When people think about a “cause” they often picture some enthusiastic young people carrying signs and taking a stand for what they believe in. But the truth is, if you are using digital media for almost any purpose, you have a cause. And how you manage that cause will determine if your marketing approach will be effective.
What Is A Cause?
Your cause is what drives you, your organization, or your product. It is n ot just your messaging, it is what your messaging is built on. It’s the stuff that you think is important enough to tell other people about. By virtue of the fact that you are buying ads, creating content, or making phone calls, you are demonstrating that you believe your cause will resonate with others. If your product solves a problem, then that solution is your cause. If your charity meets a need, then meeting that need is your cause.
How Do You Manage A Cause?
Managing your cause is how you handle it, both internally, and how you express it to others. If in your mind, you aren’t clear about your cause then don’t expect others to be when trying to explain it. Your cause is more than vision, it’s what is behind your action. The reason you are reading this right now is most likely because it helps you further a personal or professional cause. Marketing is the outward focus of trying to persuade others that your cause is worthy. Worthy to purchase, to donate to, or in some way support.
Is Your Cause Marketable?
You need to do some things in order to be able to promote you cause. This is simple, but easy to overcomplicate. There are five questions you need to answer:
- Why should someone buy, donate, or support my cause?
- Who is most likely to resonate with my cause?
- Where can I reach those people?
- How can I truly get through to them so they can genuinely evaluate the cause?
- How can I unite those who take up my cause?
Your marketing and advertising is built upon the answers to those questions. If you cannot find a solid answer to any of those questions then you need to re-evaluate your cause before you start thinking about promoting it.
Marketing The Cause
If you have genuine answers then your cause has legs and it is time to create a strategy that ties everything together. Decide on the best way to reach your audience, write the exact words to say to them, and create the images and videos that will give life to your ideas. The flexibility of the internet to reach people with niche interests gives life to causes that may not have been able to reach their audience before.
Marketing without a cause or without properly understanding your cause is like trying to confuse someone into agreeing with you. Even if it works, it doesn’t really work.
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