Supporting a worthy cause can give your company a socially responsible image. This has two benefits: First, it provides positive impressions for customers. Second, it helps non-profit foundations gather donations. Doing so also allows you to insert your corporate branding as a sponsoring partner. To help raise money for the cause, you can even throw in some merchandise like shirts, lanyards, or silicone wristbands to sell.
Whether you’re raising awareness for cancer or a life-threatening disease, advocacy campaigns can put your brand in a positive light. Let’s take a look at some ways that you can do to leverage your company’s name to help promote a worthy cause.
- Go viral on social media
Promoting your cause online through a viral gimmick is one of the best ways to reach a wider audience. Facebook, YouTube, and microsites have been instrumental in creating the needed buzz for people to be interested. One of these tactics was the 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge, an awareness campaign that helped raise money for researching the ALS disease. The challenge went viral thanks to social media spreading the word, and it encouraged people to participate in an eye-catching activity. This resulted in more than 100 million dollars raised within a 30 day period, which was donated to research projects for this disease.
- Have branded merchandise
Having items to sell is one of the primary methods of raising money for a cause. It also helps spread awareness when more people notice others wearing them. These souvenirs need to be cheap and easy to produce to minimize costs and maximize profits. They should also be customizable enough to bear your message about the cause to make your fundraising activity a memorable one. You can use umbrellas, shirts, bags, or even personalized rubber wristbands for this purpose. Putting in your company’s brand logo and colors to make it stand out can also help show that you support the advocacy.
- Include a call to action
For companies, generating leads and encouraging purchases are their main responsibilities. This is similar for advocacies since getting people to donate for to the cause you’re supporting is their primary goal.
This is where the first two ways can assist. The social media page that you’ll set up for the cause can show where and how to donate for it. Like the ALS bucket challenge, those who viewed the videos were told where to send their money. This is how the viral movement raised the funds. For the merchandise you’ll distribute, these could also lead to your company’s website to inform customers about who is supporting a particular cause.
- Provide exclusive perks
This is one of the few times where companies can offer special promo discounts or even product packages for those interested in supporting a cause. If allowable, you might opt to sell your company’s items in designated booths in a fundraiser event. If not, you could promote these online through your social media pages and say the proceeds will be donated to the advocacy you support.
These are some of the ways you can show your brand in a more positive light. By showing that you care for the causes around you, other people will see that you want to give back to society. Your company will also get to project a positive image as a supporter of worthy causes.
