Kony 2012: Social Media Lessons from a Viral Sensation
The Kony 2012 campaign run by the organization Invisible Children had one main goal: make the world know about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. Spread awareness, so they could fight for justice.
Invisible Children found huge success in this by capitalizing on the growing state of the internet and social media. Their viral video can teach key things about using social media to promote a cause and getting supporters to join in.
Use of Social Media
As can be clearly seen, the “KONY 2012” video spread massively, earning more than 100 million views on YouTube alone. Invisible Children’s use of social media for the Kony 2012 campaign was highly planned and optimized, contributing to its success.
The article Do good, goes bad, gets ugly: Kony 2012 by Bal et al. explains, “The Invisible Children not only posted the video on YouTube but similarly had Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace pages [...] This demonstrates significant evidence of control and management on the part of Invisible Children to design a video whose primary purpose was to be passed along” (Bal et al. 2013).
Invisible Children uploaded the video in multiple places to increase the amount of people that would see it. They made it easy for people to share with others, increasing viewers even more.
Video Impact
The Kony 2012 video was well formulated to leave an impact on those who watched it.
I personally had not watched the original Kony 2012 video before this. I had seen a couple videos about the entire situation, but this was my first time seeing what had started it all.
One thing I noticed was the quality of Jason Russell’s filmmaking; the movie used a variety of transitions, animated text, and music combined with images and video footage to guide viewers through the story, appeal to their emotions, and create a captivating message.
I thought the parts that had the most emotion were the clips of people in Uganda, particularly Jacob. Him talking about seeing his brother again in heaven and breaking down crying was a sobering moment. I am sure the millions of people who watched this in 2012 were affected by these raw clips and were driven to act.
Going off that, I was surprised to learn that Invisible Children actually managed to convince the US government to send some troops to Uganda. This was a big step that would have made viewers feel that their actions could have a real impact.
Therefore, the calls to action in the video are also effective. Invisible Children provides multiple options for viewers to participate, from purchasing an action kit to contacting politicians. Much like the video itself, the action kit encouraged sharing by providing two bracelets, one for the buyer and one for them to give away. Additionally, purchasing the kit came with the promise of using the items for the “Cover the Night” event, moving the campaign from social media to real world action.
What Can We Learn?
The Kony 2012 viral sensation can teach organizations how to create social campaigns that reach a lot of people.
1. Multiple Areas - More platforms means more chances to see your product
2. Sharing - Encourage people to share and making it easy to do so
3. Emotions - Appealing to emotions can impact people and compel them to spread the message through the product
4. Endorsements - Involving well-known individuals can reach more people and compel them to join
5. Calls to Action - Give people multiple options for helping so they can do what works best for them
One thing this situation does warn about is being careful what you put out there after the attention is on you. The fame of Kony 2012 made Russell’s public breakdown also become popular, and Invisible Children had to respond smartly to lessen the impact. In a broader sense, the lesson here is that going viral opens you up to criticism in addition to support, and it is important to handle it responsibly.
