It's Easy to Do Social Media for Social Good when you're Kaz
Published in Autopilot your business issue 11
Who is Kaz?:
Social media for social good is one of the key focuses in my work today; one that has really developed over the last three years since setting up my website, kazaston.com. As a result, I have been able to progress from a local, UK network to now sustaining a sizable global, online presence. At the same time, I deliver amazing support from adopting social media strategies for all of the charity projects I am involved with. Undeniably, these ventures often stretch across quite contrasting areas, some might say. However, thanks to social media I can now quickly establish greater synergy with new business partners to help get the job done even faster!
Moving Faster:
Talk about faster, I like to participate in the fastest motor sport on earth, Drag racing! It provides real inspiration to move quickly and reach out to the world from support from the motor racing world while helping raise awareness & money for MS at 200 mph!
You Tube film link http://youtu.be/9xeoWVPJcIo
Make it happen:
As a member or Rotarian from the Rotary Club of London leading on social media, for 66 other clubs across the capital, feel that by using social media you can really make it happen to achieve project goals fast and in partnership on any level.
From a short Youtube film about the 2012 Paralympics for use on Facebook, blogs, Twitter, websites and other social sites we were able to share, inform and inspire the public. Additionally, 1.2 million Rotarians globally and businesses heard about the great work of Rotary, the organizations we helped, quickly and for free.
This video shows the Rotary in London Paralympics Community Project that enabled many less fortunate children & adults to have fun at the London Paralympics:
http://youtu.be/TPicygxFPUI
Top Tips for moving forward:
There are so many fantastic examples I could share about how great social media can be to help people with social good projects for any charity. For this reason, I will quickly share my top tips that may be worth considering, if you haven’t already.
1. Get Strategic: keep it flexible and realistic
Make a simple strategy to implement and use social media regularly, and as often as possible. This is really important to remember, as we often neglect it due to time and work-load pressures. Perhaps, start small by using just 3 sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube where you can share your goals and achievements quickly and easily. If new to social media, link with your local community first; then work towards a global strategy, perhaps using the top 6 social sites over time. Don’t forget there are loads of applications to help you plan and share even when not online.
2. Make Friends:
Embrace the power of social media to connect you with new organizations and make friends with others that have similar goals or purposes. Don’t worry if these are just short lived, keep an open mind and see how they work out over time.
3. Ask for Help: support & social media education
When sharing ideas, you can often find free support online from others in similar situations. Plus, you may need a bit of extra help or education as I did when progressing further with using global social media. Fortunately, I found a superb social media coach in Australia, Keith Keller, who is now
taking me forward to use the top six social media sites. Amazing to now have five global experts teaching me, from all around the world! For info see https://autopiloturbiz.leadpages.net/oms-keith
4. Have Fun:
As I always say, make sure you have some fun when using social media and enjoy yourself too. Generate lively or happy memories that you can easily capture and share by social media with films, Facebook, pictures, tweets and pins for example.
So in conclusion, I feel that social media is perfect for generating extra support for social good. Also, social media can provide you or a charitable organization with the opportunity to really help others and make a difference to peoples' lives.
Biography:
If you’re reading this, you probably want to know why I enjoy helping people with Multiple Sclerosis, whether raising awareness, fundraising or helping to match people up with the help and information they need. Well... there are lots of reasons! But the story really began in 1995 when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
In a way, I was lucky. I was training to be a nurse at university, so there were clued-up people I could turn to for help and advice. But, I realised that while most people have heard about ‘Multiple Sclerosis’ or ‘MS’ not many know much about it. This I feel partly because clear, short, accurate online information about the disease can be thin on the ground.
Even today, many people have a limited understanding about MS, and this can lead to unnecessary fear, anxiety and even progression of the disease. That’s why I believe it’s important for me to provide support, raise money and direct people to organisations such as the MS Society and Disability Support Services. Thank you for taking the time to read about me, and what I do. If you would like to know anything about my work, or have any questions about Multiple Sclerosis, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
