SAVE HAITI, The message heard Around the World.

It's Friday night and I just turned off Tweetdeck(TweetDeck.com). I am sure I will be back on it later tonight, if not the next fifteen minutes, but I need a break from it right now. As I was checking my usual twitter feed, I noticed that my next blog was already writing itself, as I saw the fan outcry for Haiti. If you have been left out of the Social Media world in the last forty-eight hours than you will probably have no idea what I am talking about, but if you have checked your Facebook, Twitter, or even your text messages, you are probably aware of the various ways companies are reaching out to get help to Haiti. "Send a text and donate a dollar," many of them say. Red Cross is currently saying that they have earned up to 10 million dollars in a text campaign to help Haiti. This astonishing number, would not have been reached without Social Media and it should show us just how important Social Media has begun. For starts unless you have been living under a rock, you are probably aware of the Haiti situation. The nation that was hit with an earthquake late Tuesday afternoon. Many Americans immediately felt sorry for this small, Hispanola nation, as the dead and wounded were reported in the 10,000s. Many Americans wondered what they could to do help? This was not 9/11 and a local disaster. They could not simply pack up, and go and help. The American Red Cross though, came up with a wonderful idea. Send a text with the words "Haiti" to 90999 and donate $10. This campaign which started off small became brillant as millions of people spread the word in their social communities, and the donation number reached 10 million dollars. Now this article is not about Haiti, even though that story is a sad one, but I want people to take a look on how that message was spread. Before the day's of Facebook and Twitter, many people had started developing text technology, but how could one get the word across. How could a company such as Snickers, get the users to text a vote and make them want their voices hears? American Idol, was a good example of a company that embraced text voting. Idol allowed online voting for it's show, through it's texts, but unless you watched American Idol, why would you care or know about this? Sending a robotic text to an individual person, seemed like an inferior and ignored way, that annoyed many people. But how could they get people to vote? This was the question. But years later, Social Media has become the ultimate advertising tool. Many people who simply do not watch the news found out about this campaign through their regularly visited Social Media accounts. They may not have watched the news, or seen a commercial, but they are surely listening to what their friends have to say and the messages that they are spreading. Brands and Marketers need to take note on this. Red Cross learned how to use Social Media the right way, let people pass on a message that they feel is important and care about. Do not MAKE THEM force a message, simply give people something they are passionate about and they will pass the message along, all on their own.