How A Good Cause Can Explode Growth On Social Media
The ‘Empty Chairs’ Case Study
This newsletter is going to be similar to the one I wrote a while back where I talked about how focusing on a charitable cause can help you grow a social media following quickly.
Before I get into the bones of this subject…
Let me just say that I do not condone or suggest you use charitable and good causes to simply ‘game the system’ and generate a large following quickly.
I am sharing this information from the point of view that choosing to genuinely do something good can actually help your business greatly.
And as an observation of how fast good causes can grow online.
Do Good And Grow Quickly
I have talked before about how people who do charitable work can often find their following grows quickly.
The cynical amongst us can accuse those people of doing it on purpose… and they may be right, some people might… and if they do the reason they do it is because it works.
It’s not just charitable work (raising money for charity or donating money to good causes) that works, starting a good cause can also gain a lot of followers online.
The reason for this is because people like GOOD people who GENUINELY want to help others.
Plus, some people need that help or want to help.
They are not selling anything or trying to market to you and so people are happy to follow them on social media because they know they are not going to be ‘pestered’ by marketing messages or product promotions like these:
There’s nothing worse than following a profile or making friends with someone only for them to hit you up and try to sell you something without first getting to know you.
I want to show you a perfect example of how starting a good cause can generate a large following on one or several social media platforms.
This is an observation and I am not suggesting that you do this with the sole purpose of growing a large number of followers.
However, saying that your business could get a boost if you did set up a good cause.
It must be from a place of genuine good, though.
Please don’t fake charitable work or good causes. Do if from a place of real compassion and caring.
Empty Chairs UK
January 2026, UK, Dean (I’ve not been able to figure out his surname) began Empty Chairs as a way for strangers to meet in bars to talk.
The idea was born after his best friend, Rob, committed suicide in 2025.
Dean was struggling with grief and loneliness and noticed that while he was struggling the world was carrying on without him. He and his loneliness was invisible to the rest of the world.
He didn’t want others to suffer.
The first national Empty Chair event was held on Rob’s birthday. He would have been 30.
There were over 14 different people across the UK holding Empty Chair events in bars and pubs that night.
Up to that point, Dean had been holding Empty Chair events alone in bars and pubs.
The concept is to sit at a table alone with several ‘empty chairs’ and see who comes along and joins for a relaxed no pressure talk.
The idea is to tackle loneliness and to get people talking when they need it the most.
Dean uses social media to tell people where he will be and at what time.
Go give EmptyChairsUk a follow here: Instagram EmptyChairsUk
He is documenting the rise of his Empty Chair idea on Instagram and also has a website where he now lists all the future events.
Word quickly spread and there are now Empty Chair events happening in other parts of the world.
Over 55,000 Followers!
As I write this, we are in the third week of the third month of 2026 and the Empty Chair Instagram profile has over 55,000 followers.
For a business, it would take either a lot of time or a large amount of money to grow an audience that big on social media.
Again, not all businesses are the same and not all marketing is the same, but generally, for those who are building a business online and trying to sell and promote products using traditional marketing methods such as ‘this is our latest products, come and get it here’ social media growth will be slow.
This is why companies and businesses are having to think outside of the box and do something that is more social and entertaining for social media users.
In this newsletter I talked about how some companies are creating ‘television show’ style content as a way to attract and entertain potential customers.
Social media is not new and when something has been around for many years and has millions of daily users, businesses and companies need to be creative if they want to compete and survive.
As the platforms grow and evolve, so do the users’ tastes and expectations.
Unlike the 1970s when you could woo someone down a back alley with a bag of chips for a quick fumble up against the wall … today, you are wooing people who want something less sleazy.
They want a weekend at an expensive spa hotel with a Michelin rated restaurant
They have more expectations and better tastes, and so you are going to need to think outside of the box and give them something that appeals to them.
Again, I am not saying you should game the system by doing charitable work or starting a good cause if you are not a good charitable person.
It is cynical and unethical to do this as a way to build a following if you don’t actually care.
But if you are a genuine caring person who also has a business, this could be something for you to consider.
In many ways, it is a win-win situation for you and for those who you help with your cause or charitable work.
By doing good, you can sidestep a lot of the hard work of growing your social media presence as people will start following you and sharing your content for you.
That amount of shares, loves, and comments will really please the algorithm.
Social media platforms would start suggesting your posts to complete strangers if they were getting those kinds of engagement figures.
Obviously, all 55,000+ people may not be interested in your business, but some will, and when they get to know more about you and what you do… they are already in a position to like and trust you… and that is where a lot of sales are made.
When people know, like, and trust you… they will choose to buy from you over other people
Until next time.
Have a great day.
Andi
PS. I have a community here: The Freedom Skills Academy, where I share my video courses and best content, please feel free to come over and check it out.
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