Social Media for Social Change - The Mobility Edition

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Social Media Breakfast - Boston today. It was great seeing everyone and talking about the intersection of social change with social media and mobile devices.

As promised, I've included my slides above and below are links to some posts you might find useful.

What is Cause Marketing? If you still have questions, this post should answer them. Be sure to check out the comments as they offer varying opinions from mine.

Point of Sale. This is our bread and butter cause marketing strategy because it's easy, lucrative and works well with social media and other types of fundraisers. For a primer on point of sale, start with this post. Keep in mind that point of sale is sometimes called register programs, mobiles, paper icons and scannables. The words change, the strategy is the same.

Our latest point of sale program is with Ocean State Job Lot.

Location-Based Services. The future of location-based cause marketing is bright with services like Foursquare and Checkpoints. Check out these posts.

QR Codes. A big complaint about transactional cause marketing is that it's, well, too transactional. Shoppers give a buck not always knowing what they are supporting or how it helps. But with QR codes cause marketers can inform, educate and inspire shoppers right at the register (or in the aisles). Read about the future of these offline hyperlinks here and here.

The Grouponing of Small Business. Groupon has had a big impact on how small businesses view marketing partnerships, including cause marketing. Small businesses are actively looking for a social component to their marketing. They are increasingly expecting personalized, sophisticated campaigns that effectively segment and target consumers. Finally, discounting and couponing have earned a new priority for small businesses. All of these new priorities need to be factored in to cause marketing programs.

Humans Rule. Social media, mobile and cause marketing are merely tools for connecting human beings for a charitable ask. Check out the findings of the Cone 2010 Cause Evolution Study. You should also read my case study of William-Sonoma and St. Jude to read about good people doing good point of sale for a good cause.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. If you either work for a cause or with one, my employer and I also share best practices of point of sale programs, including how to make them work with social media, in a three part webinar. The next one will be in late January.