In October 1985, the American Cancer Society in partnership with a pharmaceutical company, founded the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to be held annually in October.  The goal was to increase awareness of the disease and raise money for research into finding a cure, better treatment, early detection and more.

From that early beginning, thousands of charities and for-profits have since contributed to making the month of October a global support for breast cancer awareness, with the iconic pink ribbon recognizable the world over as a symbol for the cause.

It is truly admirable to support and be passionate about a good cause, whether your business is a non-profit or a for-profit.  However, simply being passionate about your cause is not always enough to get the support you need. It is essential that as a business, you learn how to market your cause effectively.  Here are some key steps that can help you achieve this.

1. Have a plan – It is always important to have a detailed marketing plan before executing any marketing strategy and marketing a cause is no different. You must outline your goal (or goals), objectives, target audience, strategy and tactics, budget, timeline and more. A well-constructed and clearly outlined plan serves as a roadmap for successfully marketing your cause.

 

2. Keep Your Message Simple & Direct – Having a muddled and confusing message that tries to include too many things at once increases the risk of no one understanding what it is you are trying to achieve and not being interested. Having an excellent marketing plan to start will help in this regard. Your plan should have a specific goal and knowing exactly what your goal is will be a strong asset in helping you define your message in a clear and concise manner.

 

Need help getting started or some more tips and advice for marketing your cause, Yello can help.

 

3. Be Authentic & Credible – This should go without saying but it is extremely important that people believe you are honest and sincere in your efforts; otherwise, it is unlikely they will support the cause. The quickest way for a cause to fall apart is for individuals to think you are untrustworthy. This also refers to facts and figures. Don’t exaggerate statistics or the issue to gain support.

 

4. Leverage Social Media (The Right Way) – It’s virtually impossible to avoid social media today and the fact is if utilized in the right way it can be a very effective marketing tool at a fairly low cost. The key, of course, is to use it in the right way. Like most marketing channels, each social media channel has its own pros and cons, demographics, etc. Understanding these differences will help you to better utilize each in the right way to achieve your ultimate goal.

 

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you successfully execute your marketing strategy.