Cancer Research UK has created a digital 'do' button, akin to a Facebook 'like', which directs people to a CRUK website which encourages support for the charity through various activities.
The charity wants to encourage active engagement through social media with the button, rather than passive.
The button can be installed on websites in the same way that other social sharing buttons, such as the Facebook ‘like’ button.
When people click it they’re directed to a random #ActNowForResearch generator, which doles out ways to support the charity, for example signing up to an event, foregoing an expensive coffee and donating the money to CRUK or sending the link to friends and family.
Natasha Hill, brand director at Cancer Research UK, said: “We’re really excited to be the world’s first charity to create a ‘DO’ button. And although #ActNowForResearch is designed to be fun by creating actions that might be a bit out of the ordinary, it has a serious message at its heart – that collectively we can all take action that will help Cancer Research UK beat cancer sooner.”
Earlier this year, researchers at the Columbia Sauder School of Business warned that social media campaigns might be ‘in vain’, as people who made token gestures of support publically were less likely to go on to volunteer or donate and subsequently labelled this 'slacktivism'.
