Many recognise this charity for its red shield logo, but I bet you didn’t know that The Salvation Army began on the streets of East London back in 1865?

The journey began when Methodists, William and Catherine Booth, reached out to the poor and helped those in need through practical love and care.

From the beginning of its journey, The Salvation Army ran soup kitchens, started rescue homes for women who had been in prostitution and provided education for children.

Today, The Salvation Army is a church and charity that is active in virtually every corner of the world and serves in more than 130 countries, helping people in desperate need providing comfort, food and support.

Where Donations Go

The Salvation Army recently created a unique video shared across all of its social channels, demonstrating the process involved when people donate food to the charity.

This video shows the journey of food being dropped off at the food bank to how it arrives in people’s homes.

By generating diverse, entertaining content like this, The Salvation Army helps to inform its supporters and social media users on what goes on behind the scenes. 

Its Worcester Corps has also been busy supplying meals for vulnerable people in the community, and recently provided its 10,000th meal since lockdown began.

Raising Awareness Through the London Marathon

Everyone has heard of the London Marathon and this doesn’t go amiss on Salvation Army’s social channels. 

In 2019, the charity raised an outstanding £63,523 through its JustGiving page.

The money raised went to support its work – protecting and caring for vulnerable victims of modern slavery.

This year, The Salvation Army is promoting its participation in the 2021 London Marathon by sharing last year’s achievements and the runners involved.

This event spreads awareness of the charity, brings people together and raises donations to help those in need.

Stories Of Hope Campaign

The charity incorporated the hashtag #storiesofhope, into its organic content from November to December last year for it’s Stories of Christmas Hope campaign. 

This campaign helped to fundraise money which went towards transforming lives at Christmas.  

Below shows what donations made from this campaign went towards:

• £19- A box filled with food and essentials for a family in need.
• £45- An hour of one-to-one support work for five homeless people.
• £112- Delivery of ‘meals on wheels’ to 16 lonely older people so see a friendly face and receive much-needed supplies. 

The charity posted images and a thank you message from those who the charity have helped through donations. 

By sharing this insight into how the charity has supported those in need, it does what the hashtag states, provides hope.

Amidst social media noise, this thought-provoking content shines out from the rest through positivity and inspiration. 

A Look Back In Time

For it’s 130th Anniversary, on the 3rd November last year The Salvation Army shared a collage of images from the past.

Reminiscing and celebrating how far it’s come, The Salvation Army provides an insight into its history for its supporters to admire and learn how the charity became what it is known as today.

The charity has also published a special 130th Anniversary edition of its book: ‘In Darkest England: 130 Years On’ which gives space to new voices within the organisation and addresses the same social issues which are just as relevant today as they were in the 19th century.

Highlighting the charity’s history is an important subject to share online as it conveys how its core values of helping those in need are prominent still everyday.

Anti-slavery Campaign

The Salvation Army created an anti-slavery campaign that took place on Sunday 18th October 2020 and was a huge success on social media with high levels of engagement.

As a result of thousands of people being exploited and sold as modern-day slaves across England and Wales each year, The Salvation Army utilised it’s ‘we are not for sale’ campaign to raise awareness of such crimes and essential funds to help victims.

The charity encouraged users to share images of them wearing its special edition facemask and stand in solidarity on the 18th October. Money raised from sales of the facemasks were donated to the Victim Care Fund, which provides additional support to help survivors of modern slavery

This innovative yet moving campaign incorporated the power of social media to let voices be heard and to raise necessary awareness of a significant issue.

The Salvation Army have gone above and beyond to utilise its social media to spread awareness of its innovative campaigns and educational content. 

Through creativity and resilience, the charity stands out from the rest with it’s unique anti-slavery campaign to it’s 130th birthday collage.

The Salvation Army is a prime example of how a charity can incorporate social media into it’s marketing strategy to create a tight-knit community of supporters online.

What do you love about The Salvation Army’s social media? Let us know in the comments on our post on Instagram or Facebook.