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Social Enterprises, Meet the New Digital Media Imperative
To grow your business and change the world in the process, you must get your audience's attention in this digital era. Learn how with effective content.
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As a social impact leader, you’ve dedicated yourself to building a business with a mission that goes far beyond your bottom line. But what are you doing to ensure that you give your cause the same front-and-center treatment as your product offerings?
Remember: You adopted this business model because you’re passionate about creating a more just and equitable world — with commerce as your vehicle. Now ask yourself, do your customers know what you stand for and why it matters? What about the other businesses in your sector?
Unlike the average nonprofit, you have the unique opportunity to convert customers into like-minded supporters and drive systems-level change from within your industry. The truth is, anything less is missing the point. To do it, however, you must make your social impact mission the authentic centerpiece of your brand story and communications. And you must commit to leading the national (or even global) conversation about your cause.
But how?
In today’s attention economy, social impact leaders like you find yourselves in the world’s biggest and most crowded room — and everyone is shouting. If you want to grow your business and change the world in the process, you must win the limited mindshare of an ever-widening audience.
Social impact leaders are now at an inflection point. The digital-first future that everyone’s been talking about for years is suddenly here. Not only that, but it’s arrived full-force. As a business professional, you know this. More and more of your marketing and communications take place online, from email and organic search to paid media and e-commerce. Which means having a robust digital strategy is now table stakes.
But we propose taking this idea one step further. We propose leveraging your digital strategy as a force for good — one that propels once-in-a-generation transformation. In our nine-point manifesto, we make the case for why all social impact organizations, including nonprofits, social enterprises, and funders, should embrace a forward-thinking digital media model.
For nonprofits, the digital media model represents a new opportunity to embrace branding and communications, spread their message, and break free of the starvation cycle. Unlike most nonprofits, social enterprises tend to be well-versed in the art of brand and communications. After all, these skills are a prerequisite for growing a healthy business. But whether you run a B2C or B2B business, the digital media imperative applies to you, too. It’s the only way to fold your mission more fully into your brand and spark deeper, more meaningful change.
This model takes seriously your role as an innovative thought leader with important ideas about how to reform your industry and build a better world. It demands that you share those ideas in the form of scroll-stopping, advocacy-focused digital content that captivates, educates, and converts your audience to your business and your cause. Done right, you’ll authenticate your brand purpose, expand your business, and realize your true impact potential.
Patagonia is a well-known example of a social enterprise that is already winning the digital media model. For decades, Patagonia has carved a name for itself as a premiere outdoor apparel brand with a mission to practice corporate, social, and environmental responsibility.
But they go far beyond quietly adopting best practices. They’ve put climate advocacy at the center of their activities. From implementing a self-imposed “Earth Tax” and funding nonprofits to stitching “vote the assholes out” on a limited run of apparel tags in advance of the 2020 presidential election, Patagonia walks the walk.
Most importantly, Patagonia has connected their dyed-in-the-wool mission to their digital strategy in a powerful way. The Activism section of their website is a robust digital action center. It includes a wide range of captivating digital content — like this immersive multimedia piece about Bears Ears — as well as prominent calls to action. Activism is so tightly woven into the entire Patagonia experience that you can’t help but get swept up in it, even if your only intention was to buy a pair of thermal long johns.
So what might a digital media model look like for you? Consider the following options:
As you consider your options for your digital strategy, remember this: While your mission must be woven into all aspects of your brand, your products and services don’t have to be included in your advocacy content. Let yourself commit fully to your cause. Have faith that developing best-in-class, non-marketing content related to your case will ultimately generate revenue.
Cosmic’s digital media manifesto serves as a roadmap for social impact leaders to use in adopting this new model. Following is a brief summary of each of the nine points included in the manifesto — as well as a note about how it applies to social enterprises like yours.
Depending on the current state of your digital strategy, the following proclamations might seem daunting. Don’t fret. The speed at which you adopt this model will vary. The important thing is to get started. Here’s how.
Want to learn more about how Cosmic can help your social enterprise embrace the digital media mandate? We’d love to hear from you.
