Need help with strategy for cause marketing ecommerce concept

[kameronja]

i have an e-commerce platform that sells socially responsible hats (maxfulcrum.com) and I'm having trouble converting sales. Ive been getting traffic through my website via reddit and facebook. However, none of this traffic is converting into sales and I'm trying to figure out how exactly to approach this problem

Background: There are four hats and each is related to a different social cause. The charitable, social aspect is something I care about, but also what I believe to be a selling point, with the sale of each hat having a specific impact via the charity. (you can see the hats here: Fulcrum #1 - Syrian Refugees – Max Fulcrum New York). The hats are selling at $35 per hat.

My main method of approach is content marketing, meaning rewriting some already established viral articles and sharing them with my following on facebook and specific forums on reddit. But like i said, this is not converting sales.

Any actionable steps or advice for cause marketing? Any channel that specifically works best for cause marketing? Are my hats too expensive? Do I need to be using other types of social media channels like instagram/pinterest/twitter?

Any advice welcomed.

Thanks

 

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[HoneyBadger]

This could be me but maybe you are not converting because the product can come off as very... braggy? Like you wouldn't wear shirt plastered with "I donate to feed African Children" because you would worry it gives off a holier-than-thou vibe if you get what I am saying. Also the product category is probably targeted to people younger than 30 and according to https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/sep/25/charitable-giving-generation-gap-age that is only 15% of the age group that donates in general.

If I was pressed I would say the social media strategy is definitely going to be the way to go about it. You may need to do some type of survey with people that are not your friends to figure out why people are not buying it specifically and then use that know how to fix your conversion problem.

I would also add multiple pictures for each hat. Show the bottom, back, etc.

 

[Scot]

When traffic comes to your site, are you using a landing page? If so, please share examples.

I kind of have to disagree with honeybadger, the content of the hats themselves aren't plastered with "I helped starving kids", it's a cool logo with a meaning.

Have you considered putting together a press kit and contacting reporters to help get the word out? Not really helping with converting, but still a good marketing tool.

 

[Scot]

Another quick observation from your homepage, the good stuff is below the fold. You definitely want to sell the fact that these hats are giving back. All the content on that is below the fold, you have to scroll to see that.

When I visit the page, all I see of people wearing hats and "our featured products"

Maybe put a good tag line right up top "look good while doing good in the world"

Instead of our products, label it "our featured causes"

 

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[HoneyBadger]

When traffic comes to your site, are you using a landing page? If so, please share examples.

I kind of have to disagree with honeybadger, the content of the hats themselves aren't plastered with "I helped starving kids", it's a cool logo with a meaning.

Have you considered putting together a press kit and contacting reporters to help get the word out? Not really helping with converting, but still a good marketing tool.

Haha so maybe it was just me then. Great idea on the press kit!

 

[Scot]

Haha so maybe it was just me then. Great idea on the press kit!

I get what you're saying. If it had a big "save Syrian refugees" I'd definitely cringe. But the logo, to be honest, isn't a recognizable brand. If anything, it's a good talking point.

There's a great thread on the inside with a step by step how to about the press kit thing. We are definitely rolling it out when we launch. That thread alone is worth the $60.

 

[kameronja]

This could be me but maybe you are not converting because the product can come off as very... braggy? Like you wouldn't wear shirt plastered with "I donate to feed African Children" because you would worry it gives off a holier-than-thou vibe if you get what I am saying. Also the product category is probably targeted to people younger than 30 and according to https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/sep/25/charitable-giving-generation-gap-age that is only 15% of the age group that donates in general.

If I was pressed I would say the social media strategy is definitely going to be the way to go about it. You may need to do some type of survey with people that are not your friends to figure out why people are not buying it specifically and then use that know how to fix your conversion problem.

I would also add multiple pictures for each hat. Show the bottom, back, etc.

Really like info form the guardian. Did not know I was working with such a small demographic of individuals who donate, because to be honest with you, that is my target audience. If push comes to shove, this has been an excellent real world marketing tutorial for me. Going to def ramp up my social media content. Any insight as to what platform is best to use for social conscious fashion item? I'd assume instagram.

