Cause Marketing: Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month, and it’s a prime opportunity for healthcare providers and facilities to shed light on this condition that affects 1 in 68 children. A successful “cause marketing” campaign can increase awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and bring about positive change in the community and beyond.

April is Autism Awareness Month, and it’s a prime opportunity for healthcare providers and facilities to shed light on this condition that affects 1 in 68 children. A successful “cause marketing” campaign can increase awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and bring about positive change in the community and beyond.

Whether you’re developing a campaign for autism or another cause, there are some things that every marketer should keep in mind.

Know Your Audience

Before anything else, make sure you’re reaching your target audience. Identifying who’s on the other end of your communications will help you better define the right channels as well as find organizations open to collaboration.

Perhaps your audience prefers a traditional direct mail approach. Perhaps they like email newsletters more. Maybe there’s a particular organization within the community that can maximize exposure. Market research will help determine the best course for your campaign.

Leverage the Power of Community

Communities – both offline and online – are powerful. Autism recently made headlines when a little boy with the condition invited his classmates to his birthday party and no one showed up.

The family made a Facebook post about the situation, which ended up going viral. Over a dozen kids ended up coming to the party along with local firefighters and police officers bearing gifts. A single post made a profound impact.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram … these digital platforms and many more make it easier than ever for content to make waves. Look into different groups that revolve around your particular cause and engage.

Set Benchmarks for Your Campaign

In order to know if your campaign is successful, you need to have key performance indicators in place. This could be something as simple as a fundraising goal. More complex goals may include specific actions (e.g., filling out a survey) or tracking the number of visitors to a specific landing page.

Several analytics tools can help you measure performance. Google Analytics and native Facebook/Twitter dashboards can make tracking your audience’s actions a cinch. More advanced platforms like Cision and Sprout Social can monitor trends and improve your real-time marketing efforts.