Social Share the Love – Four Ways to Help Your Favorite Cause

It’s 2013, and non-profits are on – or getting on – social media platforms to promote their cause or service. That’s a lot of content, and a lot of time and energy put into creating that content. News summaries and action alerts from your favorite groups help keep you in the loop and offer you the chance to make a contribution, even if small, to help improve the world in which we live. But are you really giving back to those organizations while you sign the petition or email your representative? Here are some ways you can show your love for a cause this Valentine’s Day.

Like – Between Facebook’s new Graph Search tool and ongoing updates to SEO and search algorithms, social Liking continues to help optimize an organization’s digital presence and broaden its reach. As groups turn to measuring analytics and tracking ROI, your Like becomes even more valuable, so go ahead and give a thumbs up – it’s such a sweet gift.

Share – Liking is a one-click step, but if you really enjoyed signing a petition and want others to know about the issue at hand, share the link from an organization’s page to your own Facebook page or other platform. This helps broaden the group’s audience because now you are asking your friends and followers to take action, so your action amplifies the voice of the organization you support.

ReTweet – Everyone is pushing out information on Twitter just to make sure that their stream stays active, but once in a while, it is generous to pause, listen, and retweet articles you find interesting, comments you agree with, or ideas you want to spread. The organization you followed will see that you retweeted and if they’re nice enough, they should send you a shout out as well.

Pin – As the web turns to more visual content, Pinterest has become an exciting playing ground for posting and sharing graphic designs and photography collected on boards and visible to others. While not all organizations are on Pinterest, those that are put time and energy into their pinning strategy, so please reward them by commenting on or pinning one of their images. The added visual on your board will remind you of your social love.

What are some other simple ways for sharing the love of causes through social media? How will you show your love on February 14^th?

(Icons courtesy of Smashing Magazine)