Six ways to get involved with #YouMadeItHappen

We’re delighted to be supporting NCVO, CharityComms, Small Charities Coalition, FSI, the Institute of Fundraising and ACEVO to celebrate the difference supporters make to charities with their #YouMadeItHappen campaign, which takes place on Monday, 19 November.

We love a good Awareness Day and we believe that we should all be doing our part to spread positivity about the sector, which is why we launched #ReclaimSocial in February. The campaign was a huge success and we learnt a lot from it so we thought we’d share our tips to help you get involved with #YouMadeItHappen.

Start planning now

Every successful campaign needs a bit of planning behind it, especially if you want your colleagues, trustees and volunteers to get involved too. Let them know now about the campaign and ask them to tweet on the 19th, using #YouMadeItHappen.

If you’ve got any images or video they can use, then send it to them as images and video get way more engagement on social than just copy. Better yet, ask them to take a photo of themselves with a card that says something like:

This year, we helped over 300 homeless people in Manchester find permanent accommodation. We couldn’t have done it without your support #YouMadeItHappen

Don’t forget to get others involved, including your CEO! Vicky Browning, CEO of ACEVO says:

“I’d really encourage charity leaders to get involved in this campaign. It’s a great way to say thanks and to pay tribute to your supporters, and be more visible and approachable. It’s also about showing the combined impact of the charity sector to society.”

Schedule your content

Ideally, you’ll tweet more than once so make sure to schedule your tweets in advance. This will then give you more time to be reactive and to engage with the hashtag and what others are saying on the day. If you’re a Lightful platform user or want to sign up for free, you can plan out your posts as normal or you can use a Story Builder template to do this.

Monitor replies

Your supporters are going to love this campaign and will no doubt reply to your tweets so, if you’re scheduling tweets in advance … don’t forget to monitor the replies! This is definitely a day to get involved in conversations.

Do some social listening

Follow the hashtag to see what other charities are doing to celebrate their supporters, show their impact and how people are reacting to the campaign. You may find that your supporters are talking about you in a positive way but not tagging your charity in their tweets. Don’t miss out on valuable conversations.

Don’t ask for money

We don’t think this is a day to ask for donations, but rather to show the impact of donations. It does come a week ahead of #GivingTuesday, which a more engaged user base may more naturally gravitate towards giving to your cause.

Adeela Warley, CEO of CharityComms, recommends getting the message right,

“This is one day that we can come together, as a sector, with a strong, collective voice. Spend some time really crafting your copy to show the difference people have made to your work, through their donations.”

Be fun and have fun

This is a really feel-good campaign so have some fun! Add some fun gifs to your tweets, or get people in your charity together to create a little video – you can just film it on your phone.

Why not get one of your front-line staff or volunteers to talk about something they’ve done that day or a project that’s come to fruition this year? Just be sure that they talk about the impact your charity has made.

Let’s make a huge splash on 19 November on Twitter. After all, and as Aidan Warner blogged,

“We know that thousands of charities around the country make a real difference every day. And we know that between us the impact we have on the country and the world is massive.”

By all of us getting really involved, hopefully, we can get #YouMadeItHappen trending and – more importantly – shower our supporters with thanks and remind them of the impact we make – because of them.