A new green revolution is taking place on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and across the web. This ”green” movement has nothing to do with the environment, though, and everything to do with viral marketing.
As social media rises to the forefront of coverage in the Iran election fallout, several groups are harnessing the power of social media to promote their causes. Some offer green avatars with the dove of peace. Some suggest using a “green ribbon” image superimposed on the user’s personal photo. Others have users sign up for causes, granting the “read-and-write” permissions to change their status updates to promote the “Free Iran” cause.
According to the Houston Chronicle, “tweets from Iran and retweets from here and elsewhere came fast and furiously. The State Department even asked Twitter to delay a planned maintenance so as not to interrupt the flow of information.
For the safety of those using social networks to send news, videos and photos of the turmoil on ground in Iran, Twitter users altered their contact information to ‘Tehran’ to confuse the Iranian police trolling the site.”
The viral nature of Twitter and Facebook have helped build this movement exponentially. People who had never read an article or seen a news clip about Iran are suddenly showing a strong front of solidarity. And for every person who tweets their support, a chain of retweets continues a unified message.
This type of marketing also was harnessed in the 2008 presidential election by both candidates, as well as non-partisan pro-voter groups. Users signed up for causes and approved applications to act on their behalf without sharing their password. As users granted the “read-and-write” permissions, voter groups could automatically update users’ statuses and send out the same message globally.
It worked for them, and it can be used in future marketing campaigns for everything from political campaigns to promoting start-up small businesses. Social media moves quickly, so it’s one of the best ways to get your word out on-the-spot.
For an example of the viral campaign supporting the “Free Iran” movement, visit http://helpiranelection.com/.
Tags: campaigns, causes, Facebook Causes, Politics, Social Media, Social media best practices, Twitter, viral marketing
