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Niche groups are powerful. People who join smaller groups for specific interests are different from other fans because they’re not just chasing a trend — they’re personally connected or passionate about the topic. Niche groups have different types of talkers, and that presents a great word of mouth opportunity.
Here’s how some companies are getting the word out about their unusual causes, groups, and products:
1. Use some inside humor
2. Get your biggest talkers involved
3. Reach a wider audience
1. Use some inside humor
Unless you’re a Price Is Right fan, you probably don’t hear about the importance of getting pets spayed and neutered often. But it’s a cause one organization takes up each year with a very special fundraiser: the Spay-Neuter Services of Indiana Nut Sale. Like Girl Scouts and cookies, SNSI asks their members to help sell nuts to their friends and family and spread the word about getting pets fixed. The underlying joke is cheeky yet subtle and gives their members an opportunity to bring up an otherwise unusual topic.
2. Get your biggest talkers involved
Photo thanks to NABS.
A fundraiser for communication industry workers who are unemployed due to injury or illness targets a pretty specific group of folks. So to raise money for this niche group, one organization focused on the industry’s biggest talkers: the bosses. The National Advertising Benevolent Society of Canada holds a “Vintage Intern Auction” in which companies can bid to have an executive come work for them as an intern for a day, sending all of the money to the charity. And although the site says it’s about taking revenge, we know that the executives who chose to participate must be some pretty nice folks.
3. Reach a wider audience
Photo thanks to our teammate, Cale.
Rain, a gay bar in Austin, sees its fair share of bachelorette parties. So they thought it would be fitting to ask groups of women celebrating marriage to support marriage equality at the same time. At Rain, every bachelorette party is asked to wear a T-shirt showing their support of the cause while they celebrate at the bar. Bachelorette parties are just a small, niche part of Rain’s customer base, but they’re notorious for taking tons of pictures and drawing attention to themselves. That’s a lot of cheap endorsement for Rain’s message — and a great way to bring their customers together for a cause.
