Social media campaign generates awareness for ABF Vital Support Fund

"The ABF Vital Support Fund is run by a volunteer committee, whose members are either employed full time or run businesses of their own. Each committee member does what they can, however, we noticed a shortfall when it came to our social media presence," says Sharlene Vallance, VP of the ABF Vital Support Fund.

The ABF has a Facebook page and a Twitter account and uses them to inform the industry about upcoming fundraising events and what the ABF is doing. "With around 6000 industry people, we need to be more active on this platform. We will provide weekly prizes as well as one grand prize at the end of the campaign," she adds.

The aims of the campaign are to create awareness about the work that the ABF does and to challenge everyone in the industry to contribute to its social media fundraising target by donating from as little as R10, once-off, per person. It will also include a company challenge. The profile photograph of each person and logo of each company that pledges will be added to a 'wall' of ABF donors.

"Available and willing to help"

"We need to raise our profile in order to be able to assist those in the industry who are facing any crisis. The industry needs to know that we are available and willing to help," adds Riana Stander, treasurer of the ABF Vital Support Fund.

"We realised that our support will not only help with expanding the organisation's social media presence, with fundraising and general awareness, it will also make CSI sense," adds Ryan Silberman, co-founder and COO of Popimedia, a specialist social media marketing company, which is an authorised Facebook Sales House both in South Africa and abroad.

"We can contribute to a cause that makes a very real difference to our industry. It is wonderful to take a 41-year-old organisation and provide it with a social media campaign, something that would never have been thought of then. I guess it's a testament to the ever creative and fast changing industry that we live in."

For more information, email az.oc.fba@enelrahs, go to www.facebook.com/ABFSA or Twitter @ABFSA