It’s Not All About You! Cause and Content Marketing
By guest blogger Sue Wills from  hootmarketing

 I was in a pub on Sunday (nothing earth shattering in that news), and I was pleasantly surprised to see a poster in the loo about a campaign to help improve sanitation in a village in Ghana. In fact through the pub and local village fundraising, the group is helping to provide the first ever toilet to the people of this particular village.

I was also at a lecture recently and heard a story about some students who had been away on a gap year and come back with a plan to make a difference in the world. They identified a cause to bring solar power to African villages and empowered the villagers to make the most of one of the biggest resources they have, the sun. Through solar installations they are able to help provide power for medical facilities, schools, orphanages and private dwellings that were cloaked in darkness or had to rely on dangerous kerosene lamps once the sun went down.

These are causes that make a difference to others and are changing lives.

Do you support a cause within your business? Having a cause within your business is not only good for the soul but is a powerful marketing tool. Your business does not have to be huge to make a difference to others. And we don’t just mean your clients and your stakeholders. If you have a passion or a cause that you follow, you can integrate it into your marketing and give it a voice. From that voice comes content for your own business. Through your website, social networking such as Facebook and Twitter, running hospitality and fundraising events, suddenly you have another reason to talk with potential clients and followers. You stand for something and it’s not just about your business. You have content that will get you fans and get you followed. Often these stories can generate local press and TV coverage so there are still more benefits to promoting your cause.

We call this Cause and Content Marketing. There are many great causes out there and they don’t just have to be across the world. Supporting a local cause or hospice or the next young athlete to get to the Olympics are all worthy reasons that will give you an extra voice and another angle to your marketing. And at the same time you are making a difference and potentially changing lives.

One thing we will say however is it’s not easy to come up with the right idea that suits your brand and your values, and to find something that your staff can also support, but there are plenty of great causes out there. So if you’d like a hand deciding or researching how cause and content can help your marketing and make a difference in the world, Hoot Marketing can certainly offer some pointers.

Thank you to Ian Dickson for allowing us to speak with you.  Ian offers some helpful inspiration and excellent business building strategies and we hope that Cause and Content marketing will dovetail nicely into the on-going plans that you develop.

Finally if you’d like a meeting in the pub then that’s fine by us too!

Many thanks to Sue for her knowledgeable, enjoyable and interesting article on Cause and Content Marketing. I am always happy to publish articles and content of interest here. Drop me a line if you would like to feature on my blog in February.

As always your views, comments and feedback are always welcomed