Citizen Brand

Don't end the cause party before it begins

It is encouraging to me how much more conversation there is about cause these days. For so many years, those of us engaged in the practice almost needed to bribe people just to get them to listen to us wax poetic about the wonders of cause marketing/branding. Today, the conversation has entered into the mainstream. And whenever that happens to a topic, it means the critics and skeptics increase in number.

The good thing about critics and skeptics is it makes those of us who believe in the core values of cause marketing check the mirror. That's a good thing. No idea lasts forever. No program can last forever without a constant commitment to keep it fresh. And with today's consumer dictating to those of us in marketing communications what content they want to hear and where they want to find it, our cause programs must be 100 % transparent.

Timothy Ogden wrote a piece for Forbes.com this week titled "How Cause Marketing Can Actually Backfire." In it Timothy underscores the importance of transparency and takes it a step further by imploring companies involved in cause to take transparency to a new level. His suggestions make sense. Ogden says companies must select charities based on their effectiveness.

Once they choose their nonprofit partners, he says companies should explain why they chose them and be specific about how much money is being raised. Most important, Ogden says companies must be exact about where the money is going and what it will do. Finally, companies should communicate after the program is complete to demonstrate to consumers that their commitment is ongoing.

I think Ogden is voicing the opinions of so many of us that work in the cause space day in and day out. I do have one caution for all of us. Since cause has just entered the mainstream of acceptability among a growing majority of companies, let's make sure we don't scare off those who have just entered the arena by making the cost of entry too high. We need to keep encouraging every company, large and small, to view cause as the win/win we all know it is. And we need to be willing to accept the fact all companies will not be ready to do it exactly how we would like them to do it from the start.

I just want to be sure that in the reality of the day to day battle that goes on in the marketplace, we don't discourage companies from employing cause marketing. Once we have them involved, we can make sure we show them the right way to do it. And what Ogden has spelled out is the right way.

 

A Twitter success story

If you need some proof that Twitter can work for small business, look no further than the Three Tree Inn in Geneva, New York. This quaint bed & breakfast located in the heart of New York's fabulous Finger Lakes region, is owned by an incredible couple, Paul and Marcia Swenson. We share the same last name, but don't think we're related. But my wife and I consider them our best friends.

We lived next door to each other for seven years in Lawrence, Kansas and always shared New Year's Eve together in those years moving the festivities between our homes. Life happens and we both moved from Lawrence five years ago or so. Paul and Marcia eventually returned to their home area in upstate New York and bought a bed & breakfast in Geneva.

They completely renovated the place and between Marcia's impeccable decorating tastes and Paul's incredible cooking, the Three Tree Inn took off in 2010. They did it basically with word of mouth and referral and did well. But they knew they wanted to do more and that is where Twitter comes in.

Char and I traveled to New York over the holiday to renew our New Year's Eve tradition with Paul and Marcia. One night, our discussion turned to PR and marketing (I wonder who did that) and one thing led to another and on New Year's Eve morning,@threetreeinnbb was born.

We set up their Twitter account and then spent some time over the rest of the weekend identifying the right people to follow and as always happens, people began to follow back. It was so much fun to see how fast a social media strategy works. As I write this post, @threetreeinnbb has 101 followers and is following 435 other tweeps and it has been one week. Marcia is fast becoming a pro Tweep!

Sometimes in our business, we have to wait a while to see a strategy work. Watching what is happening to our good friends at the Three Tree Inn is a good reminder of how great social media is for small business. Oh, I forgot to mention the most important metric. After just four days, the hits to their website were eight times the norm for this time of year. And they got some bookings for January right out of the shoot.

So check out @threetreeinnbb on Twitter and more importantly, travel to the Finger Lakes and stay at The Three Tree Inn. The wines being produced in that region now are incredible. The restaurants fantastic. And the landscapes are beautiful. I'm a Finger Lakes convert and I know a great place to stay whenever I go there.

Three Simple Words

Stand for Something.

Three simple words that demand immediate action.

Three simple words that force us to look inward and examine our values.

Three simple words that can be the difference between a good reputation and a great one.

Let's all resolve in 2011 to breathe life into these three simple words. Whether we do it as individuals or as groups or organizations, making a difference begins here.

Stand for Something.