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Help Your Business By Helping Your Community

There are many ways that you can help your business by helping your community. Getting involved in your community generates leads, brings in new business, creates networking opportunities and benefits a small business owner in many ways. Businesses that positively impact the community create strong connections with their target audience, build trust and loyalty among customers, better promote their brand and public image, forge beneficial partnerships and alliances, and are highly valued by the community for their goodwill. In an era where customers value businesses with ties to an inspiring purpose and mission, there has never been a better time to get involved with the local community. By using the following suggestions from The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) as a guide, your small business can make an even bigger positive impact on its local community.

Partner with a Local Charity Organization
When businesses partner with local charity organizations, they create a link that further promotes and raises awareness about both companies. Local customers are more likely to choose to work with businesses that have positive ties within their community over larger, well-established brands. This is a huge advantage for a small business or micro business owner that is growing a business. A local charity is likely to have the biggest business impact because charitable donations will be most visible to consumers in the area. Many charitable organizations will promote its business partners at events and through marketing materials because they understand that a return on the investment is important for the company.

Businesses should feature their involvement with the charitable organization on their website and social media platforms for even more outreach. Local news outlets are more likely to pick up stories that have positive ties to the community, so businesses should send out a press release announcing the partnership as well. The partnership is an easy, cost-efficient way to amplify your company’s marketing campaign and promote its initiative to a new target audience. Charity organizations that are well-established within the community can really boost your company’s marketing efforts for less money and in less time than most small businesses can do on their own, which is a true benefit when building a business.

Stay Active in Your Community
Staying active in the community allows businesses to generate more leads, build new business partnerships, and attract high-quality employees to potentially work for the company. Aside from partnering with a charity, there are many opportunities for small businesses to support and sponsor multiple non-profit events. Many charities provide opportunities for sponsoring golf tournaments and other fun events that not only raise money for great causes, but also provide networking opportunities for companies.

It is important to actively seek out events and opportunities in the community to promote your company’s brand and reach new audiences. New connections can quickly lead to an increase in revenue for an entrepreneur. They also provide a great way for a small business or micro business to create a positive company culture that their employees want to be involved in. Not only can businesses choose which events and causes they want to be involved in, they can include employees in the decision making to improve employee morale. Your company will generate a positive public image that others will want to support, partner with, and be a part of.

Sponsor Sports Leagues
A great way for businesses to build brand awareness, increase visibility, and create trust and loyalty among customers is to sponsor sports leagues. Sports leagues have some of the most loyal fanbases within a community because of how effective they are at creating a strong brand. By sponsoring a sports league in your community, you can take advantage of the great branding power and marketing techniques that sports leagues are known for to a large audience. Promote your company by integrating your brand in creative ways like with a logo on the scoreboard, jersey, giveaways and in other ways that are visible to fans. Many families attend sporting events so a family business could see even more of a return in investment when sponsoring a sports league.

As an added bonus, your company’s ties with a local sports league will showcase the positive impact it wants to have on the community and create positive brand recognition. Sports leagues not only bring fanbases joy and entertainment, but fans develop strong emotional bonds with their hometown teams and the brands associated with it. Your company’s association with a local sports league gives it creditability and helps build trust within the community in ways that large businesses have a harder time acquiring. Companies that take advantage of forming ties with local sports leagues will see an increase in new customer interest in no time, while supporting a great cause.

Host an Event for Your Customers, Partners and The Community
There are many reasons to host an event for your customers, partners, and the community. When starting a business, it can serve as a way to introduce yourself and build your brand to new clients. You can also host an annual event to show your appreciation as a business owner to your clients and customers, which also helps build loyalty and trust in your brand. If you open the event to the community, it is an opportunity to form new business alliances and partnerships, and possibly recruit new talent to work for you. Fundraising events allow you to raise money for your company and the charities it supports.

Companies can give back to their customers and partners by hosting an event with food, drinks, music, fundraising initiatives, and more for a night full of enjoyment. It is also a great way for you and your employees to get to know its customers and partners on a new level and possibly discover new ways you can better serve them. Events that your company hosts for the community can bring you in contact with businesses that complement your company’s mission and new customers. If your company has a venue that serves the community such as a restaurant, that is even more of a reason to host an event and showcase it to the community. Overall, it will strengthen your community as a networking opportunity and shine your brand in a positive light.

Start Making a Positive Impact on Your Community Today
Aside from the positive impact that your company’s mission achieves, it can make an even bigger impact through community involvement. By partnering with a charity, sponsoring a sports team, hosting an event, or simply staying active in the community, you will create hype around your company. Actively connecting with your clients, partners, and potential customers on a personal level will increase their connection and engagement with your brand for potential lifelong benefits. When you have a reputation as a contributive member of the local community through business endeavors, you will become known for your positive impact, and you and your business will reap the many benefits!