What you need to know about movement marketing

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Let me start with a definition:

Movement marketing is a strategy in which businesses craft marketing initiatives around their visions, rather than around their products or services.

Okay, fair enough. Let’s make that more concrete, shall we?

For example, at Hello Seven, we sell business education, executive coaching, and an empowering community…but our work goes beyond that.

Our mission — and our movement — is to help marginalized folks make more money, so together we can shift the balance of the world’s economic and political power.

We believe that the more money marginalized people have, the more we can effect change in our lives, our families, our communities, and our society as a whole.

Everything we create that contributes to Hello Seven’s marketing efforts — my book, our podcast, webinars, sales pages, emails, etc. etc. — reflects that movement by literally providing wealth-building advice for marginalized folks.

This resonates with people because we’re not just here to help folks grow their businesses — we’re here to impact society on a broader scale.

When it comes to movement marketing, you must be sincere.

If you care more about the marketing than you do about the movement, people will notice, and your initiatives will fall flat.

Thoughtfully and intentionally defining your brand’s movement is necessary before you can even consider how to use movement marketing effectively.

So, I encourage you to reflect on the question: What is your brand’s movement?

And this doesn’t need to be directly tied to your product or service. You could be a bookkeeper who supports animal rights. You could own a vinyl records store that supports Black Lives Matter.

Your movement doesn’t necessarily need to be linked to a charitable cause, either — big ideas work too. For example, back in the day, Apple broke away from traditional technology marketing with the idea that tech can be fun and accessible.

No matter what you do, you can contribute company resources to a particular big idea. Then, you can motivate clients who want to support that idea to join you by supporting your business.

You could support anti-racist activism, intersectional feminism, environmental justice, or anything that you care deeply about.

Think about what moves you, what causes you want to take on, and decide how your brand can become your movement.

Once you’ve done that, you will need deadlines, specific projects, and team members to bring your plans to life — just like you would for any other big initiative in your business. Come up with a concrete plan of action to make sure you actually deliver.

Maybe you could make donations or organize campaigns. Or perhaps you could partner with a nonprofit, offer scholarships, or donate your time and expertise to folks who could benefit from it.

Because defining your movement isn’t enough — you have to live out that movement every day.

For example, at Hello Seven, we live out our movement not only in the content we create for our audience and our clients, but also by donating to nonprofits that support marginalized people, hosting events like our Anti-Racist Small Business Town Hall, and by calling on our audience to take action on issues we care deeply about.

And just recently, we announced a new charitable initiative that I’m so excited to share — one that I truly believe will help us effect the kind of change we want to see in the world.

The Hello Seven Foundation is a non-profit organization that will provide funding for doulas, night nurses, and childcare to Black mothers in need.

The Foundation will give Black mothers and non-binary parents the economic support they need to have a healthy delivery, recover from childbirth, get adequate sleep, have reliable childcare that gives them time to focus on their financial and personal growth — and therefore, make a good living.

Hello Seven has made an initial contribution of $50,000 to the Foundation. I’ve been reaching out to my audience for support, and I invite you to donate whatever you can. Together, we can easily double that amount.

Make a contribution today in your name or in honor of someone you love.

Studies show that women are more likely to support charitable causes aimed at helping fellow women and girls. I believe the same applies to all marginalized groups — we are the ones who are willing and motivated to lift one another up with our words, our actions, and our dollars.

That means it is up to us.

Will you join me? Drop me a comment below to let me know once you donate to the Foundation, or share this page with a friend.

This is why I continue to build wealth and help other marginalized people build their own — so together we can create the change we want to see in the world.

I invite you to consider how defining your brand’s movement could help you do the same.

And remember: You can make money, AND you can make the world a better place. Those two actions are not mutually exclusive.

In fact, the more money you make, the more you have to give.

And the more you have to give, the more change you can effect.

So keep gettin’ that coin. Then go make a difference with it.

In solidarity,

Rachel