 

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[kameronja]

I get what you're saying. If it had a big "save Syrian refugees" I'd definitely cringe. But the logo, to be honest, isn't a recognizable brand. If anything, it's a good talking point.

There's a great thread on the inside with a step by step how to about the press kit thing. We are definitely rolling it out when we launch. That thread alone is worth the $60.

Haven't thought about a press kit. Will definitely look into making one and will shoot it around to see what type of responses I get.
Great advice!

 

[3things]

Just an observation on your Syrian cap - when I click through the link to the hygiene kit, the world vision page just seems to focus on 'donating [a kit] to american families in need'...doesn't mention anything about the kits going to Syria. Slight side issue, but tbh it would put me off if I were gung ho enough about an issue to be buying your hat.

Edit: also on the site, get rid of that huge carousel on the homepage. You have a [good] cause here, and a story. Tell people about that instead.

Double edit: I'm old/cynical, so address the trust issue for me - how do I know the causes are getting what you're promising? Maybe you could have stats on your home or product pages, something like 'so far, with your help we've delivered xxx hyigiene kits to Syrian families'.

 

[kameronja]

Just an observation on your Syrian cap - when I click through the link to the hygiene kit, the world vision page just seems to focus on 'donating [a kit] to american families in need'...doesn't mention anything about the kits going to Syria. Slight side issue, but tbh it would put me off if I were gung ho enough about an issue to be buying your hat.

Edit: also on the site, get rid of that huge carousel on the homepage. You have a [good] cause here, and a story. Tell people about that instead.

Double edit: I'm old/cynical, so address the trust issue for me - how do I know the causes are getting what you're promising? Maybe you could have stats on your home or product pages, something like 'so far, with your help we've delivered xxx hyigiene kits to Syrian families'.

I've spoken to World Vision about that directly and the hygiene kits are donated globally (not just in the US) in events of natural disaster, displacement of people or any other event that drives a large group of people into destitute environments - will try to figure out a way to clarify that to the public. Appreciate the comments about changing the carousel and potentially just telling my story directly there.

I had some other feedback on other forums that mentioned ecommerce is not reliably sold via social media, but instead opting for search is a much more pragmatic and effective channel. Any thoughts on this issue as well? in the case that is the consensus, I'll make sure to vamp up my SEO.

 

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[kameronja]

I get what you're saying. If it had a big "save Syrian refugees" I'd definitely cringe. But the logo, to be honest, isn't a recognizable brand. If anything, it's a good talking point.

There's a great thread on the inside with a step by step how to about the press kit thing. We are definitely rolling it out when we launch. That thread alone is worth the $60.

Scot, appreciate your help and input on this thread. I've been told that for ecommerce, social media is not a great channel to sell and instead, search is. Idea is that people go to social media to be social and people search for items they want to purchase.

What are your thoughts about this?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ZCP]

The four tiles (that I have to scroll way down for) are your call to action, are they not? Put a pic of the particular hat in each tile. Try it as your landing page. Have a big red 'I want to help' button. See if that converts better.

Cool product. Just A/B until you find the presentation that gets the message across and converts.

Put these out on Amazon as well. Maybe start a Kickstarter to build a village with a 100k hat sale.

 

[Scot]

Scot, appreciate your help and input on this thread. I've been told that for ecommerce, social media is not a great channel to sell and instead, search is. Idea is that people go to social media to be social and people search for items they want to purchase.

What are your thoughts about this?

Thanks in advance.

I think they're both very important and valuable.

Yes, when you're searching for something, you're actively looking. But on social media, people love to talk about social issues, your brand fits right into this.

You can target groups actively engaged in social change and charity on FB as well.

PPC advertising is very good to measure your ROI, it's just knowing who to target.

@Andy Black is the Adwords wizard here. Let me track down his master thread with all his Ppc resources.

 

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[3things]

I would think FB ads would be a pretty good avenue for a cause based thing such as this tbh - search is great...but realistically, how many people are going to be searching for 'baseball cap that gives to syria'? It's intent based, and i wouldn't imagine you'd have a cheap CPS if you go more generic where the volume is ie, 'baseball caps'. My slowlane job is buying traffic, both search, display, FB, etc. and imho you'd be better on FB with this as a starting point at least. Also, don't hop around from platform to platform. Stick to one and learn it, master it.

