The winners in yesterday's #MicroDay

I learnt loads yesterday from Microvolunteering Day. There was great visibility on Twitter, in fact #microvolunteering and #microday were top trends. Organisations were being really creative with asks.  But if you weren’t on Twitter you might have missed them.  I decided my action for the day was going to be retweeting opportunities I came across. There seemed to be two distinct groups of asks: organisations using the day to raise awareness of existing opportunities and others who targeted a direct ask for the day. For me, the ones that felt most effective where the ones with the ask that was specific to Mircovolunteering Day. Although both hashtags were top trends, I think we could have had a bigger impact by using just one hashtag. #MicroDay is the official hashtag of the day (and it's nice and short) but I can see why #microvolunteering took off - it includes the word volunteering and that's what it is all about! My top tips for next year’s Microvolunteering Day.

1. Focus on one hashtag – let's work together to raise awareness in advance and agree on one hashtag to ensure maximum traction.
2. Get it in your content plan - many charities reacted quickly once they saw it trending but a little preparation could have resulted in more traction and action
3. Put your direct ask in your tweet - on an awareness day like this where there are lots of messages, making your ask in a link reduces the chances of it being read.
4. Get your message in an image - using an image in your tweet can give a 35% boost in retweets.

And, in case you're interested, here are my 5 favourite tweets from yesterday...

#Microvolunteering Day comes but once a year. Get down to your local sports club and help out! pic.twitter.com/iLA7BD6Hg1 — Join In (@joininuk) April 15, 2015

In the time it takes to make a coffee, run a bath or even read this blog, you could volunteer for us. http://t.co/XpVey6eGWE #Microday — Marie Curie (@mariecurieuk) April 15, 2015

Today is Microvolunteering Day! Our micro-ask, is that you RT our volunteer film- thank you :) http://t.co/8lruYSzCqK #MicroDay #ChooseScope — Scope (@scope) April 15, 2015

Happy #Microday! Want to support scientists, analyse cancer data AND save adorable minions? Download #ReverseTheOdds http://t.co/AxnZzxmf8M — Cancer Research UK (@CR_UK) April 15, 2015

It's #Microvolunteering day. To find out more about Motor Neurone Disease visit http://t.co/y9jYa1xu92 #MND #Microday pic.twitter.com/K0ScnsEClj — MNDA West Yorkshire (@MNDA_WestYorks) April 15, 2015