Human rights group Amnesty International is launching a social media campaign on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and through bloggers, designed to raise money for a full page ad buy attacking oil company Shell in a UK national newspaper.

According to an article in the Guardian Newspaper:

“Amnesty’s full-page ad, which is being timed to coincide with Shell’s annual general meeting on 18 May, attacks the oil company for alleged environmental transgressions in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.”

All politics aside, there are a few things I really like about this campaign from Amnesty.

Clear Goals

The proposition is simple: Donate money, help Amnesty buy a nationwide newspaper ad, and stick it to man. The audience is presented with specific requirements and a clearly spelled out reward.

Multiple Levels of Engagement

Let’s say you’re one to join in and help Amnesty buy the ad attacking Shell. First you read about the offer, donate the money, check back to see if the campaign is successful, read the newspaper ad, watch the protests on TV, and probably tell some friends along the way. That’s an awful lot of engagement for simply making a small donation.

Limited Run Time

On May 18th the ad attacking Shell with either run or not run, but one thing will happen no matter what… there will be more Amnesty social media campaigns. Sure Amnesty could be hitting up their members with generic “people are suffering” calls to action but by providing a specific goal with a set deadline, they are able to launch campaigns in quicker succession without sounding as repetitive.

For me, the reminder I take away from the Amnesty social media campaign is to set clear goals and specific deadlines for my audience. Too often we fall into the “10% off if you “like” us on Facebook” approach. Creating a sense of urgency with a clear objective can be a great way to engage your audience and motivate them to act.