 

[Scot]

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/andys-adwords-posts.52850/

For anyone trying to market online, read this whole thread. It'll prove invaluable for you.

 

[Andy Black]

I would think FB ads would be a pretty good avenue for a cause based thing such as this tbh - search is great...but realistically, how many people are going to be searching for 'baseball cap that gives to syria'? It's intent based, and i wouldn't imagine you'd have a cheap CPS if you go more generic where the volume is ie, 'baseball caps'. My slowlane job is buying traffic, both search, display, FB, etc. and imho you'd be better on FB with this as a starting point at least. Also, don't hop around from platform to platform. Stick to one and learn it, master it.

Great advice.

Great slowlane job too.

 

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[3things]

Great advice.

Great slowlane job too.

Thanks Andy And yes, as the slowlane goes, it could be worse. Global big company, nice big budget and I don't have to worry about accounts getting banned etc [did a lot of affiliate stuff so I know all about that] lol. I'm mostly left in peace to do what I enjoy, which is buy traffic, build landing pages and get data!

While its not my dream to be here forever, right now it suits me and my young family's needs/lifestyle and means we don't eat our savings I was doing affiliate stuff full time when I moved to Canada, struck it a bit lucky and made some reasonable $ and tbh initially just took the job to get me out of the house and actually meet some people cos I was feeling lonely/homesick. Anyway don't want to derail the thread sorry OP.

 

[hughjasle]

My slowlane job is buying traffic, both search, display, FB, etc.

I wasn't going to jump into this thread, but must say, that is an AWESOME slowlane job. I see that andy beat me to saying that lol.

So while I'm here:

I've been told that for ecommerce, social media is not a great channel to sell and instead, search is.

Stop talking to that person. They know nothing. Spend more time with people here who know what they are talking about.

Any actionable steps or advice for ...marketing?

Do you know WHO your market/audience is? That's the first step. Find out WHO the buyers are then return and report and we can better help you.

 

[kameronja]

I wasn't going to jump into this thread, but must say, that is an AWESOME slowlane job. I see that andy beat me to saying that lol.

So while I'm here:


Stop talking to that person. They know nothing. Spend more time with people here who know what they are talking about.

Do you know WHO your market/audience is? That's the first step. Find out WHO the buyers are then return and report and we can better help you.

So i do know who my buyers are - they are between the ages of 22 - 35 yr old men - ones who are inclined to look stylish while making socially responsible purchasing decision: the cross section of people who like to support causes but do it in a way that is stylish and not overtly boisterous. And geographically, namely in the united states and western Europe where the propensity for charitable donating is high (and shipping is free/cheap).

ill give some more insights as to my thinking. I've been using facebook ad words and targeted cheap ad inventory to gain some likes on my FB pages (over 1,300 with less that $8 spend - for credibility purposes). Also, been finding viral content - related to Syrian refugees, homeless, hunger/malnutrition problems and water sanitation issues AND fashion related hat/snapback content - and rewrote the articles and shared them on my blog, then provided those links on relevant subreddits. This has increased my traffic dramatically, but this strategic content approach is not converting in sales. Now I'm thinking, do i need to create a brand identity as would a small apparel company with lots of images that posterize a cool and chic identity for my audience, or should i play more of an angle geared towards individuals more socially inclined?

 

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[Scot]

So i do know who my buyers are - they are between the ages of 22 - 35 yr old men - ones who are inclined to look stylish while making socially responsible purchasing decision: the cross section of people who like to support causes but do it in a way that is stylish and not overtly boisterous. And geographically, namely in the united states and western Europe where the propensity for charitable donating is high (and shipping is free/cheap).

ill give some more insights as to my thinking. I've been using facebook ad words and targeted cheap ad inventory to gain some likes on my FB pages (over 1,300 with less that $8 spend - for credibility purposes). Also, been finding viral content - related to Syrian refugees, homeless, hunger/malnutrition problems and water sanitation issues AND fashion related hat/snapback content - and rewrote the articles and shared them on my blog, then provided those links on relevant subreddits. This has increased my traffic dramatically, but this strategic content approach is not converting in sales. Now I'm thinking, do i need to create a brand identity as would a small apparel company with lots of images that posterize a cool and chic identity for my audience, or should i play more of an angle geared towards individuals more socially inclined?

