“We should do a flash mob”

The whole table looked at me weird, and waited until I made another point. 

I told them that was my idea, and that we were moving forward on it

Why a flash mob? Because we were doing a dance marathon! We needed to dance!

So we set to work to get a group to choreograph it, and then find a group to film it. We managed to do it pretty easily (free swag can move people to do some awesome stuff)

And sure enough, our flash mob bounced around and drew tons of eyeballs to our event. As a result of that, our event helped to raise over $16,000 for the local children’s hospital.

Moral of the story…don’t do a flash mob….what do I mean? Let me explain

Our flash mob worked because it hit on these 4 steps.

1. What’s your cause/event about?

For us, it was dancing for those who couldn’t. So a flash mob fit with the theme, and had a direct link to the cause/event we were doing. So a flash mob would be in bad taste/wouldn’t fit for certain things: your charity chess tournament, your ping pong tournament, or even your loonie drive (unless you had giant chess pieces dancing around….hey, that’s pretty cool!) Ultimately, find something that fits with the theme of your event and run with it…or dance, your call.

2. Choreography

Not just of the dance, but make sure you plan out every element. This includes the boring stuff: like paperwork and waivers, all the way up to getting the people involved and the items you’ll need. If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail…..and you wouldn’t want to be a failure. Sometimes it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, but not typically when it comes to charity. You’ll also want to make sure you plan for times when there’ll be the most eyeballs on you, giving you the best exposure. A flash mob seen by one person isn’t so cool. A flash mob seen by a hundred people is pretty awesome!

3. Be social, but the right kind

Don’t just hide behind the screen, but get out there and be social with people. We blended the social element, being there in person, with the social media element of sharing the video to get awareness around what was happening. This helped generate some fear of missing out (FOMO) and gave those there a feeling of being in on something cool. So don’t post a status and wait for the likes to roll in…get out there and earn them

4. Take notes

Take note of those who say things about what you’re doing, and ask them to do that more! Follow up and ask them to be part of the event, or to share your stuff more. Why would you turn down offers of free help? Especially when it means you get a further reach! So take notes on who helps/talks about you, and praise them!

So don’t do a flash mob….or do it….either works so long as you follow the above steps. Follow them religiously and you’ll be laughing! And dancing….maybe…….up to you