It’s hard not to notice when companies use celebrities to promote their products or champion their cause. Our heads turn when we see faces we recognize whether we respect them as an authority on an issue or not. There are many notable examples of celebrities promoting charitable causes as well. Chances are, you have noticed Bono and his work with (red) and Live8, Brad Pitt’s commitment to help rebuild New Orleans, or Mike Holmes’ campaign for SOS Children’s Villages.

Many charities are hopeful that a celebrity, or recognizable influencer of some kind, will advance their cause in a positive way. There is plenty of evidence to suggest they can!

At Artez, we get a lot of questions about this. People ask: "Is it a good idea? How can we maximize the opportunity? Should we approach them or wait to be approached? How do we align with a celebrity who believes as deeply in our cause as we do? Will we look like sell-outs?"... and so on.

This is a juicy and timely topic and worth a much broader discussion! For the purposes of this post, however, I offer my Top 5 Tips for Working with Influencers. These will be relevant to any group that is considering engaging with a celebrity to promote their cause in some way. Read on!