What is Cause Marketing?

Cause marketing benefits many types of businesses with the right approach. A strong cause marketing campaign will help you connect your brand with a cause that resonates with audiences, boost brand awareness, and encourage more customers to stay with you over less impactful brands. 

Knowing how cause marketing works and the best approach to your campaigns will help you get the most from these efforts. However, you might be unsure why you need cause marketing or how to build your campaign. Here you'll learn more about this type of marketing and how you can succeed with a cause marketing campaign. 

So, What Exactly Is Cause Marketing? 

Businesses often use cause marketing to connect their brand with a particular cause that aligns with their industries and audiences. Cause marketing will help audiences associate you with a positive cause that elevates your brand in their eyes.  

In the process, you can build stronger, lasting connections with communities, acquire more customers, and keep existing customers loyal. At the same time, your brand can contribute to a cause that pushes for a better world. Your cause might be to promote sustainability, but it could also revolve around giving back to your community through donations or other noble causes. 

Ultimately, you'll do your part in promoting social good while ensuring people see your brand positively, which is why this marketing is crucial for many businesses. 

How to Build Your Next Cause Marketing Campaign 

When planning your cause marketing campaigns, you must take the right steps to get the best results. The following is a brief guide to help gear your campaign for success. 

Pick a Specific Cause 

Before building any type of campaign, you must start with a cause. Choose a cause that aligns with your company's values and resonates with your audience, which will help ensure your campaign lands. For example, airline JetBlue launched its "JetBlue for Good" campaign in 2020, intending to help the company's partners and local communities. The campaign involved donating points allowing charities to travel worldwide and reach out to people anywhere.  

Choose the Message You Want to Send 

After you've selected the right cause for your cause marketing campaign, you can begin developing the specific message you wish to send with this campaign. Consider the motivation behind this campaign and what it aims to achieve. Also, you can use hashtags and other forms of messaging to differentiate your campaign from others and increase recognition. 

Create Engaging Marketing Materials 

With your cause and message chosen, you can start crafting marketing materials to prepare your campaign. You might use print and digital content to promote your campaign, from paid search ads and social media content to posters and physical ads.  

Decide on the Channels You Want to Use 

In spreading your message, consider the channels you want to use to reach your audiences. You have many options available to you based on where your audience is located. For example, you might use email content to reach people on your contact lists, post on social media, or build a page dedicated to the cause on your website. 

Locate the Right Partner 

You can't succeed with your campaigns without help from the right partners. There are many potential partners to choose from, including non-profit organizations, local shelters, and brands within the same vertical that aren't competitors. One example of a successful partnership is between retailer BoxLunch and the non-profit organization Feeding America. Together, these companies have provided people in need with over 150 million meals. 

When connecting with viable partners, set clear expectations for each and establish their responsibilities to ensure the partnership is successful. You'll also benefit from maintaining a lasting relationship with your partners. 

Launch Your Campaign 

It's now time to launch your campaign and get it out there. This will involve sending your message, publishing content, and getting audiences involved. You can then gather key data to help you analyze your efforts. 

Keep Track of Progress and Measure the Results Once Completed 

Track your campaign's progress with analytics and insights and compare the results to your goals. Once your campaign ends, you can determine whether your efforts succeeded or need some optimization. 

Assess Your Campaign to Optimize Future Efforts 

With the help of valuable, actionable insights, you can decide on the following steps to take for future campaigns. What would you do differently? How can you work on perfecting your campaigns and yield even better results? The answer to these and other questions should become clear with in-depth evaluation. 

Drive Results Through Cause Marketing with a Reliable Media Partner 

The numerous cause marketing benefits make these campaigns critical for many brands. If you don't have the resources needed to succeed with your efforts, you may need some outside help. By connecting with a media partner like Mid-West Family Eau Claire, you can exceed your goals with a multi-media approach to your campaigns. 

Reach out to us today if you would like to get started on a successful cause marketing campaign.