Weekly round-up ~ October 30th, 2014

October 30, 2014 by phillips1232014 Leave a comment

This week, the Red Cross discussed fire safety, blood donation, hurricane Sandy victims, and flu prevention in their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts. The following example was quite interesting and really promoted the topic of fire safety:

“You have two minutes to escape your burning home. Do you have a #gameplan to get out safely? http://bit.ly/12UqrwQ“

The image above is quite alarming. The red jumps out at the reader and is historically a color that symbolizes risk and despair. The line “You have two minutes to escape your burning home” catches the reader’s attention and achieves the purpose of making the audience think. Having such a short amount of time to escape a burning building, let alone one’s home, is a scary thought. Anyone in their right mind wants to avoid a situation like this, so it preps the reader to think strategically about a “game plan,” mentioned in the next line. The term itself makes the complex idea of a fire escape more understandable to the reader. The phrasing of this sentence as a rhetorical question speaks to the reader’s emotions and creates a sense of discomfort. After reading this post, one cannot help but be more aware of fire safety.

Doctors Without Borders focused on Ebola, history and culture of the organization, violence in Africa, job opportunities, public health, tuberculosis, and treatment centers in their social media posts. The following tweet really stuck out to me:

“More info, pt. 2: Since outbreak began in March, MSF has admitted 4,900+ patients. 3,200 confirmed w/ #Ebola. 1,110+ have survived. #MSF_USA”

This post relies on a heavy appeal to logos. An example of less being more, the organization has used numbers to speak volumes. A huge amount of people have been under the care of DWB, and many have survived. However, most have died. This shows the desperation of the Ebola situation in Africa. It also puts the organization in a good light by helping those on the verge of death to survive. Any current or potential donors would see this post and be assured that their money was going to a good cause, and they were potentially helping an Ebola victim survive one more day.

Care posted about their “We are Here” movement, Ebola, refugees, South Sudan, climate change, and care packages. The following tweet is filled with appeal to character, emotion, logic, and more:

“CARE staff delivers critical medicine and food amid heavy fighting in #SSudan: http://shout.lt/JFPv”

Within the text, the medicine is described as “critical,” which implies severity. It emphasizes the sense of importance and urgency of the work that CARE is currently doing in the conflict-ridden region of South Sudan. The fact that an innocent looking young woman is putting herself in danger by going to a violent region such as South Sudan shows that the organization is devoted to its cause and will take many risks in order to help victims. She looks like she means business, and takes her job very seriously. The post does a great job at rallying support for the organization.