A recent article on commonwire.com highlights a new website called “DoGoodBuyUs” which provides a new (and free!) e-commerce platform that non-profits can leverage to enhance their cause marketing efforts.

The website offers a free opportunity for nonprofits to showcase and sell their fundraising products, as well as increase awareness and support from online communities by having their items featured among other similar non-profits in particular cause categories. Organizations can set up a page and list products for free, allowing visitors exposure to their items and the opportunity to browse and buy. They can also create product pages to further educate people about their mission and initiatives.

According to the article, recent stories suggest that online stores and marketplaces can be excellent fundraising tool, mentioning The American Cancer Foundation and Lance Armstrong store as examples of organizations that have raised many millions of dollars from implementing them.

But these types of digital stores get very pricey. Smaller non-profits continually face challenges in this digital marketing age, especially those that don’t have the money to distinguish themselves online like the larger non-profits do. DoGoodBuyUs Co-founder Zack Rosenberg also talks about “unorganized cause marketing clutter” and how the new website creates a more reliable way to raise money rather than trying to be visible across many unknown online and social media outlets. The website can feature responsible products in a “centralized marketplace” allowing visitors a convenient way to buy socially conscious items.

Prior to working at RMI, I used to work in the development department of a small non-profit that advocated for women and families in need in the community, but we had very limited resources. A tool like this website really resonates with me because I know first hand how hard it can be to have an online presence when your organization doesn’t have the money to create dynamic websites and online giving platforms. Yet having visibility online is critical these days for ALL organizations, as the majority of donors spend their time online. DoGoodBuyUs is a unique opportunity for smaller, less recognized organizations to promote their mission and raise money at no extra cost. Hopefully more opportunities like this will come up in the future, as it’s also an excellent opportunity for networking and partnering up with other charitable organizations.

(Posted by Casey Kaufman, Marketing Assistant)

An interesting article on Mashable.com explores the utilization of Twitter to enhance marketing campaigns, sharing several different ways companies are leveraging it for promotional purposes.

The article first addresses Twitter contests. American Airlines recently ran a contest titled “Tweet to Win 30K Miles” promoting the 30th anniversary of its AAdvantage loyalty program. The contest required people to follow three steps in order to enter: Type in their AAdvantage # on the AAdvantage Microsite, follow the @AAdvatange Twitter handle, and tweet the link to the program’s microsite. They were then entered for the chance to win 30,000 AAdvantage Miles. According to the article, the microsite gained almost 18,000 clicks via Twitter and the @AAdvantage Twitter handle had a 70% increase in followers. Most importantly, there were 27,000 entries, proving that a valuable incentive will drive customers to complete registration requirements and thus generate buzz around a program or offer.

Twitter also makes an effective platform for celebrity endorsements. For it’s “Lend Your Voice” campaign, UNICEF India was able to create opportunities for famous celebrities from Bollywood to tweet about the campaign, demonstrating their support for the cause. In a period of three months, the campaign was mentioned 1,525 times and the @UNICEFIndia Twitter Account acquired 2,198 followers.

"Tweetathons” were also discussed, which are basically a short span of time (a day, a couple of hours, etc.) in which people are encouraged to tweet a lot about something specific in order to generate a lot of buzz quickly. In recognition of World Refugee Day in June, USA for UNHR held their "Blue Key Campaign", incorporating a tweetathon On June 13th, through which advocates tweeted about the cause for a minimum of 1 hour each, and also retweeted messages from the @UNRefugeeAgency Twitter handle. The result was 1,524 tweets and a 159% increase in traffic to the Blue Key website. This is an excellent example of how a tweetathon can really be instrumental for a time-sensitive campaign.

The article points to several other benefits of Twitter, but overall it seems clear that this is a unique platform for marketing because it really concentrates on using the power of conversation and connections to promote causes and offers, while also providing more opportunities for people to be driven to company websites and pages.

(Posted by Casey Kaufman, Marketing Assistant)