What makes a successful awareness campaign?

Every September people interested in Alzheimer’s around the world conduct activities to mark World Alzheimer’s Month by sharing materials through social media while some conduct conferences and webinars.

Traditional media has also become very active in publishing articles and interviews about Alzheimer’s and dementia, but such activities should not be seasonal, and we must keep going the remaining months of the year.

Awareness campaigns are popular, effective, and flexible ways to raise public interest and educate the community about different health issues.

The World Health Organization allocates different days of the year to different events, so there is World Mental Health Day, world diabetes day, world HIV Day, and so on.

Organisations choose to mark these days depending on the public interest and the resources available. So what makes a successful awareness campaign?

The first step is to identify the main objectives of your campaign and spread awareness of these objectives in order to educate your audience and create a stronger base of support to drive your mission.

Make sure you set specific key performance indicators to measure the success of your awareness strategies.

Such indicators include audience growth and digital engagement which can be measured by the number of views, likes, and shares of your social media posts.

While generating donations is important for your campaign it should not be the central purpose as fundraising will take place while you are showing your audience why your work matters.

To grab public attention around a certain health issue you should conduct your awareness campaign to coincide with international awareness days set by the WHO. However, you must plan ahead to make the best of your campaign.

The use of social media and virtual events such as webinars have made it easier to reach audiences in different locations yet physical attendance allows for more interaction with your audience.

Remember to use the media well to build up awareness campaigns either by conducting press releases or asking them to feature your message on their programmes.

Identifying your audience is essential before you start conducting your activities so you can target them well. Craft your awareness message well and use hashtags to facilitate reposting of your message.

In order to get your message through you will need to engage your board members, volunteers, and supporters with large social media followings, and business connections so you can expand your campaign’s visibility.

Some of your loyal supporters can become active advocates for your awareness campaign, promote virtual awareness events, and secure registrations.

The following step is to secure your campaign sponsors who could be local businesses, nonprofit influencers and news personalities like TV and radio hosts. Make sure you keep your supporters informed with the progress of your campaign by sharing major milestones such as when you gain 1,000 new followers across your social media platform, or when you’ve gained over 100 new donors.

Concluding your awareness campaign with an event enables you to thank your sponsors and celebrate all of the objectives you’ve met. Finally, while some awareness campaigns are seasonal one should not limit the activities to a specific time of the year.

Ensure your message is featured throughout the year and be creative in preparing for future events.