Community Marketing Tips

Most of us are also part of one or more online communities with the expectation, I believe, of making some sort of connection with the other members. So I ask you, how active are you in your communities, how visible are you/your company in the real world?

Not only do you need a strategy, a plan to ensure your online persona achieves results, but you also need to take an active role in the real world as well. There are many different ways to do so:

Sponsor an event; Adopt a classroom or school; Donate to a local non-profit; or Use your company name when you volunteer.

Sponsor an event: Choose an event that's relevant to your industry. Or chose an event where your target market is likely to be found. Sponsorship doesn't have to include footing the entire bill - you could simply pay for part of the costs in exchange for logo/name recognition in the program or a banner. Or you might pay for part of the amenities, again with your logo prominently displayed. Different ways to get attention for your company - just make sure to choose the right audience for your efforts.

Adopt a classroom or school: We all know the school system is in trouble. What about the ones nearest to you in your area? Adopt a classroom by purchasing supplies or equipment or pay the tuition for the students. Maybe you could even pay to keep athletics or music available in a school. Feeling a little tapped out? Hold a fundraiser to pay for any of the aforementioned. Every bit helps.

Donate to a local non-profit. For their launch party, Pink Passport Society asked the guests to bring donations for a local domestic violence women's shelter. You can do the same - hold an event and in lieu of charging admission, ask the attendees to bring in an item to donate and get admitted for free. If you still charge, donate part of the procees to an area charity.

Use your company name when you volunteer. There are so many way you can volunteer in your community, from working at an event or donating your products or services. Again, while altruistic in nature, you do need some level of visibility to benefit. So put your community activities on your company website, in your newsletter, or possibly even a relevant press release. Check the calendar and tie your Press Release to a hot news event or even a holiday - this will almost guarantee you more exposure.

What's your ROI for all this work? It won't necessarily immediately turn into revenue. It may also be slightly labor intensive, but periodic efforts that generate community visibility in the community will also generate a lot of positive good will, and likely generate enough curiosity for new prospects to check you out - or even current customers to give you another look!

So now you're ready to use one or more of these strategies and get noticed this year. There's still plenty of time!

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