Brand image is everything in today’s highly competitive business environment and 24/7 information cycle. Regardless of your industry, you need a brand strategy to stand out among the noise and capture customers’ attention.

In 2020, beauty company The Body Shop made a decision to start a campaign to thank healthcare workers for their commitment during the Covid-19 pandemic. The initiative called ”Time To Care” included partnering with shelters and assisted living communities to donate cleansing supplies, like body and hand soap to those critical workers. This is a great example of cause-related marketing.

SO WHAT IS CAUSE MARKETING?

Defined by Wikipedia, “cause marketing is marketing done by a for-profit business that seeks to both increase profits and to better society in accordance with corporate social responsibility, such as by including activist messages in advertising.”

Cause marketing is a great way for any company to enhance the perception of the brand. Back in the 80’s, when I was working for a personal injury law firm, it was one of my biggest challenges and successes to elevate the company’s image from “ambulance chasers” to “lawyers who care.” This involved a two part strategy including running testimonial ads and introducing the law firm’s “Safe Ride Home” campaign offering free cab rides between Christmas and New Year’s Eve to prevent drinking and driving.  

Additionally to improving a brand’s image and customer loyalty, cause-related marketing is an excellent opportunity for free publicity. Remember the old adage: “Pay for advertising and pray for publicity.” Depending on your market size, free publicity can translate into thousands and even hundreds of thousands of free mentions by the media and the internet. 

The history of cause marketing, like most things that we do not personally see can be debated. What we do know, is that historians say it began in the 1970’s when Bruce Burtch organized fundraisers between the Marriott Corporation and the March of Dimes. However, I believe it dates back to the 60’s with the first Jerry Lewis Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. During the telethon corporate executives stood on stage with gigantic checks pledging large sums of money to “Jerry’s Kids.”

Regardless of who, when, or where it began, cause marketing is here to stay. Some of the more recent examples include:

The Ad Council’s transmedia campaign asking internet users to use the hashtag #LoveHasNoLabels to tag their photos. The video went viral and accumulated over 40 million views. Thousands of social network users also add a graphic overlay to their personal photos to show support for equality.

One that also quickly comes to mind is “Small Business Saturday” launched by American Express back in 2010 to support small, local businesses. IN 2012, approximately 73 million people went out to shop at small businesses, and over 1,0000 neighborhoods signed up to support the day in 2013. 

Another highly visible cause-marketing campaign was launched in 2012 by the New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation to promote over 30,000 nonprofit organizations around the world. Held annually after Cyber Monday and Black Friday, #GivingTuesday continues to raise funds for charitable organizations around the world.

What do these three campaigns have in common?  Longevity. If you are going to create a cause-related marketing campaign, it is important to pick a cause that you are passionate about and one that makes sense for your brand. If there is no connection between your cause and brand, consumers may be confused and worse, they may see it as your company exploiting a cause of free publicity. Thus doing just the opposite of a successful cause marketing campaign.

If you have questions or what to brainstorm about developing a cause marketing campaign for your brand, please feel free to email me at schonercandace@gmail.com or follow me on Instagram and facebook.

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If you haven’t followed the whole Clubhouse mania, this article is a good introduction to it. In short, here’s what you need to know: Clubhouse is a new social medium, invite-only, and exclusive to iOS device-users, which fosters audio-only discussion on pretty much any topic.

You can join rooms (think audio panels) as a listener, and if you have a question or want to speak, you “raise your hand.” This kind of mirrors the good old radio experience, where you’d call in to tell your funny anecdote or ask a question.

You can also schedule and host your own session (a “room”), follow other users, or even create a “club” if you plan on regularly hosting sessions. 

I myself joined around a month ago, and have joined several rooms around publishing and book marketing, where I’ve often been invited to speak. like the audio-only experience, which also allows you to be productive and do things on the side (cooking, cleaning, walking, etc).

But the thing that makes Clubhouse particularly enjoyable right now is that it’s still very much a new social medium. The early adopter sweet spot If you experienced the early days of Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you probably remember those fondly. When a new social medium gains traction, it gets to a sweet spot where there are enough people on it to make discussions and interaction interesting — but not so much that you get swamped or lost in a sea of noise. 

That’s the sweet spot where Clubhouse currently is. You may start a room as a completely unknown person and still get dozens or even hundreds of listeners in — just because there aren’t that many rooms yet competing for attention.

If you write non-fiction on a specific, niche topic, you could create (or join) the first Clubhouse club on that topic, regularly organize or participate in rooms, and quickly establish yourself as a “Clubhouse influencer” on that topic. Such is the advantage that early adopters of any new social media enjoy.

Is this going to last? Probably not. As it grows, it’ll become more and more difficult to get any attention there, as most topics will already have several established clubs (did you see how many clubs I’m already mentioning above for indie authors?)

So should you join Clubhouse while it’s time? Well, that depends…

Is Clubhouse for you? First, if your goal is to leverage Clubhouse as a way to reach readers, you may want to rethink that.

So far from what I’ve seen, Clubhouse has been great for exchanging information, more so than art. I don’t doubt that numerous book clubs will emerge on Clubhouse (if they haven’t already), but those will be created and moderated by readers directly — there’s not much you can do there as an author (unless they invite you to come speak, of course).

That said, Clubhouse is currently an unparalleled opportunity to network with fellow authors (indie or traditional), or even reach agents and publishers (who often host rooms about querying and submitting).

But the question is not whether authors should be on Clubhouse right now — it’s about whether you should be. And the answer is simple: it depends on whether you enjoy it.

And that’s the main point I want to make today: you should not force yourself to be active on any social medium if you don’t genuinely enjoy it. It will be a waste of both time and creative energy. 

Remember, you can’t build a following on a social medium if you don't interact with other users and share the kind of genuine content that works on that specific platform. Believe me, this isn’t something you can fake. People will see right through it — more importantly, you'll get bored after a few days, because you won't feel comfortable on the platform.

So my advice for Clubhouse — and for any new social medium that will emerge in the future — is to:

1. Give it a try while it’s still “new” enough that you can get a real taste for it, and 
2. Only stay active if you genuinely enjoy it. 

If you figure out that it’s not for you, forget about it (and ignore the people who try to force you on it).

If you are interested in connecting with me, here is my clubhouse profile: https://clubber.one/@ricardofayet. I'll be looking forward to meeting you on Clubhouse one day.

This article was written by Richardo Fayet, Reedsy Co-Founder by day. By night: book marketing consultant specializing in promoting commercial fiction series through Facebook. Amazon, and Clubhouse.