By Evelyn Ostrovsky 

If two weeks ago you didn’t know about the American Red Cross’s social media use, you do now. The Red Cross’s innovative fundraising efforts for Haiti relief show that a little social media can go a long way in rallying global support for a common cause.

Given this success, it’s ironic that the Red Cross’s social media manager, Wendy Harman, was initially hired 4 years ago to “make the internet stop.” Red Cross executives were concerned about the volume of negative comments about the organization after Hurricane Katrina, and they wanted to somehow make the criticism go away. (Now, all good communicators out there realize that this is impossible, but can certainly relate to the sentiment.) Instead of staying in combat mode, however, Wendy saw an opportunity to enable advocates to rally around the Red Cross cause. Her journey from “make it stop” to empowering supporters took a few rogue experiments, some excellent listening skills, and the know-how to rein in overzealous business partners.

We’re thrilled to have Wendy share her story at a CEC webinar next Tuesday (February 9 at 11 EST). CEC members can register now for this event; if you’re reading this after the fact, you can check out the event replay here.

Now, let’s hear from you. What did you notice about social media’s role in fundraising for Haiti? What takeaways do you find transferable to the corporate setting?