Business plans often focus on improving company growth through metrics like sales and recruiting, but philanthropy connects those factors in one straightforward effort. Starting new long-term charity partnerships or annual contributions benefits organizations in more ways than one. Philanthropic marketing can give you an edge, and your team can count on it to achieve more success.
These are a few practical ways philanthropy aids businesses while you give back to the world. Consider how they could benefit your organization to determine which charitable efforts would be most effective.
1. It Expands Your Recruiting Pool
Companies can only become great if they employ the best people. Recruiters have enormous responsibilities while sifting through applications and interviewing candidates. It’s nearly impossible to do their job and get their company closer to quarterly or annual goals if their applicant pool remains small.
Millennials are taking over the workplace. The entire generation is now out of college and in full-time positions or looking for employment, given that the millennial age group stopped in 1996 and the Gen Z kids began in 1997. Employers must provide what they want in a workplace if they’re going to recruit and retain a younger team.
Nearly 66% of millennials want to work for companies that give back to charities, so organizations that lack any philanthropic messaging or efforts will see fewer applicants from that generation. Starting even one campaign and advertising it through philanthropic marketing will make your company more appealing to millennials who are fresh out of college or have decades of experience in their field.
2. It Creates Lasting Brand Loyalty
Before the internet connected everyone, it was much easier for people to live in their bubbles without thinking about the outside world. Now everyone’s much more aware of worldwide efforts that need charitable attention. People are also quick to realize that single-person donations won’t make nearly the same impact as a significant corporate contribution, so they want to buy from brands that support the causes close to their hearts.
Marketing campaigns take these efforts off your webpage and into mainstream conversations. Current and potential consumers will discover which charities you donate to and how your donations make a difference because headlines will appear in their newsfeeds.
Companies must form a marketing plan to recognize their new philanthropic campaigns without appearing as if they’re patting themselves on the back. Consumers will see through posts and articles that brag or show off. Genuine care for your philanthropic causes will result in lasting brand loyalty if people see that through effective marketing strategies.
3. It Can Improve Your Carbon Footprint
Going green is more popular than ever before. People use less electricity and conserve their environmental impact at home, but they also want their purchases to support their lifestyles. That means companies need to consider the planet’s well-being through philanthropy. The resulting marketing can give you an edge because it results in long-term change.
For example, one company joined forces with a foreign solar energy foundation to help prevent deforestation in Madagascar. According to a post about the project, 120,000 hectares of Madagascan rainforest are destroyed every year, with much of that going toward lumber for fuel. By assisting in green, solar energy efforts to reduce the need for wood burning, these philanthropic efforts could make a real difference in rainforest on the other side of the world.
4. It Makes You More Competitive
When consumers, potential applicants and employees recognize new ways a company gives back to communities, it makes it more competitive in a few ways. Consumers will note the philanthropic change and lean more toward your brand than your competitors. They’ll want to support your efforts because they care about the same causes or appreciate that their purchases will fund a major campaign making a difference.
More consumers mean more sales. Improved numbers lead to company expansion, like growing your team through recruiting periods. You could use the extra room in your budget to offer your employees the latest forms of training, like virtual classes. They’ll refine their career-relevant skills while also potentially continuing their training online if they want to learn more about their field or work for a new branch within the company.
Applications will pour in when people know a company cares about supporting personal growth. It all stems from marketing your philanthropic efforts to make your brand more competitive and drawing in new consumers that stick around long-term.
5. It Engages Current Employees
No one wants to work for a business that makes them feel unsupported. Even if it’s an international brand, employees should feel seen and valued for their contributions. A business owner can’t know every team member if they employ thousands of people, but neglecting engagement strategies results in higher turnover rates.
Engagement can happen in a few different ways. Team leaders, managers and supervisors can work with people individually through meetings and inter-office contests that get people to know each other. Engagement can also happen outside of the office, which is where philanthropy comes into play.
Philanthropic efforts also include volunteering. Actions speak louder than words, so companies should combine financial gifts to charities with volunteer opportunities for employees. They’re an opportunity for people to build relationships outside of the workplace and bring that team-building connection back to benefit their collaboration skills.
A recent PwC study found that 87% of employees are less likely to resign if they consider themselves engaged with their team or organization. There’s no better way to foster a healthy work environment and make people feel like a team than by creating memories at volunteer sites.
Something as simple as serving meals at a food kitchen will improve employee happiness and reduce turnover rates. It all starts with philanthropic marketing and a desire to make a difference as a company.
6. It Improves Your Budget
When business owners first think of charitable giving, tax deductions might be the first thing that comes to mind. It’s a powerful incentive that makes the largest brands donate more than they might without it because they can of their taxable income to reduce their annual tax payments.
Philanthropic marketing can give you an edge with this newfound pocket of reacquired cash. Use it to expand interdepartmental budgets and empower the marketing team to do more. They could hire new talent, increase the number of campaigns and focus on making more effective content.
Additional funding through charitable tax deductions will add to the new possibilities for your company after philanthropic marketing makes charitable giving greater importance to your brand.
Philanthropic Marketing Can Give You an Edge
Many business owners and team leaders shy away from the idea of creating campaigns focused on financial giving and volunteer efforts, but it’s a great idea for company growth. Now that you know how philanthropic marketing can give you an edge, put it into action. Use each post or ad to connect with new consumers, build employee relationships and make your business more successful.
Devin Partida writes about topics concerning tech and the internet. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of ReHack.com.
