Shared by Laura DePeters, Social Media Channels Manager, Habitat for Humanity International
By the very nature of our mission, Habitat for Humanity is an exceptionally visual, hands-on organization. Volunteers, homeowners and brand activists are sharing their Habitat story each and every day, often through photos and videos.
While our vision of creating a world where everyone has a decent place to live is the same around the world, Habitat’s work in each country can look extraordinarily different. Social media has helped bring all facets of our mission together, whether we are rehabilitating multi-unit structures in New York City, offering small loans for home repairs in Kenya, building single family homes in Texas or constructing homes from bamboo in Nepal.
At Habitat, we’ve been able to adjust our social media outreach based on the way our community uses each platform. As Instagram gained popularity, Habitat saw an increase in volunteers sharing their build experience by using #HabitatforHumanity. To celebrate the photos being shared, we began to select a “photo of the week,” reposting a selected volunteer photo on our account. The result was increased engagement and excitement around the community whenever a volunteer’s photo was selected and showcased on our account.
Mediums like event-based Facebook groups, Pinterest boards and blogs have enabled Habitat homeowners, volunteers and local affiliates to instantly connect with us and each other. Social media outlets like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter have also proven useful for connecting with millennials, conducting contests, and providing followers with an inside and instantaneous look at our organization.
In addition to using social media to showcase our followers’ photography and connect with audiences, Habitat for Humanity International shares the work of our in-house team of photographers and videographers across all of our digital platforms. Photos and videos have captured — and communicated — everything from the devastation that occurs after a natural disaster to the determination of our volunteers and the hope in the eyes of a new homeowner.
No matter the platform, multimedia is essential to engaging people, educating them about Habitat’s work and relaying pertinent messages. We invite you to join us, by connecting with us on social media.
Editor notes, Habitat for Humanity has been using Merlin for their Digital Asset Management needs since 2000.
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