The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was founded in 1949 with one clear mission-to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of the patients and families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care.
In 2019, LLS set out to generate high-level awareness of its cause by working with strategists that could revamp their social media channels. While LLS previously had a heavy social media presence, the organization’s new goal was to take it to a higher level with outstanding content. LLS wanted to bring on an agency who were just as passionate about their mission as they were. This is where Zero Gravity Marketing (ZGM) entered the picture. We offered them a hands-on approach to create and execute a social media strategy that spoke true to the uniqueness of LLS. Not only did we utilize Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but we were proactive and took advantage of the latest social trends, recognizing the impact that TikTok could have. The ZGM team used trending dances and fresh visual content to relate to users and to get LLS’s important message across to a large audience. September provided us with the perfect opportunity to heighten LLS’s social media presence. For Blood Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) we created a social media campaign that stood out all over the world. The LLS Kiss Blood Cancer Goodbye Challenge went viral and it was the perfect opportunity to amplify their social reach.
LLS already had a substantial online media presence, so we needed to figure out a way to go above and beyond the measures they already had in place. ZGM needed to come in with a strong strategy that would take hold of specific social media channels in a way that was shareable enough to go viral. We had a four-pronged approach:
Educate audience members about blood cancer and position LLS as the leader in the blood cancer field.
Disrupt social threads with content that couldn’t be overlooked or ignored while providing the audience with a personal connection to the cause.
Generate donations for LLS through an inspiring BCAM Facebook fundraiser.
Promote a viral social media challenge among social media users and influencers.
The goal of their social media strategy and the Kiss Blood Cancer Goodbye Campaign was to use impact statistics that would resonate with the audience in a “Did you know?” type of way. ZGM paired LLS’s feed posts with interactive Instagram and Facebook stories that supported the main content themes.
ZGM produced weekly content to create a stronger presence for LLS on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We relied on remarkable visuals to showcase the impact of donations, motivate the audience, and deliver inspiring statistics to encourage engagement. To inform and educate social media users about blood cancer, we:
For the Kiss Blood Cancer Goodbye Campaign, we introduced a two-month trial run of an influencer activation to determine future applications. We targeted influential Instagram users of Nano (<10k) and Micro (10-50k) levels through manual discovery and approved celebrity influencers. We also manually vetted 100+ users through organized spreadsheets with contact information and key identifiers such as “survivors and advocates,” “leukemia,” and “lymphoma.”
Created powerful, impactful, and disruptive visuals that highlighted users’ personal connection to blood cancer and the impact of donations to motivate engagement.
Using a Facebook Fundraiser strategy, we helped LLS set a financial goal, created a landing page, and posted content to educate and inform followers of the cause. The Facebook fundraiser saw an increase of 33% in our first year of management.
Targeted influential Instagram users and approved celebrity influencers through customized messages and social postings.
LLS was an early adopter of the TikTok journey among nonprofits and began its campaign on the platform in early 2020. They welcomed TikTok into their marketing efforts in order to connect with users in an authentic way and showcase their brand’s personality. The platform has allowed them to reach thousands of users while simultaneously bringing awareness to blood cancer in a lighthearted and positive way. Originally, ZGM stepped in to assist with creating a TikTok campaign for LLS’s Student Visionaries of the Year, but this quickly changed after we gained access to the platform. Since then, LLS has been hopping on the latest TikTik trends, creating challenges, sharing blood cancer patient and survivor stories, and more. Here’s a closer look at what we’ve done to date…
LLS worked with ZGM to develop a TikTok marketing strategy with the goals of promoting educational resources, growing followers, and increasing user engagement while taking the heavy topic of blood cancer and bringing awareness to it in a more positive light. It was also important to take TikTok’s algorithm into consideration, so we suggested using hashtags, trending sounds, and promoting relatable topics to increase organic reach and audience engagement.
Another important consideration for ZGM and LLS was the brand’s voice. According to recent data, Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram are the most popular platforms for Gen Zers. By @LLSusa joining TikTok, we were successfully able to reach younger audiences and further the online blood cancer community.
In their first month of using TikTok, LLS gained 126 followers. With the support of content marketing strategies from ZGM, in two years, LLS experienced a 93% increase in its following, reaching 9,178. LLS has also seen a combined increase in organic views and followers of 1000%. Plus, their work with paid influencers also gained LLS 1,000 followers in just one month. In addition, their campaign hashtag #BigVirtualClimb got 3.3 million views and the Big Climb 2020 campaign video – featuring paid influencer Ashley Tisdale – saw 2.5 million views. Other contributing factors include their popular branded hashtag #CancelBloodCancer.
With close to 10K followers and over 140K video likes on TikTok, LLS and ZGM made the decision to expand this success by cross-promoting videos on Instagram Reels. According to Instagram, “91% of active Instagram users watch IG videos every week.” That said, LLS has earned over 536K views on Reels since August 2, 2022. TikTok and Reels are an unstoppable force for spreading brand awareness and gaining engagement.
LLS has also introduced many other initiatives through this social media platform, including:
increase in Facebook Engagement YoY
increase in Instagram Engagement YoY
increase in X/Twitter Engagement YoY
increase in TikTok Engagement YoY – Fastest growing social platform in 2021