Partnering with influencers as a voice for good

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Thinking about using your brand’s voice to be more vocal about social causes that matter to your company this year? Great! We love that your brand is taking a stand and bringing more diversity to your platform. This year more than ever, consumers are looking to support companies that are vocal about the social issue that they support. While social awareness campaigns are a great way to show your consumers you stand by their side on causes that matter to them, they can also cause more harm than good if not done right. Keep reading to learn why we think influencers are vital partners to help bring awareness to your company and some tips and advice for making sure your brand is genuine in their efforts to take a stand on issues larger than themselves.

Why Influencers?

Influencers are an effective way to reach your target audience and deliver a message that is authentic to your purpose and brand. Not only can they feature your products, but they can communicate any special messaging behind the campaign and your cause. Influencers are an asset because their approachability allows their followers to ask any questions and start genuine conversations around social causes, and how your company fits into bringing awareness to them.

So now that you know why you should tap into influencer networks to start important conversations with your consumers, we will share our top tips for planning a successful social awareness campaign! Check out the three things we recommend thinking about before you start your planning. We think these three things are the key to making sure your campaign is successful and resonates well with your audience:

1. Be a Relatable Voice

The first tip we have when planning your campaign is to speak to the cause or movement in a way that is relatable. Do your research! Here at Viz, one way we make sure our campaign messaging is authentic is by looking at how other community leaders have spoken about the movement in the past. Read through the posts and find the common themes that show up. Incorporate these themes into your own messaging so that you are speaking to the movement in a way that will resonate with your audience and show that you listen and care. Know your consumer! What challenges do they face? What are their motivations? Why do they care that your brand is supporting this issue? These are all important questions to answer to help develop your campaign messaging.

Spoiler alert! One of the biggest trends we saw in a 2020 Pride campaign messaging was the idea “we celebrate now, and support all year”!

2. Utilize Supporters of the Cause

Our second tip seems obvious, but make sure the influencers you are selecting for the campaign match both your brand and are avid supporters for the cause! Placing content next to non-allies can contradict your campaign message and make your brand seem tone-deaf. Here at Viz, we always authenticate and vet our influencers to make sure they are a match for your brand and the message that they are promoting. One way we did this for a 2020 Pride Campaign was by diving deep into each influencer’s history and looking at how all potential influencers had spoken about pride in the past. Did they post about pride the year prior? Was their audience supportive of this messaging? These are all things we look at when vetting influencers for a pride campaign!

Another focus when creating a group of influencers should be on including members of the community that can share their own stories and get the most authentic messaging. Underrepresentation of the community itself, just like posting next to non-allies, dilutes your campaign message and can come across as inauthentic. According to AdWeek, a primary function of marketing is serving as the voice of the customer. What better way to serve as a voice to the consumer than by using your target consumer to spread the message?

3. Take Action!

The final, and arguably most important, thing we recommend considering when planning a social awareness campaign is taking action by tying the campaign to a charitable effort! Authenticity matters to both the influencers spreading your message and the consumers hearing it. One risk brands run by not tying campaigns back to a charitable effort is the campaign coming across as inauthentic, like Rainbowashing or rainbow capitalism Pride Month, and not truly being an ally to your community. Taking an actionable effort to support and uplift the LGBTQIA+ community outside of a single campaign can help build brand equity and give your brand a platform from which to authentically show your support!