Leading a Digital First Approach to Social Change with Eric Ressler

Cosmic helps organizations craft powerful marketing messages that can be applied to all companies, people, and social opportunities. As a guest on EGGS! the Podcast, Eric shares insights into how a digital-first approach can empower social change, the secrets to engaging a digital audience with compelling narratives, and why acting like a digital media company can be a game-changer for social impact leaders. Eric inspires listeners to first put their own house in order — whether or not they are engaged in the social impact community — and to level up engagement in whatever spaces they have an impact on.

“Building a solid brand- which takes time and energy and consistency and integrity as an organization- is ultimately the best strategy.”

Episode Highlights:

• Eric details the focus and mission of Cosmic. [1:00]
• Key differentiators between social impact and standard marketing efforts. [2:50]
• Cosmic’s strategic decision to pivot toward social impact work. [4:21]
• Building brand awareness in a new sector doesn’t happen overnight. [8:55]
• Cosmic’s holistic approach as an agency in social impact work. [11:14]
• Early challenges encouraged Cosmic to address impostor syndrome and refine its offerings. [15:32]
• Social impact marketing offers unique perspectives and challenges over traditional marketing. [19:17]
• Tactics for navigating social climates and crafting effective messaging in a highly polarized world. [23:48]
• The power of longview digital storytelling in the social impact space. [28:42]
• Eric’s take on human connection and the future of the digital world. [34:02]
• The key to building a powerful brand that will last into the future is not reducing overhead. [43:31]
• Marketing lessons to be learned from a non-profit or social impact organization. [49:30]

Quotes:

“Sometimes in the social impact space, you are selling a product or a service, but oftentimes you’re selling an idea about the future.” [3:35]

“If you’re an organization that’s thinking about niching down, you do need to do some of those projections and research to make sure there is a viable market there.” [8:08]

“The marketing transition can be instant, but the practical transition will and should take a little bit of time.” [9:33]

“The benefit of niching down is that you are building true expertise that’s different and meaningful.” [10:45]

“One thing that’s really difficult about this work, for us and our clients, is that oftentimes the issues that they’re working to solve are literally the hardest issues in the world to solve.” [21:44]

“Don't forget about your own social media channels because those you have the most control over and over time those are going to weather the storm of the social media ebbs and flows as they come.” [39:55]

“Building a solid brand- which takes time and energy and consistency and integrity as an organization- is ultimately the best strategy.” [43:31]

Resources:

EGGS! The Podcast