Charities, foundations, and public awareness campaigns live and die by one factor: visibility. It’s absolutely critical that the public gets exposure to the ideas and issues that drive these organizations. Visibility is what allows mission-focused or cause-driven organizations to do their work at scale, have a broader impact, and stay financially sustainable through donor contributions. Influencer marketing can be a powerful tool for brands focused on spreading their messages. Let’s take a closer look at how mission-driven brands (for profit, non-profit, and/or campaigns) are plugging into influence marketing networks to spread the word for causes.
What Does Mission-Driven Promotion Mean?
Marketing has a strong association with the corporate world. Companies market products, services, and brands to make money. But all kinds of organizations employ marketing to spread the word, from musicians sharing content and building a following to charities devoted to causes like building schools, providing clean water, fighting poverty, curing cancer and much more. Promotion can be anchored around several different campaign objectives:
Raising awareness that the charity or foundation itself exists, to solicit support, donations, and other contributions;
To bring a specific angle or issue to the attention of the media and broader public: for example, a domestic violence charity might want to call attention to the specific risks of this issue and how it affects mothers or older women;
To focus a spotlight on the broad topic itself, including impact, statistics, or prevention;
Prevention-related public service announcement, such as advising people to get regular health screenings or not leave their pets in hot cars;
Promotion in connection with a specific piece of content they have developed: a book release, film screening, or resource website launch.
While this list isn’t comprehensive, it’s quickly easy to see why marketing plays an important role in helping mission-driven organizations have the impact they’re seeking to make in the world.
Case Study: Micro Video Promotes an Anti-Bullying Message
A great example of the power of micro video platforms to share cause-driven messages is the FullBottle and Cartoon Network partnership to launch an anti-bullying message campaign. FullBottle worked with creators across Vine to produce micro video content that encourages young audiences to speak up when they witness or experience bullying. Six seconds videos were created and shared across FullBottle’s network which reaches more than 150 million people. The team partnered with popular Vine content creators, such as Bottlerocket (over 400,00 followers), Jack Dytrych (over 570,000 followers), Mike Bennett (over 59,000 followers), and Maddy Esther (over 126,000 followers).
Determining How to Use Social Video + Influencer Marketing Campaigns
Social media has been a powerful force for charities and foundations; often these organizations don’t have a lot of money available for marketing. Even well-funded organizations want to dedicate as much cash flow as possible to programs and directly supporting their constituencies. Effectively using social media and social video marketing campaigns levels the playing fields. Individual audiences like to feel that what they’re doing is making a difference and participating in something important. Consider the monumental success of the ALS Bucket Challenge; according to one source, the challenge raised over $100 million dollars in the course of its global viral campaign.
The question that many cause driven organizations struggle with is how to make the most of social video campaigns. Here are a few tips to get organizations started on connecting Vine, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat campaigns to your underlying goals:
Focus on people: People relate to people; studies show that social media posts with images of faces and user generated content (UCG) tend to stimulate the most engagement on global social networks. How can your campaign make the most of individuals affiliated with your cause? Can you connect your cause or message to how it influences other people – or beings, if you focus on animals, for example– and what kind of emotional impact it has?
Promote interaction through user generated content: One of the key aspects of a successful campaign is encouraging people to contribute their own content. In order for this kind of simple UCG campaign to work, it has to be something that’s simple. A majority of internet users were able to dump a bucket of icy water over their heads for the ALS Bucket Challenge. The important “It Gets Better” campaign geared at LGBTQ youth could be participated in simply by recording a video with a personal message on a smartphone or web cam. It’s more important that people be able to participate than it is that your campaign be something highly unique.
Leverage influencer marketing campaigns: A well-designed influencer marketing campaign, especially one conducted in partnership with a knowledgeable agency such as FullBottle, can give momentum to cause-driven campaigns. It’s essential to choose the right influencers, with audiences that are interested in your message and a style that’s compatible with the cause you’re supporting. The right partner will guide the campaign from influencer selection through execution to post-campaign analytics.
Are you interested in exploring whether an influencer marketing campaign is the right fit for your mission-driven organization? Contact FullBottle today to learn more about our solutions and services.
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