#GivingTuesday: Beta-Test Your Corporate Cause Marketing Plan
November is upon us and that means big things for retailers. Even though the discounts start earlier each year, the post-Thanksgiving commercial holidays of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday continue to draw in record sales. But before the last few months of the year were defined by crazed consumerism, they were more commonly referred to as, "The Giving Season.” The holiday spirit seemed to inspire people around the world to give back more generously than the rest of the year - thus serving as a critical time for nonprofits' fundraising.
So, What's the Big Deal? Without those year-end donations, many nonprofits struggle to cover even their lowest operating costs. However, in 2012, the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at 92Y found a way to bridge the gap between seasonal commercialism and charitable giving. 92Y wisely leveraged the power of social media to launch a groundbreaking movement called Giving Tuesday. The Tuesday following Thanksgiving, people all over the world are encouraged to take meaningful action and inspire others to do the same by using the tags #MyGivingStory and #GivingTuesday. From donations and volunteering, to acts of kindness and advocacy, people rally to reclaim the season of giving. In 2017, Giving Tuesday yielded over 1 million social mentions and 21.7 billion media impressions!
Think About It: Employers have felt a push to become more involved in their communities and provide employees a way to participate. But developing an authentic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative is a big commitment - finding the right cause, the right partners and the right message is a complex process that can easily backfire. So instead of trying to build something from nothing, why not use this year's Giving Tuesday (11/27) to gather vital stakeholder input while boosting employee engagement? GivingTuesday.org makes cause marketing the event easy with free resources like media kits, campaign schedules and engagement ideas.
Top 10 Tips to streamline your company's first #GivingTuesday campaign:
Take a poll to determine how employees wish to participate in #GivingTuesday. Would people prefer to volunteer time, donate materials, or even contribute to a pre-existing local effort?
Highlight the unique aspects of your business and play to your industry strengths. What unique skill, competency, material or resource does your business offer that could have a positive impact on your community?
Find a local nonprofit that fits your company's purpose, mission and values. Create a short list of ideal nonprofit partners and see if those organizations already have a Giving Tuesday campaign in the works. With the right partner, the same amount of effort can result in double the impact.
Take ownership in the campaign by branding your own hashtag to use alongside #GivingTuesday and #MyGivingStory. This creates external awareness for your business while engaging internal participation. (Bonus: Make this process fun with a contest to see who can come up with the best campaign hashtag!)
Set a goal and measure against it. Determine how you will quantify campaign participation, media reach and overall success. This is a critical step to cause marketing and a great time to test strategies for larger campaigns in the future.
Give context to your company's involvement. Tell the real story of how, who, what, where and WHY your business is participating in Giving Tuesday. Validate your involvement by sharing how your team determined the cause that best resonated with your company's purpose.
Share your story whenever and wherever you can. Giving Tuesday was built on the premise of prolific social media sharing, so don't be shy about positing loads of campaign updates. Use email, social media, the Giving Tuesday Blog and your company's website to promote the effort yourself while recruiting external support with brand ambassadors, community centers of influence, and your nonprofit partner's network.
Make it fun for people to get involved and follow along. Now is a great time to give your brand some personality. Gain additional exposure by posting attention grabbing videos, pictures and stories that will encourage your audience to share with their own network.
Make the big day, a big deal. A cause campaign takes time, planning and effort - so make the day-of a special event for participants and supporters. Share with your community how your team is giving back with several Facebook and Instagram posts and at least six tweets throughout the day.
Say thank you and share campaign results. Let participants and supporters know how well the campaign went and specific ways they made an impact. Create a branded infographic depicting your company's campaign metrics against its intended goals.
[Triple] Bottom Line: Giving Tuesday presents widespread marketing opportunities for your company and is a perfect time to beta-test bigger CSR proposals. Use the resources found on givingtuesday.org and throughout rightcauseconsulting.com to get familiar with corporate cause marketing. A Giving Tuesday campaign is not only a fun way to give back, but a resource for gathering vital data to help create a successful marketing plan for 2019.
Ready to profit with purpose? RightCause offers consulting services, educational resources and operational guides for purpose discovery, cause marketing campaigns, events and fundraising. Learn more at rightcauseconsulting.com or email kwright@rightcauseconsulting.com to get started!