What is your charities name and Mission?
Macmillan Cancer Support
We exist to help improve the lives of people affected by cancer, both those living with cancer and also their families and carers. Our primary focus for 2010 is to reach and improve the lives of everyone living with cancer.
By 2010 we want to be able to reach every single person who is diagnosed with cancer and to be there for them at every stage of their cancer journey, no matter who they are, what part of the country they live in, or what type of cancer they have. We will reach them by helping to make life better, in however large or small a way, through our services.
What is your name?
Sam Phillips
How long have you been using Twitter and who's idea was it?
I personally started using Twitter last year in October, but as an organisation we have been signed up since January 09. I signed us up – I was sceptical when setting up my own account, but it didn’t take long before I could see a whole host of positives and was able to understand the wide spread affection for it!
What have you enjoyed so far whilst using Twitter?
Chatting to our supporters. It’s absolutely brilliant to feel you can say thank you directly and instantly. A lot of our supporters sign on to tell us how they have done in a marathon or a trek, some loyally re-tweet all our messages and updates. I think being able to present ourselves as people behind the organisation is the most wonderful thing Twitter has to offer. It gives supporters a way of engaging with us on a level that previously never existed before. It has also been a really great way to make friends with all the other charities, we learn from each other and we support one other by pushing messages out. One great example is @WhizzKidz who keep correcting supporters who get our name wrong – they message us at @Macmillan, but we are actually @Macmillancancer - @Macmillan you will find a clown who loves Meg Ryan!!
Has their been an incidents of followers doing something wonderful for you?
Yes! We saw Hugh Jackman on Twitter offering one charity a load of cash if they could demonstrate passion to the cause and so we decided to mobilise our supporters via our social media networks – we sent Hugh a message and asked our supporters to help us contact him. The response was astounding – so many people got involved and Third Sector and PR Week must have seen the Twitter buzz because although we didn’t win the money we were mentioned in their news. It was very exciting to see people rally behind us and get passionate about helping us win the money.
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
It’s difficult to know how to help grow your list of followers, obviously interesting tweets help but I think there are some great ideas waiting to happen. I don’t think there are any substantial challenges on Twitter - I think it’s a very simple tool which allows an intimate level of communication with a bunch of interested ears (hopefully!) I suppose one of the tricky parts is gaining a clear idea of how many people you are reaching.
Do you have a Twitter tip for other charities?
I would say don’t forget about your account, always respond to those who message you, enjoy sharing – chat to them, ask questions, congratulate. Show some emotion – it’s ok to be yourself representing your charity rather than the voice you imagine your charity might have. No one wants to talk to an automated service. Keep tweets interesting, sometimes a little saucy, use compelling words, calls to action, include links when you can, ask followers questions and make use of any journalists or publications following you. You may well get a much quicker response on Twitter than you would via email.
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