This week has seen both large tech firms (Bing) and small startup companies come under fire after their initiatives to solicit donations for Japan’s earthquake and tsunami victims in exchange for social support of their brands were viewed more as opportunistic PR than genuine efforts to help victims. How should marketers use social media for social good?
We welcome Ken Herron, social marketing authority and CMO at social applications and solutions company SocialGrow Inc., who will author a regular new social marketing advice column, #DearKen, to provide our readers with answers to their questions about social marketing technologies, tools, and best practices. To submit a question, tweet it with the hashtag “#DearKen”. All tweets will be acknowledged, and considered as being submitted for publication.
#DearKen : I see other companies doing “disaster marketing” to raise money for victims of the tragedy in Japan. Good or bad idea?
That’s a really great question, thank you for asking it.
As marketers, we have the opportunity and reach to help victims of natural disasters in ways that others cannot. That said, we don’t want our companies/brands to be viewed by our customers and the general public as being opportunistic, self-serving, or just plain tacky. Notably, the more horrific the disaster, as the tsunami in Japan, the more sensitive people will be to companies exploiting the situation for their own gain.
Prompted by the large number of brands asking people to “like” them on Facebook in exchange for a financial donations, I asked my followers on Twitter (@SocialGrow) if the companies would have been willing to help anonymously, with no benefit accruing to their brands. The response from my followers was overwhelming – they universally supported the companies’ efforts, but only if the motivation was a genuine desire to help.
My advice:
- Do everything you can. Leverage your organization’s unique strengths to help. Share with your audience why you want to help, to communicate that your motivation is not based on what you receive in return.
- Do NOT require people to take any social action, such as “likes” on Facebook or retweets on Twitter to trigger your help. Lady Gaga’s approach, allowing donors to specify how much they want to give through the sale of inexpensive rubber bracelets is one example of a positive, viral, and brand-appropriate approach.
- Use your social influence to encourage people to give to accredited, in-country organizations. Do your research so that you are partnering with organizations with the best reputations for high efficiency/low costs. One good place to start is: http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/interaction-members-support-japan-earthquake-response.
How does *your* organization support cause marketing without inadvertently hurting your brand? Please share your thoughts with everyone in the comments section below.