Honestly I think you need to look into landing pages and tweak the site a little bit. You're getting traffic, you're not converting it.

Have you looked at your google analytics? What's the user flow look like? Where are users bouncing? Do they ever make it past the first page?

What about retargetting abandoned carts?

 

[kameronja]

Honestly I think you need to look into landing pages and tweak the site a little bit. You're getting traffic, you're not converting it.

Have you looked at your google analytics? What's the user flow look like? Where are users bouncing? Do they ever make it past the first page?

What about retargetting abandoned carts?

Just set up my google analytics so I will have a better understanding of that data soon. I do think that my landing page needs work, and a few have added very helpful comments for that in this thread.

I do, however, agree with @3things and that was my initial thinking process in that no one is searching for 'socially responsible hats' for instance. I do think that search is not the best channel to go by. In that case, need to really work on my landing page and hone the FB targeted ads.

Any strategies for FB ad targeting? How important is content here - no one seems to really talk to actual branding or content. is it of little significance?

 

[jon.a]

What are the 4 charity's?

Specifically?

 

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[3things]

As a pretty good rule: the job of the ad is pretty much purely to get a person to click. It should be highly relevant to the audience you target, whether this is on Facebook, search or display.

It's the job of the landing page to sell them something, delivering on what the ad promised.

This is a pretty incredible walk through of how to sell things online and we'll worth reading. While you can't do everything there are a lot of basic principles and tactics you could apply here.

http://www.digitalmarketer.com/ecommerce-advertising/

 

[jon.a]

What are the 4 charity's?

Specifically?

The answer doesn't matter.

Let's start over. Where are you providing value here?
You are creating an economic inefficiency, by injecting yourself in-between the charity's and the gifter.

 

[kameronja]

The answer doesn't matter.

Let's start over. Where are you providing value here?
You are creating an economic inefficiency, by injecting yourself in-between the charity's and the gifter.

The minimalistic designs and black and white coloring tested well (especially in NYC where black is gold in apparel terms). The value add is for a customer who puts great emphasis on their appearance AND wants to make socially responsible purchasing decisions - this mindset is abundant in millennials. It would be similar to TOMS or Warby Parker as a business model.

 

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[jon.a]

The minimalistic designs and black and white coloring tested well (especially in NYC where black is gold in apparel terms). The value add is for a customer who puts great emphasis on their appearance AND wants to make socially responsible purchasing decisions - this mindset is abundant in millennials. It would be similar to TOMS or Warby Parker as a business model.

I'm not buying your story. I think that you're chasing money.

Go ahead, prove me wrong.

 

[kameronja]

I'm not buying your story. I think that you're chasing money.

Go ahead, prove me wrong.

The intentions are altruistic although it is a for profit business. Never says its a nonprofit anywhere on the website. Lots of charities and nonprofits don't conform to the ethical standards they market.

Nonetheless, i get your point, i need to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt. Noted.

Thanks

 

[biophase]

It would be similar to TOMS or Warby Parker as a business model.

Yeah, I'm going to call BS on this one. Your business is not like TOMS. Maybe you think it is, but it certainly does not feel that way from your website. You should read, "Start Something That Matters", written by the founder of TOMS.

So I actually have a business like yours which donates to a cause. I have the same model as TOMS or Warby Parker. I donate 1 for 1.

Here is why your idea isn't working.

First, your donation is not very transparent. I cannot quantify some of your items. How much does it cost to provide one person 18 months of water? What do 10 life saving sachets of food cost? Is that an all in price, shipped to their location?

There's a reason I chose 1 for 1. It's because my customer can understand exactly what is being donated and where. There's no vague 10% of profits or a measly sounding $1 per sale. I wanted my customers to know exactly how their purchase was going to help. 1 of XXX is being shipped to XXX place so that XXX will have XXX.

