All righty then. You’ve decided to take the plunge into Worthy Cause Marketing and you’ve identified your first Community Cause. What’s next?Now you need to create your campaign. Our clients have raised well over $280,000 for local charities. That didn’t happen by accident. Campaigns need to be well thought out ahead of time and executed according to plan.There are several moving parts to creating a campaign that works well for everyone involved, so like most large tasks, organization is key. The initiative needs to work well for your agency, your staff, your customers, your business partners, your community and most of all, for the beneficiary of your campaign.In short, in order to be most effective, Worthy Cause Marketing needs to accomplish:
Here at Agency Marketing Machine, we focus on several main areas:1. Determine Your Ultimate GoalWhat are you trying to achieve with your campaign? If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll likely get nowhere. Are you looking for monetary donations, item donations, volunteers, participation in an event or something else entirely? If it’s monetary donations, set a dollar amount for your donation goal. If it’s contributions of food, clothing, toys, etc., provide a list of items your charity is collecting and clearly state where people may drop off their donations. If you want people to donate at your offices – terrific! You’ve gotten someone new in the door with whom you can make a personal connection.2. Determine How You Will Promote Your CampaignYour campaigns will die on the vine if you don’t properly promote them. Although the next several items on our list touch on promotion, we’ll get more into the subject with our next blog. So stay tuned!3. Post to Your Agency’s Dedicated WebsiteYour website is your main source of information for the community. Your Community Cause marketing campaigns need to be front and center. Referring to your causes should be a theme which consistently runs through each page of your website. Additionally, you want to have a separate page spotlighting each of your Community Causes, which explains the cause, features a color photo, and gives potential donors the ability to either make a personal donation and/or to recommend a friend to your agency so that you can make a donation on their behalf. (More on this in #6)Clearly state addresses of drop off locations on your Community Cause page so that people don’t have to go hunting for them. If you’re looking for participation in an event, again, clearly state locations and dates, as well as any entry information or deadlines people need to know about. The more information you provide, the more good you will be able to do for your campaign’s beneficiary.
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4. Post to the Organization’s WebsiteNot all small local charities will have their own websites, but if they do, you will definitely want to link to them from your Community Cause page. This enables potential donors to learn more about the charity and investigate opportunities for volunteering, etc. Some organizations will even have a page featuring corporate sponsors. If this is the case, you’ll want to provide the charity with your logo and appropriate information to feature, as well as linking back to your own website, if possible.5. Create a Donations PageIf the organization (or family) doesn’t have a donations page, it’s simple enough to create one with GoFundMe.com or CrowdRise.com and link it to your Community Cause page. This enables you to fundraise without having to deal with collecting and distributing money yourself, saving your staff time, energy, money and hassle. If you don’t feature a donations page, most people won’t take the time to write out a check and put it in the mail, so if your goal is to raise money, you need to have a dedicated page to do so. After all, why go to the effort of creating and promoting a campaign if it doesn’t accomplish anything?6. Recommendations PageEach Community Cause page should link to your Recommendations page, where donors may recommend a friend or family member to receive an insurance quotation from your staff, with no purchase necessary. In return, you will donate $10 to the cause on their behalf for each and every recommendation you receive. Why pay $10 for a Google lead when for the same $10 you can get a recommendation and do some good in your community?With every page you create and post you make, be sure to have a few different people proof-read for spelling, grammar, punctuation and accuracy of material. There’s nothing more embarrassing than that ‘oops’ moment, where you realize you’ve made errors that countless people have seen. Be careful – everything you put out there contributes to your reputation! Make sure it’s a positive, thoughtful contribution.So launch your new Worthy Cause Marketing program by thinking about the six features we’ve outlined above. They will be the easiest way to begin creating an effective Community Cause campaign which generates recommendations and revenue for you, and visibility and donations for your worthy cause.And get that red cape ready – you’ll soon be a superhero!Next up: Promoting Your Campaign
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