Using Social Media to Keep Kids Safe Online:
Trend Micro, a global cloud security leader,. invested in its Internet Safety for Kids and Families initiative to generate awareness of Internet safety and to educate youth about using social technologies safely and responsibly.
Goal: Increase Awareness and Engagement Among Kids and Teens
Trend Micro needed a creative way to advance its Internet Safety for Kids and Families initiative while addressing the needs of children active online.
Campaign Strategy: Viral Video Contest, Peer Influence and Engagement
BzzAgent partnered with Trend Micro to create a video contest titled, “What’s Your Story?” that challenged youths in the U.K., U.S., and Canada to take a stand as peer educators, and be a part of the solution to online safety.
The program used social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogs to promote the cause and make the contestants the voice for Internet safety. Contest components used crowdsourcing techniques to select the finalists: videos with the most views and highest ratings made it to the finalist list. A panel of experts choose the grand prize winner, who received $10,000.
Results: Widespread Engagement and Influence
The second annual “What’s Your Story?” program ran in the spring of 2011 and made tremendous strides in raising worldwide awareness and commitment to Internet safety.
- Over 140 high-quality videos were submitted from a broad array of teens and kids
- Videos received over 200,000 views driven primarily by Facebook and YouTube
The contest and videos caught the attention of many prominent organizations who have supported the initiative, including Facebook, Yahoo!, the State Attorney General offices of Ohio, Michigan and South Carolina, and many leading youth online safety organizations such as Childnet International, Connectsafely and Common Sense MediaThis campaign was recognized for excellence at a prestigious interactive industry event. It won “Best Use of Social Strategies” at the 2011 MITX Awards.
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