Good Cause, Great Outreach
Hoops for Hope LA set out to score more than baskets at its charity fundraiser: it wanted Facebook fans. And it got them – to the tune of 177 percent increase in about a week.
Cheryl Lawson, owner of Party Aficionado (formerly Perfect Date), an event planning firm, had her work cut out for her. Lawson had less than three weeks to coordinate and promote an event for the charity Hoops for Hope LA to build awareness about the philanthropies that created the organization (Hoops for Hope LA is combination of two charitable organizations – Hawks Hoops Sports Foundation and The Arnold C. Yoder Survivors Foundation) and raise money to purchase prosthetic limbs for a young mother who is a multiple amputee.
Driving Donors and Celebrity Support
Lawson turned to PRWeb’s news distribution in combination with Facebook as the best opportunity to spread the news via word-of-mouth. “Many people felt that when social media came into play that news releases would be obsolete,” said Lawson, who founded and owns the event planning firm, “PRWeb continues to grow along with the new media changes; therefore, instead of writing a release, sending it out to reporters, and hoping for traffic, PRWeb helps us reach the blogging community and other online sources that impact search engine optimization which drives traffic to our projects.”
Blowout Results
The first release published for Hoops for Hope LA, which promoted their Facebook fan page in the PRWeb release, earned 1,000 page reads and drove 150 new Facebook fans within 24 hours. Eight days later, just prior to the event date, she published a second release which earned 1,400 reads in the first 24 hours, received nearly 60 ReTweets on Twitter and drove the event’s Facebook fan count to more than 500.
“The first release created so much excitement among readers that they were looking forward to additional information.,” said Lawson, who analyzed the uptick in results of the second press release. Lawson also notes the releases published through PRWeb “stay on the Internet forever” and both of the Hoops for Hope LA releases continue to earn additional page reads.
The Hoops for Hope LA online press releases also challenged other celebrities in Los Angeles to support inner city kids. As a result, dozens of celebrities came out to support the event and the kids, and now the post event YouTube videos call for the community to donate to continue to support the cause.
Party Aficionado
Party Aficionado is an event planning and marketing firm. Our specialties include Corporate Meetings, Association Conferences, Specialized events, and Gala Celebrations.