Second, in order for this model to work, it cannot seem like you are inflating your prices to cover the donation. If my product were double the normal cost. People would say, well he's making the same profit, we're just paying extra to fund his donations. We might as well just save the money and send it to a charity that we want. So your pricing needs to be inline with others. I think your prices are too high because you haven't built a brand name yet. My prices are actually lower than others on the market.

Third, yes it's a for profit business, but it shouldn't feel like one. Do you really care about the Syrian refugees? Or did you just pick 4 causes that happen to match your hat designs? Show me you care and I might buy it. I support my causes daily and people at these non-profits know it. They invite me to their charity dinners as a special guest, I get thank you letters in the mail and on FB especially I get tons of friend requests from customers. That's sort of crazy.

Yes, mine is a for profit business too. I want it to be sustainable. But mine is a barely for profit business, because my main focus is the donation portion, not the profit. People at the non-profits ask me all the time if I'm doing ok, they hope I'm not losing money. The reason is that they don't want my business to go away because my business is helping. I get shares on Facebook weekly. If you don't go for the money, it will come, because people will want to support you.

Let me show you a few emails I received this week:
"Hello – We just received a XXX donations from XX and were truly blown away! It is such an incredibly generous business model and we were so impressed by the quality of the pieces! Your team clearly put a lot of thought into the safest options and it absolutely shows. We were extra giddy about the XXX and are so excited about the XXX. I was completely shocked when I went online and saw how low your prices are, too! Just an all-around awesome experience and I’m so glad I found out about your business. "

This person sent me this after I told her that her non-profit would be put on my November list for donations.
"I will see what I can do to push that up by having my many friends go on line and check out your wares. Thank you, and I look forward to doing business with you again."

How many hats could you sell if your customer base was like mine?

 

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[jon.a]

Yeah, I'm going to call BS on this one. Your business is not like TOMS. Maybe you think it is, but it certainly does not feel that way from your website. You should read, "Start Something That Matters", written by the founder of TOMS.

So I actually have a business like yours which donates to a cause. I have the same model as TOMS or Warby Parker. I donate 1 for 1.

Here is why your idea isn't working.

First, your donation is not very transparent. I cannot quantify some of your items. How much does it cost to provide one person 18 months of water? What do 10 life saving sachets of food cost? Is that an all in price, shipped to their location?

There's a reason I chose 1 for 1. It's because my customer can understand exactly what is being donated and where. There's no vague 10% of profits or a measly sounding $1 per sale. I wanted my customers to know exactly how their purchase was going to help. 1 of XXX is being shipped to XXX place so that XXX will have XXX.

Second, in order for this model to work, it cannot seem like you are inflating your prices to cover the donation. If my product were double the normal cost. People would say, well he's making the same profit, we're just paying extra to fund his donations. We might as well just save the money and send it to a charity that we want. So your pricing needs to be inline with others. I think your prices are too high because you haven't built a brand name yet. My prices are actually lower than others on the market.

Third, yes it's a for profit business, but it shouldn't feel like one. Do you really care about the Syrian refugees? Or did you just pick 4 causes that happen to match your hat designs? Show me you care and I might buy it. I support my causes daily and people at these non-profits know it. They invite me to their charity dinners as a special guest, I get thank you letters in the mail and on FB especially I get tons of friend requests from customers. That's sort of crazy.

Yes, mine is a for profit business too. I want it to be sustainable. But mine is a barely for profit business, because my main focus is the donation portion, not the profit. People at the non-profits ask me all the time if I'm doing ok, they hope I'm not losing money. The reason is that they don't want my business to go away because my business is helping. I get shares on Facebook weekly. If you don't go for the money, it will come, because people will want to support you.

Let me show you a few emails I received this week:
"Hello – We just received a XXX donations from XX and were truly blown away! It is such an incredibly generous business model and we were so impressed by the quality of the pieces! Your team clearly put a lot of thought into the safest options and it absolutely shows. We were extra giddy about the XXX and are so excited about the XXX. I was completely shocked when I went online and saw how low your prices are, too! Just an all-around awesome experience and I’m so glad I found out about your business. "

This person sent me this after I told her that her non-profit would be put on my November list for donations.
"I will see what I can do to push that up by having my many friends go on line and check out your wares. Thank you, and I look forward to doing business with you again."

