- Reading time: 2 mins
- Topics:
- Branding
- Event Marketing
- Holiday Marketing
- PR & Community Relations
The holiday season is the season of giving. Both businesses and individuals celebrate this season by giving the gifts of time, money, and other resources to their favorite charities. For businesses, being involved with the community is a great way to build their brand, making these gifts ones that keep giving all year long.
Here are a few gifts that come from branding your business through community involvement:
No good deeds go unnoticed. Whether you donate money to a homeless shelter, spend a day volunteering at a soup kitchen, or hold a benefit concert for an animal shelter, people will be watching. Social media and traditional media are great places to promote your charitable contributions. Your followers and other community members will take notice and remember your brand in a good light.
Practicing what you preach. One major step in branding a business is developing a set of values. Some businesses have a mission statement but seldom practice the values outlined in it. By getting involved with an organization that promotes your values, you will not only be putting your name out there but your values as well. This will build trust with community members, including many of your clients.
United for a good cause. A common goal unites people, and the cause you support through your community involvement will do just that. Along with connecting your business with community members, clients, and potential clients, charitable contributions will bring your employees together as well. Taking a day off from regular workplace routines to take part in a fun volunteering activity could be just the morale booster your staff needs during the holiday season.
Time and money may be limited during the holiday season, but there are many ways that small businesses can give back to their communities. This December, Pulse used its own marketing funds for service projects that included sponsoring the Festival of Lights parade and holiday dinners for local shelters. We did this to set an example for other small businesses to give back any way they can.
Community involvement is only one way to brand your business.