Movember is a time for raising awareness around prostate cancer to drive the importance of regular medical check-ups and increasing donations. The condition is the second most known cancer to affect men globally, with over 1.1 million being diagnosed in 2012 alone. Yet, an astounding 47% of men who experience the symptoms go on to ignore them.  Another 39% experience symptoms for seven months before going to get a check-up and ultimately being diagnosed.

This is highly problematic, but the large numbers can be reduced by increasing the rate of awareness around the condition. Here is how we, as marketers, can raise more awareness around Movember.

Breaching the social media doors

Social media is an excellent way of penetrating the minds of men, especially the younger generation. However, being present on social media alone doesn’t guarantee growth and awareness. A key recipe to remedy the problem is involving influencers who men can look up or relate to.

These influencers can be entertainment celebrities, vloggers, bloggers or social media influencers who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. However, your choice of celebrities doesn’t only have to include those who have been affected by the condition.

Getting into the inbox

With over 4 billion active email accounts worldwide in 2015, email is great way of spreading awareness on causes. What’s more, non-profit drives achieve an industry top quartile, open rate of 30.95%. There is so much potential to generate awareness around Movember using the medium. However, to achieve this you need an exceptional email marketing strategy. It needs to include a segmented database and content strategy that ensures that all your target audiences can relate to the message.

Bridging the gap between online and the real world

Awareness that exists online can only go so far. Since prostate cancer affects people in the real world, there needs to be an offline campaign as well. The digital strategy serves to complement it. You want to make people take action, whether that be by donating money or having check-ups. So to do just, you have to put in place events such as activations, seminars and so forth. These have to be education, providing informational material on how people can take action.

Telling stories that speak to those at risk, donors and volunteers

Storytelling must form a significant part of your strategy. It has the power to resonate more with your audience. This is because it can inspire and educate, and provide a memorable experience that sticks. Therefore, it’s essential to tell stories around prostate cancer, especially stories of those who have been affected by it.

Raising awareness is now easier in the digital age. More and more people are connected to the web, making access to information simpler. This gives you an opportunity to create meaningful experiences around campaigns such as Movember, which will in turn save lives.