Key influencer discusses social media's impact on Haiti relief efforts on CNN

Atlanta’s James Andrews was a guest commentator on CNN with Don Lemon (@DonLemon) Saturday night during their ongoing coverage of the Haiti earthquake disaster and relief efforts. Andrews, known in Twitter land as, @keyinfluencer shared insight on how social media has aided in raising funds, uniting lost loved ones and raising global awareness for this universal crisis.

Andrews knows better than many about how the use of social media networks like Facebook and Twitter can disseminate useful information about cause-related campaigns. In 2009, Be Everywhere, a Social Media Marketing and Content Development firm, where he is a managing partner, participated in the cause-related campaign, #BeatCancer. The campaign encouraged social media users on Twitter, Facebook and blogs to use the hashtag, #BeatCancer in their updates and blog posts within a 24 hour period. For every hashtag, a collective of corporations pledged to make considerable financial contributions towards cancer research. Not only did the campaign raise more than $70,000 but the campaign made the Guinness World Record.

Andrews has appeared on Don Lemon’s show before to touch on social media. However, last night Andrews sat in to monitor conversations about how people can help, which networks were the most helpful, how campaigns since the tragedy have raised record-breaking donations through social networks and digitally via text messaging. Along with some of the more popular and active organizations using social media such as Care and Yele, he also listed one of the newest organizations to join the social media cause, Save Haiti Saturday (@SaveHaitiSat). Save Haiti Saturday, though new to Twitter, isn’t new to the relief efforts. The organization, which supports Project MediShare, which dispatched medical relief and rescue teams from Miami to Haiti, has organized local businesses which will serve as donation drop-off points in the Miami area.

During commercial breaks and interviews with other guests and reporters, Andrews continued to share behind-the-scenes updates via twitter. He also announced a strong desire for popular Haitian music artist and humanitarian, Wyclef, to re-unite with his former group members, The Fugees, for a benefit concert. To petition this new cause, he is taking to Twitter using the hashtag, #Fugees4Haiti.

Leave a comment about how you are using social media to spread awareness about the Haiti relief efforts.  Have you use social media to promote donations? Let us know.

To receive future articles by Jonnice Slaughter, scroll to the top of this article, and click on SUBSCRIBE.  Do you have a story idea? Submit your ideas to socialmediaexaminer.js@gmail.com or send a tweet to @mediasocialite.