Social Enterprise: Facebook Leads the Way with Cause Related Marketing

A white paper is out today, 3 November 2011, entitled, "Cause Marketing on Facebook: Truths, Tips and Trends from Pioneers." It's an in-depth study by the Cause Marketing Forum which helps businesses and not-for-profits succeed with practical information, connections and recognition. This report holds a wealth of information for businesses, charities and marketing professionals, containing recommendations and tactics of more than 25 leading practitioners who were interviewed along with the analysis of more than a hundred campaigns. Cause marketing first appeared on Facebook in 2007, and over the last four years it has become a success story because of its ability to reach big audiences. Cause marketers who stay current on the platform's evolution and monitor consumer responses, have the potential to deliver significant business and social enterprise impact in the future.

This report states that four types of cause marketing campaigns have emerged on Facebook, which help create social enterprise. The first is "Like for Donation," the most common type of campaign, which came in after the 'like button' was launched in 2009. By liking a brand or campaign page, the user unlocks a cash or in-kind donation. However, changes announced by Facebook this September may see it fizzle out in the future. Next is the "Simple-Action-for-Donation," in which consumers are asked to do simple actions like posting a picture, video or comment on a Facebook page in order to unlock a donation. The "Interactive-Action-for-Donation" is a custom-designed call to action, engaging people by making their campaigns compelling enough to unlock a donation. Lastly, the "Voting Campaign" is more complex; it asks participants to vote and/or advocate on issues that they'd like to receive, share or see companies make a donation. This type of campaign gets lots of media attention due to the amount of money involved; however, it has design flaws that make it vulnerable to voting fraud.

We learn of two ways to turn Facebook campaigns into social enterprise success stories. The first is to recognise that Facebook users are looking for light engagement, an enjoyable one-or-two click experience that gives the perception of doing good for minimal involvement. The other is to ensure that if you launch a Facebook campaign, you don't just think people will somehow arrive because it's a good cause—it is essential to invest in PR to create awareness and mass participation.

The report concludes that Facebook will continue to evolve but the importance of focusing on user experience, engagement and authenticity will remain crucial. The key to success will be the creation of programs that inspire and enable multi-dimensional sharing because they add value to a user's online personal experience.  Plus, identifying online influencers will become important to successful cause marketers, and building real relationships with them will enable corporate and not-for-profit brands to remain visible to a relevant audience.  Nurtured correctly, these relationships may turn acquaintances into advocates for causes giving rise to influential on-line tribes. Social media and cause marketing share one thing: people and their interaction; people helping people equals social enterprise.

Photo Credit: Cause Marketing Forum Website