I recently had an opportunity to teach a college course on a subject close to my heart – how marketing has to change in the global warming. The already complicated world of business has just become more challenging. It’s time to re-imagine how we conduct business in order to emphasize sustainability.
My students wondered how they can individually make a difference under such a daunting prospect – it can feel pretty overwhelming. I asked the class how many of them had Facebook accounts and how many contacts they had. You already know the answer, don’t you? 100% of my 20-something students had Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, you-name-it accounts. The average number of Facebook contacts? It surprised me… Over one-thousand!
So I told them the same thing I tell my small business marketing clients: You have more power and reach in your back pocket or purse than any other group of people in the history of our species. It’s all about how you choose to use that power!
Whether you want to change the world or just your small business success, the process can be the same. Start by sharing something authentic about yourself. Find something other people can relate to and apply to themselves. Change begins at home.
In our lives as citizens of a jeopardized planet, I have challenged my students to choose just one behavior change they can each adopt and to share the experience on their social media pages. For instance, since livestock is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, what changes could we all make to eat less red meat? It sounds difficult, but try living under water (long-term) or imagine the annual cost of fighting wild fires that grow worse each year. Now those things are difficult! As you become greener, share your success with the people in your network and likewise challenge them to make sustainability changes of their own.
There are also social networks that attract sustainability devotees – tribes – and content can live there, too. One really good example is carbonrally.com. There’s just so much passion around this topic!
For a good review of successful sustainability-themed campaigns from 2018, try “10 Sustainable Brands that Turned Green Campaigns into Movements“.
Let’s apply this to your professional life.
Want to help people find the product or service solution that you excel at because you know you do it better than anyone else around you? Your brand pages can become important locations where your tribe meets online. But you need interesting, relevant content that addresses your tribe’s needs. Being the source of the content, your influence grows with tribe members.
Talk about how your work is helping other people. Share your awesome ideas! Entertain people. Inform them. Give them opportunities to respond. Offer them reasons to sample, try, buy at a discount – so they change their purchase habits too! Strike up a conversation that leads to changed behavior in how your prospective customers solve their problems using your products or services! You’re now leading the Content Marketing line dance, and your customers are dancing to your tune!
Not sure how to get started? A-Cubed Marketing Services provides complete marketing support in Content Marketing, website builds, SEO, videography and marketing consultation. Link over to our Contact Us page and send Joe Hines an email, or for faster action, call me at 714-872-0561.