In the world of corporate philanthropy, cause marketing is a topic of much discussion. If you wish to make the most your corporate giving program, you absolutely must spread the word about the charitable endeavors going on at your company. While it might seem self-serving, cause marketing does not just build public relations for your firm, it strongly benefits the charities you support. When people see what you are doing, enthusiasm for the program builds as does participation, both by employees and the general public.
The first step on your journey of building up a corporate social responsibility program is creating a culture of giving within all levels of your company. This means that every employee, from the lowest to highest levels, needs to have some involvement in the program and needs to understand your philanthropic goals. Be sure your top tier executives are involved, and share with employees that their involvement in charitable programs helps the company creates stronger bonds with the local community and with customers, which benefits the corporation as a whole.
Writing a giant corporate check may seem like the easiest approach to philanthropy, but this is rarely the most effective long term strategy. Building a complete program around cash and product donations, employee giving, corporate gift matching, volunteering, and disaster response will give your business's philanthropic initiatives a more well-rounded foundation to thrive in the future. A holistic approach to philanthropy shows that your company is serious about giving back, which will have a greater impact than any one initiative.
One of the first rules for developing any kind of a marketing strategy is to know your target audiences. With cause marketing, you likely face a wide range of audiences that you need to reach: senior executives, employees, shareholders, customers, and the community at large. Work to understand all of these stakeholders and learn what resonates with them. There is no one-size-fits-all approach that can work here. How you communicate your program to the board of directors will probably vary greatly from how you communicate it to your customers.
While getting your executives and employees excited about the program is essential, don't forget to enlist the support of your customer base. Use blogs and social media tools to promote your giving program as well as upcoming events sponsored by your company. Invite customers to join in and volunteer or donate and then highlight these donations of time or money through social media. This extends the reach and impact of your program, and these customers will provide you with a huge source of positive publicity, as they will also spread the word about your giving programs.
Be transparent about your numbers. When you wish to highlight the success of any corporate giving program, be honest about the data. There are few things that will drive people away faster than getting caught lying about your charitable efforts. There are software programs available that can help you easily keep track and analyze every aspect of your social responsibility plan, making it easy for your to present reports to everyone from your employees to your shareholders to the general public.
The first step on your journey of building up a corporate social responsibility program is creating a culture of giving within all levels of your company. This means that every employee, from the lowest to highest levels, needs to have some involvement in the program and needs to understand your philanthropic goals. Be sure your top tier executives are involved, and share with employees that their involvement in charitable programs helps the company creates stronger bonds with the local community and with customers, which benefits the corporation as a whole.
Writing a giant corporate check may seem like the easiest approach to philanthropy, but this is rarely the most effective long term strategy. Building a complete program around cash and product donations, employee giving, corporate gift matching, volunteering, and disaster response will give your business's philanthropic initiatives a more well-rounded foundation to thrive in the future. A holistic approach to philanthropy shows that your company is serious about giving back, which will have a greater impact than any one initiative.
One of the first rules for developing any kind of a marketing strategy is to know your target audiences. With cause marketing, you likely face a wide range of audiences that you need to reach: senior executives, employees, shareholders, customers, and the community at large. Work to understand all of these stakeholders and learn what resonates with them. There is no one-size-fits-all approach that can work here. How you communicate your program to the board of directors will probably vary greatly from how you communicate it to your customers.
While getting your executives and employees excited about the program is essential, don't forget to enlist the support of your customer base. Use blogs and social media tools to promote your giving program as well as upcoming events sponsored by your company. Invite customers to join in and volunteer or donate and then highlight these donations of time or money through social media. This extends the reach and impact of your program, and these customers will provide you with a huge source of positive publicity, as they will also spread the word about your giving programs.
Be transparent about your numbers. When you wish to highlight the success of any corporate giving program, be honest about the data. There are few things that will drive people away faster than getting caught lying about your charitable efforts. There are software programs available that can help you easily keep track and analyze every aspect of your social responsibility plan, making it easy for your to present reports to everyone from your employees to your shareholders to the general public.
About the Author:
Sebastian Troup enjoys writing about philantrophic solutions for businesses and non profit organizations. To get further examples of corporate social responsibility, or to find help setting up a corporate charity giving program, please check out the Truist website now.
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