. The goal was to raise £1 million to support the fight against homelessness and poverty.

This year's sleepout was the most social ever, building awareness, increasing participation and encouraging sleepers to raise lots of money. Although the final numbers are not yet available, Byte Night probably achieved its fundraising goals and involved many more sleepers and sponsors than in the past.

Here's a small sample of the social media marketing supporting Byte Night 2013:

• The official Byte Night site instructed participants to share their photos via Instagram with regional hashtags (above). It also included links to Action for Children, where donations can be made online, plus instructions for texting donations.
• Byte Night tweets from organisers, sleepers, sponsors and others kept up the marketing momentum all night and into the morning, using hashtags such as #MakeIt1Million (see below). The official Byte Night Twitter account has more than 1,000 followers.
• Byte Night has its own LinkedIn admin profile, with 47 connections--corporate connections that mean multiple relationships to attract sleepers and donations.
• The Byte Night Facebook page has 729 likes and its YouTube page has videos from this year as well as those uploaded on previous years.
• Many industry groups and companies got involved, donating supplies, posting tweets and photos, interviews and updates before and during Byte Night.
  
  

Now we have to wait for the final numbers!

On 15 March: Do something funny for money

Red Nose Day is Friday, 15th March!

'Do something funny for money' is the strapline for Comic Relief's day of fundraising and fun. In 2013, the nonprofit's marketing involves more social media and mobile marketing activities than ever before. Goals: to increase awareness, build anticipation, encourage participation and generate generous donations:

• Red Nose Day's official Facebook page already has more than 465,000 likes. Recent posts include what celebrities are doing to raise awareness and money, previews of exclusive content and fun fundraising challenges.
• The official Twitter account already has 392,000 followers and more than 5,100 tweets.
• The latest news is available 'in your pocket' from Red Nose Day's iPhone app (see above). 
• Videos galore, ready for viewing anytime in a video gallery page on the Red Nose Day website.
• 1D (that's One Direction) are putting their fame and talent to use for Red Nose Day fundraising, including a special single.

Among Red Nose Day's partners are Sainsbury's, TK Maxx, BT, British Airways, Maltesers, Ryman, Disney, Cafe Rouge and Ernst & Young. Watch for more surprises and fundraising challenges as Red Nose Day approaches.