Homeless Link used various social media platforms to promote a donation event to raise awareness about homelessness in the UK. They created events on Facebook and LinkedIn to invite over 300 potential guests from local businesses and organizations. They also created posts on Twitter and Instagram promoting the event and including relevant hashtags to reach broader audiences interested in addressing homelessness.

1. HOMELESS LINK
Social media campaign
How did we use social media tools to reach and invite the target audience?

2. We have created an event on Homeless Link Facebook page to explain why we
are organizing this event, where and when the event is going to be taken place.
Through this event, they will be more aware of the homelessness issue in the
UK. As it is a private event, we have invited potential guests such as local
companies which sell food and clothes and organizations which care about the
homelessness issue.
329 people were invited, and 284 people are planning to join the event.
Facebook post

5. LinkedIn post
LinkedIn is a good way to promote the event, as it is easier to address
professionals, companies and organizations. In order to invite them to
the event, we have sent private message via the LinkedIn chat by
introducing the social issue homelessness and the donation event. And
then we mentioned that the companies could receive one good
opportunity to introduce and promote their companies and products,
which can highly attract their attention.

7. LinkedIn post
In addition to the private message, we have also created a post
to attract more local companies and organizations to our event.
As the post will be visible to the companies’ professional
network, it would definitely catch their attention.

9. Twitter post
Twitter, as one of the largest microblogging sites on the Internet, can
reach a large number of stakeholders with brief, easily digestible
information (Lovejoy and Saxton, 2012). There are many companies and
other non-profit organizations following Homeless Link’s twitter account,
they can notice the information soon, and retweet the donation link.
Besides, the use of hashtags (#endhomelessness, #homelesslinkevent,
#donationevent) can catch people’s attention and attract the public who
who are likely to donate to help homeless people.

11. Instagram post
Instagram is also used. We briefly introduced the event and who we
would like to invite to the event, and the donation link was included that
everybody can donate. Lastly, we put hashtags like
“#endhomelessnessnow” and “#homelesslinkevent” to address people
who are interested in the donation.

13. References list
• Lovejoy, K., & Saxton, G. D. (2012). Information, community, and
action: How nonprofit organizations use social media. Journal of
Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(3), 337-353.
• Schets, S. (2010). Meet charities online: How can charities utilize
social media as a promotional tool?.
• Taylor, M., Wells, G., Howell, G., & Raphael, B. (2012). The role of
social media as psychological first aid as a support to community
resilience building. Australian Journal of Emergency Management,
The, 27(1), 20.