How many hats could you sell if your customer base was like mine?

Well said. Your give a shit level is obviously reading higher than mine was.

 

[kameronja]

Yeah, I'm going to call BS on this one. Your business is not like TOMS. Maybe you think it is, but it certainly does not feel that way from your website. You should read, "Start Something That Matters", written by the founder of TOMS.

So I actually have a business like yours which donates to a cause. I have the same model as TOMS or Warby Parker. I donate 1 for 1.

Here is why your idea isn't working.

First, your donation is not very transparent. I cannot quantify some of your items. How much does it cost to provide one person 18 months of water? What do 10 life saving sachets of food cost? Is that an all in price, shipped to their location?

There's a reason I chose 1 for 1. It's because my customer can understand exactly what is being donated and where. There's no vague 10% of profits or a measly sounding $1 per sale. I wanted my customers to know exactly how their purchase was going to help. 1 of XXX is being shipped to XXX place so that XXX will have XXX.

Second, in order for this model to work, it cannot seem like you are inflating your prices to cover the donation. If my product were double the normal cost. People would say, well he's making the same profit, we're just paying extra to fund his donations. We might as well just save the money and send it to a charity that we want. So your pricing needs to be inline with others. I think your prices are too high because you haven't built a brand name yet. My prices are actually lower than others on the market.

Third, yes it's a for profit business, but it shouldn't feel like one. Do you really care about the Syrian refugees? Or did you just pick 4 causes that happen to match your hat designs? Show me you care and I might buy it. I support my causes daily and people at these non-profits know it. They invite me to their charity dinners as a special guest, I get thank you letters in the mail and on FB especially I get tons of friend requests from customers. That's sort of crazy.

Yes, mine is a for profit business too. I want it to be sustainable. But mine is a barely for profit business, because my main focus is the donation portion, not the profit. People at the non-profits ask me all the time if I'm doing ok, they hope I'm not losing money. The reason is that they don't want my business to go away because my business is helping. I get shares on Facebook weekly. If you don't go for the money, it will come, because people will want to support you.

Let me show you a few emails I received this week:
"Hello – We just received a XXX donations from XX and were truly blown away! It is such an incredibly generous business model and we were so impressed by the quality of the pieces! Your team clearly put a lot of thought into the safest options and it absolutely shows. We were extra giddy about the XXX and are so excited about the XXX. I was completely shocked when I went online and saw how low your prices are, too! Just an all-around awesome experience and I’m so glad I found out about your business. "

This person sent me this after I told her that her non-profit would be put on my November list for donations.
"I will see what I can do to push that up by having my many friends go on line and check out your wares. Thank you, and I look forward to doing business with you again."

How many hats could you sell if your customer base was like mine?

I appreciate the in-depth feedback. Definitely going to go back and try to fix my prices so they are lower. Want to speak to a few of your points:

Firstly, I do care about these causes - I've reached out to over 100 charities and nonprofits to foster these impact deals. It is not a vague donation of funds - each hat sold has a specific and direct impact that was agreed upon with the third-party partners. The costs for how they can achieve those things is within their scope of work and not mine.

Here is a direct excerpt from an email received from water.org

"As for your request to donate one year of clean water for one person for each hat purchased, you would need to donate $1.25 per hat sold. You can learn more about how we calculate this by referencing the attached PDF." (willing to provide full email if you want)

so if you do the math you can figure how much it would cost to provide 18 months worth of clean drinking water per hat. I'm dropshipping some my margins suck - plus I'm providing free shipping which kills my margin even more. Going to try and find a cheaper product to reduce my price.

The designs were created AFTER I established the relationship. The only thing that is vague is exactly where it is going and I left that up to the charity to decide where its most needed.

Secondly - do you have any tips for displaying the legitimacy of the hats: how to display to my customers that I actually care about the causes?