Helping someone in need is always a good deed – we all know that. You may not have thought about it as a way to also grow your business. Many businesses have a long history of contributing to various charity events and helping those in need. Not only are they making a positive difference in the lives of others, they are also creating a great reputation for themselves and promoting their business to many people who may not have otherwise known about them.
I’m sure you have seen posters and other info for charities or events that lists the sponsors and businesses who have donated some type of gift. Newspapers and other local news will typically follow these stories. As a result, your name will most likely be featured in many news stories. You can also find internet-based events to take part in, and the news will spread around the globe.
Even small local stories are often picked up by news wire services or bloggers, and can quickly spread all over the world. Who knows how many people could read an article about the event and see your name and business info.
To find a charity event you might be interested in, start thinking about some causes you would like to promote. Do you know someone who happens to suffer from an illness? Help their cause – consult the Google-verse to see if any events are being held that support finding a cure for that particular illness. Are you an animal lover? Find some animal organizations and see what type of events they are holding that you can participate in. Want to put an end to domestic violence or global warming? As you can see, the choices are limitless.
If you can’t find an event you want to take part in, start your own! This can be done locally or online. If you are going to hold your event locally and you want to offer some prizes or hold a raffle, ask other business owners and citizens to help you out by donating a prize. You may get a big response of other local citizens who are willing to help you organize the event, especially if it is going to benefit another person or organization in the local area.
Taking this concept online is very easy to do. Again, you can join forces with other online businesses and you can each ask your mailing lists for donations or you can offer a special sale on an item, with all proceeds going to the charity. You can also hold a contest or other prize drawing.
Don’t forget to write and send press releases to your local media as well as to online press release submission sites. Ask the charity and other businesses involved to do the same. The press coverage you receive will benefit everyone involved. The charity event will receive more awareness, and hopefully a bigger turnout. This will, of course, lead to more money being raised which helps the charity. Of course, the more publicity the event receives, the more publicity your business will receive as well.