Firstly, Ivan Boyers, Andrew Goodrum, and Ariel Kim, three high school students who participated in a community service project in Ghana at three distinct places, founded the Arc’s foundation in 2013. They created a website for kids with physical disabilities. They needed to raise money to start a school, so they turned to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to garner support and donations. Secondly, the African Union Commission (AUC) launched the #MeToo social media campaign to address the problem of sexual harassment of women on college campuses (Puhl, 2022). The campaign gives victims of harassment the chance to talk about their experiences, raise awareness of the problem, and give students advice on how to keep safe and how to report incidences to the appropriate authorities.
Social media is a fantastic tool that unites all internet users worldwide and can be effectively used to garner support from student organizations online. Additionally, it can be applied to connecting with enforcement, legal, and administrative authorities to expedite the process of an event and raise awareness among students by disseminating information. It can also be used to solicit money from potential donors to advance a social cause (Puhl, 2022). By quickly going viral and reaching the target audiences, it boosts the campaign’s effectiveness and promptness.
Social media encourages activism among student groups by making it simple, quick, and affordable to share, make a point, decide, collaborate, activate, and implement. By reaching out to the greatest number of recipients, it uses the fewest resources while offering the greatest return on investment. Managers can gain a competitive advantage by lowering the cost of customer acquisition by significantly lowering the cost of marketing efforts, as social media platforms offer the largest return on investment (Puhl, 2022). Managers can learn about the rise of social media for partnership, reaching out to consumers, generating online support and viewpoints, sharing user experiences, and creating goodwill online. In contrast to traditional tactics, the opinion of the consumers can be used as one of the most reliable tools for turning a potential customer.
Reference
Puhl, R. M. (2022). Weight stigma, policy initiatives, and harnessing social media to elevate activism. Body Image, 40, 131-137. Web.