Awareness to Advocacy

Awareness is the first step in every customer journey – it’s where you make the brand visible, memorable, and recognizable. It sets the tone for someone’s experience and leaves a lasting impression. Don’t take a shot every time I say awareness because today, we’re getting into awareness in marketing in general and for causes.

The beautiful thing about awareness is that it creates community, which in turn becomes your free word of mouth marketing force. Think about a product you recently discovered and can’t stop talking about because you want everyone to know about it and enjoy it, too. For me, it’s Flintt’s Mints. An awareness campaign that’s always top of mind? Spotify Wrapped.

Now, think about a cause you’re passionate about.

Causes can be more difficult to get people on board with, which is why there are awareness days, months, weeks - whatever. Alzheimer’s prevention is very important to me because it directly impacts me, but you might be passionate about breast cancer awareness.

Awareness around diseases, causes, and philanthropy can be easy to stir up, but the hype and momentum often stop there.

In a funnel, after awareness comes consideration, then conversion, and loyalty. The same goes for awareness days, weeks, and months. Awareness campaigns face challenges like saturation, inauthenticity, and short-term focus – especially in cause awareness. Let’s talk about that real quick.

It’s pretty typical to see posts on the first day or week of the month about

the awareness month, coupled with a pretty graphic and possibly a heartwarming caption – but what’s the point? Ok, you’ve made me aware... that all you need from me? I’ve been aware of breast cancer for years because everything turns pink in October, but I don’t know what they want me to know, why I should know about it, or even what to look for in my own body. I’m literally just aware that breast cancer exists.

Rallying behind a cause for a day or month is low-hanging fruit for content calendars, but it doesn’t always make sense. If your brand or organization is really invested in that cause, it should demonstrate its genuine commitment to the cause and align its values and objectives year-round, then make a bigger impact (with strategy and planning) during that push period.

CHALLENGES WITH AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS

Saturation and Overcrowding: social media is inundated with similar messages, making it hard to stand out

Inauthenticity: brands exploiting awareness periods for self-promotion without genuine commitment

Lack of relevance: campaigns don’t align with brand values or audience needs, confusing consumers

Short-term focus: limited campaigns overlook long-term engagement, missing opportunities for lasting connections and impact

Beyond raising awareness, companies have the power to educate and empower their audience through cause awareness by sharing informative content, highlighting personal stories and testimonials, and, most importantly, providing actionable steps to make a difference.

Making a difference can involve educating people about what to look out for, being a resource, facilitating donations, creating volunteer opportunities, advocating for policy change, encouraging lifestyle changes, and implementing corporate social responsibility.

Fostering a sense of community and shared purpose through awareness can inspire meaningful engagement and advocacy. When people unite around a common cause or issue, they share purpose, feel connected and supported, come together to create change, empower others, and more. There’s strength in numbers.

The keys to success with awareness campaigns are consistency, engaging content, collaboration, repurposing, consistency, and relatability.

This all started because I wanted to write a newsletter about April being Stress Awareness Month, and then I thought, what even is that? I’m aware of stress; why do we need a month? I took to the socials and searched. There are plenty of posts about stress awareness month, but they all lack purpose and action.

Stress affects everyone and is more than feeling overwhelmed or anxious – it’s the body’s natural response to challenges, and chronic stress poses serious risks to physical, mental, and emotional well-being. From cardiovascular issues to diminished cognitive function, stress manifests in various ways, significantly impacting quality of life.

Many conditions associated with stress, like PTSD, depression, and anxiety, are more common in women than men.

Effective stress management extends beyond cliches about self-care. It involves seeking social support, setting boundaries, prioritizing well-being, and integrating stress-relief strategies into daily routines.

Recognizing and addressing stress signs, prioritizing self-care (this can mean, but doesn’t only mean, spa days), establishing new routines, setting and maintaining boundaries, staying connected, reframing situations, and seeking support are crucial steps.

Take yourself seriously.

Awareness is the crucial first step in introducing a brand, cause, or message to an audience, laying the foundation for further engagement. Beyond brand awareness lie deeper connections, driving action, and creating lasting relationships that make an impact and drive positive outcomes.

Thank you for reading (and go revamp your marketing calendar)!

I will send out a separate email in the coming days asking for your anonymous, quick feedback to learn about you and your content preferences and to help pave the way for the future. Thank you in advance, sincerely!

Chelsea

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