If you are following me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Plaxo, you know I have been training for the Avon Breast Cancer 2-Day Walk, which took place this past weekend in Washington, DC. I only decided to do the walk a couple months ago. This gave me a short period of time to raise the $1,800 required to walk. Using ideas from other successful word-of-mouth cause campaigns, I put together a plan.

My goals:

• Raise at least $1,800 for breast cancer help and research.
• To help a great cause. Set a secondary goal of raising $2,220.
• Gain encouragement and support for the actual walk.

My tactics:

• Create an e-mail campaign.
• Start and continually update a blog on my Avon Breast Cancer Walk personal page.
• Issue consistent messages on all social mediums I use.
• Create a Facebook group to encourage support.
• Post a link and interface application on my Facebook home page with updates and easy links to the Avon walk.
• Make the walk a part my everyday conversations with friends, colleagues and acquaintances. (My off-line message was consistent with my on-line message.)

The success story:

• I exceeded my goal and raised $2,310. I have been asked by some friends if they can still donate.
• The Facebook event prompted 14 people to say, “They would attend.” Six of them donated to the walk and three came and cheered this weekend.
• Nine friends wrote on my Facebook event wall, prior to the event, and four of them donated funds.
• I had three return tweets, the day of the event, offering encouragement.
• Fifteen friends made positive posts on my Facebook wall during the weekend of the walk.
• Two of my LinkedIn connections were prompted by my status updates to ask how they could donate to the cause.
• At least four donations came from casual conversations with friends and colleagues at BurrellesLuce.

I found social media to be very useful to helping me raise awareness for a great cause. How are you using social media to promote your causes?