Ep. 126: Why Cause Marketing is Good for Your Business and You
This episode covers cause marketing through Give Back Homes, a nonprofit that helps real estate and mortgage professionals embed charitable home-building into their brand. Caroline explains the tools and support Give Back Homes provides; Jessica shares how she uses it in listing presentations and at the closing table to differentiate herself. Best for LOs and agents looking for a tangible way to stand out beyond price and build emotional loyalty with clients.
Aligning your brand with a cause like Give Back Homes shifts client conversations from price comparison to purpose — and generates referrals, press, and social content as byproducts.
Takeaways you can run this week
- At your next listing appointment or purchase consultation, end with: 'Out of the sale of this home, I'm going to help build a home for a family in need through Give Back Homes' — then leave a Give Back Homes marketing piece behind so clients have something tangible to discuss with friends.
- At closing, bring 3 printed family profiles from Give Back Homes and tell your client: 'I want you to choose which family we build for in your honor.' This triggers organic social posts from clients tagging you, as Jessica's client did publicly.
- Add a Give Back Homes yard sign rider to every listing — Jessica uses them as a conversation starter that prompts neighbors and buyers to ask about the cause, generating inbound calls without additional ad spend.
- Share this episode or the Give Back Homes story with 3–5 real estate agent partners this week as a value-add touchpoint — frame it as a branding and lead-gen tool, not just charity, since agents are always seeking differentiation in listing presentations.
- Invite a real estate agent partner to co-sponsor a local Give Back Homes build day (Give Back Homes coordinates logistics, photographer, t-shirts, RSVPs, and PR outreach on your behalf) — the resulting photos and video provide months of authentic social media content.
- Visit givebackhomes.com and request the social media toolkit (pre-formatted graphics for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) to immediately start posting cause-related content without creating anything from scratch.
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GET FREE ACCESSThe playbook
- 1. Join Give Back Homes at givebackhomes.com and select a membership tier.
- 2. Request the social media toolkit and begin posting cause-related content on your channels.
- 3. Add Give Back Homes to your listing presentation as the final segment: explain the mission and state that a portion of each sale funds a home build.
- 4. Order Give Back Homes yard sign riders for active listings.
- 5. Coordinate a local build day: Give Back Homes partners with local Habitat for Humanity affiliates, handles RSVPs, t-shirts, lunch, photographer, and PR outreach — you invite clients, agents, and sphere.
- 6. At closing, present 3 family profiles and let the client choose which family receives the home built in their honor.
- 7. Share post-build photos and recap content across social media; Give Back Homes provides photographer and recap support.
- 8. Use press coverage and social engagement from the build day to pitch local media for a feature story.
Worth quoting
“We won't be distracted by comparison if we are captivated by purpose.”
“The more you work, the more you grind — but the moment you stop marketing, what's the legacy that you're leaving?”
Best for
LOs who feel their brand is indistinguishable from competitors and want a purpose-driven differentiator that also generates referrals and content.
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