Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives bring a variety of advantages to business, from increased awareness to alliance with community causes, health and safety and further definition of your brand while benefiting society. But in order to continually improve returns, campaigns need to be analyzed from a social media perspective.
Software Advice's, Michael Koplay points out in his article “Data Colleaction + Business Intelligence = Successful Sustainability Initiatives” that in order to make CSRs sustainable, efficient and financially rewarding for the organization, initiatives must be measured, quantifiable, and actionable. This includes every predictable impact of the initiative, from its effects on people and the planet to the profitability of the organization.
Not only is this true for CSR but it is also true for Cause Marketing, a form of corporate philanthropy. It also must be measured, quantified, and actionable. Cause Marketing can attract people to the CSR initiatives through social action.
A great example is Yoplait’s Save Lids to Save Lives iniative in support of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® of breast cancer. In addition to supporting the race, Yoplait conducts this highly successful program from September through December each year. For each pink lid redeemed by customers, Yoplait will donate 10 cents to Komen, up to $2 million.
Why do companies adopt these major causes?
- It helps a cause that they are passionate about.
- It highlights the caring and giving side of the organization.
- It attracts customers who identify with the cause.
- It increases customer loyalty.
- It increases brand awareness.
- It promotes a positive reputation for the organization. Eighty-four percent of American adults believe that Cause Marketing creates a positive company image.
Many organizations have taken their marketing efforts to a higher level by introducing specific causes. As part of these campaigns, organizations participate in marketing through advertising, packaging and social media such as Twitter and Facebook. These promotional activities catapult the initiative into action , but how do we know if these efforts are effective and how do we measure its effectiveness? Business Intelligence Web Presence analytics such as Alaras offer companies a way to create effective campaigns by customizing the messaging to their target audience. By creating web pages dedicated to a cause, marketers can analyze the activity of the campaign and information such as:
- Did they come directly to that page or were they referred from another website, Twitter or Facebook?
- Did they come across your website due to a specific word search like the name of the campaign or key words for that cause?
- What part of the world did your visitor come from and have they visited you before?
- What days did your visitor stop by, how long did they visit and what page did they leave your site from?
All of this information will determine the effectiveness of your campaign and provide the guidance needed to refresh the strategy and give credibility to the sustainability of the cause.
