#SahelNOW- a success?

I just stumbled onto news about the #SahelNOW campaign this afternoon. I had been on Twitter and other news sites, but I hadn't heard anything, until I decided to go to cnn.com, not a regular news source I use. This led me to wonder what was the campaign, what strategies were used and was it a success. Undoubtedly more news will follow about the campaign's efforts. Below I have briefly analyzed some of the tactics used. 

Twitter

Once I learned about the campaign, I searched the hashtag and found numerous tweets. Many celebrities have jumped on board such as @selenagomez (she has over 11 million followers) and @shakira (her tweet about Sahel was retweeted 750 times.) 

UNICEF is also constantly tweeting. They are utilizing multiple accounts, such as @unicefusa, @unicef_uk and @unicefaustralia. This helps get the message out to multiple regions and followers. Throughout the day, they have posted links about how UNICEF helps people in the area.

They have also created a Storify page that groups all social media news in one place. This helps consolidate the cause in one succinct page. I would suggest using this page to educate those that are not familiar with the campaign. 

Facebook

Throughout the day, UNICEF has updated its Facebook page. On Facebook they did a good job of providing people with the tools to educate others. They provided a video for people to share and a timeline cover.

Website

The website has a link devoted to news coverage of the event. This includes Twitter and Facebook posts, as well as traditional media. This is very similar to the Storify page, but it is located next to the donate button. This allows people who are donating to learn more about the cause.

YouTube

I think YouTube is perhaps one of the weaker aspects of the campaign. The main video, "Sound the Alarm" is not engaging. Although the images are gut wrenching, the video moves more like a slideshow with only written text. There have only been 306 views.

There are additional videos in the series that have more views, but this is the intro video. There is a video of Mia Farrow with children in Africa. If UNICEF, doesn't engage immediately they will lose viewers.

Media Relations

We will see as the campaign unfolds, but as far as I know CNN is the only major media outlet to cover the story. Although this is a success, it could be missing many other viewers. If I hadn't just decided to go to CNN today, I would have missed the story.

Conclusion

I think UNICEF is doing a great job with Twitter and Facebook. They are engaging audiences. When it comes to YouTube and Media Relations, the campaign seems to be lacking. Perhaps this shows what audiences they are targeting. Youth are easily persuaded through social media. Older generations may require more media news. It will be interesting to see the success of today's #SahelNOW campaign.