Beth's Blog: Nonprofits and Social Media

Cause Marketing that Leads to Real Social Change by Zoetica Co-Founders

Credit: Fence photo by Tim Tolle, from Flickr

The following is a joint post by Kami Watson Huyse, Geoff Livingston and myself.

Social media is in is toddler hood, especially as it applies to cause-based corporate giving campaigns and CSR initiatives. Due to the very public nature of pioneer campaigns, we are able to peer into the box to gleen the strongest approaches towards social media and avoid the weaknesses.

At Zoetica, we have been examining social media-based cause campaigns in depth and would like to offer some thoughts on how corporate social responsibility is evolving in the 21st century.  You can read our in-depth post over at Kami's blog.

A fusion approach that balances marketing with social change is needed. Clearly, more research needs done to study what leads to meaningful change in cause-based campaigns and CSR initiatives. As a part of my research fellowship with the Society for New Communications Research, Kami Huyse and I are working on research about how companies that contribute to online communities fare in this important metric of change, and if this also contributes to the bottom line as well.

Through this, and other research, we hope to further the case for tying cause-related marketing to social change outcomes.

Crowdsourcing Social Change: A Contest To Solve A Complex Problem

I've written a lot lately about contests (Chase Community Giving and Pepsi Refresh)  here in the United States that are focused on "social media for social media."  The core of the design is "popular vote" - the group whose idea gets the most people to vote for them wins.   I've questioned whether or not this a good way to find the best solutions for complex social problems, although it can certainly add a halo effect and spread a brand's message.  How can these goals be balanced?

I've just returned from a trip to India where there is a different approach to solving complex social problems using social media and the Internet.  My new friend, Paritosh Sharma, pointed me to Ennovent, a for-profit company that promotes entrepreneurs who find solutions to help people at the Bottom of the Pyramid.  He told me about their crowd sourcing for social good strategy to find an affordable, and clean energy solution for India's poor population.

While Ennovent, a social enterprise, is very different from a major consumer brand in the US, I think we can learn a lot about the design of the contest. 

Let's unpack it:

(1) Use of Connectors:  They are reaching out to "connectors," people who may know of people working on projects ("solvers") who might be eligible to submit a winning proposal.   They are offering a small case incentive.   This is a smart idea because it leverages a networked approach to finding potential applicants.

(2) Submission Process: They are looking for companies to submit a proposal that they could fund to scale in India up to $500,000.   The submission form is simple.

(3) Vetting and Selection: Based on the submissions, Ennovent with local advisors will short-list ten projects to be presented to a panel of experts. 

The decision process is a closed and judged by experts, but they are using social media and networked approach to identify solutions near and far.

What is the best way to integrate social media into challenges and contests to find solutions for social change?