2. So you’ve been promoting your cause like crazy on social media...
Now what?
Once you’ve gained some sort of following online, it’s time you take your campaign offline and
into your community.
In order to expand your campaign efforts you may have to take advantage of the more traditional
marketing methods like:
Print material Fundraising events Business check-ins
3. 1. Promoting your cause through print material
Include your advertisements in print publications like your local
newspapers or by buying a small magazine ads. Distribute material:
hang flyers in high traffic areas or in store windows, hand out business
cards.
When creating posters and flyers, make sure your message is sweet and
clear. Showcase what you are doing. Choose a colorful and eye-catching
picture and grab the viewer’s attention and tell a story about your cause.
Place them in prominent areas or suggest your supporters spread them
to their friends and family!
Don’t forget to write a press release! Press releases are written statements
about events, services, products or people that are usually sent to members
of the media. They are excellent promotional tools because they create
quality backlinking as well as increase search engine exposure. Write your
story in third-person and make sure that the first paragraph always includes
answers to the following questions:
“Who? What? When? Where? Why?”
Proofread your press release extensively then submit it a service like
PRWeb or PRLog.
4. 2. Plan an Event!
Create an event that highlights your efforts and allows your supporters and people in your
local community to feel closer to your cause. It can be anything, from a comedy night at the
local club to a school bake sale. Think about how you can activate your community by
appealing to your audience.
5. Set Your Objectives
Don’t do anything before answering all these. Understanding the mission, the purpose and the point of
your event leads to good planning and appropriate allocation of resources (time and money).
Set crystal-clear objectives
What specifically are you hoping to gain with this?
How are you planning to achieve and measure your goal?
Are you being realistic enough about it?
Do you have a clear timetable in mind?
6. Select An Appropriate Venue
There should be a connection between the cause you’re supporting, the
venue selected and the community being engaged.
Make sure you’re being sensible and smart about it.
7. Select An Appropriate Venue
The type of venue you choose will depend on:
The size of your gathering,
The activities you wish to provide,
The style and tone of the event,
The services offered by the venue,
And various geographical constraints that impact on member attendance → you don’t want to choose a venue
that’s far on the outskirts of the city, for example, and have attendance be considerably diminished.
8. Plan & Get Help
Plan the list of invites as well: targeting and
inviting the right people is key to a successful
event. Understand your main audience, the ones
willing to support your cause, and go to them.
Being caught off guard is the worst thing that can
happen to you so make sure you plan every little
detail of the event in advance. Also, be prepared
to answer all questions about your cause and why
you are doing this.
9. Assemble Your Team
Given the complexity of all this planning, it is impossible to do everything yourself. So make sure you
have the right sort of people available with the right sort of skills, then delegate the implementation of
the various aspects of the event to them.
Look for someone who is willing to contribute and who believes in your ideas, goals and overall cause.
Friends, family, even a neighbor who really trusts your endeavor can turn out to be of great help both
to the planning and preparation of the event and to the cause altogether.
10. Craft Your Message
Design the message of your cause & create an emotional moment.
It is vital to provide information that your guests can take home with them. These may be
simple facts and statistics about your cause and its impact and should not be complicated or
complex but should build confidence in your cause.
You should tailor specific messages and deliver them through the printed program, table
centerpieces, general event decor, whatever you think is more appropriate.
Also, there must be a moment at which the event grabs the audience and makes each
person attending aware of the cause being supported, its importance in the community and,
above all, the importance of the contribution by those attending.
11. Promote! Promote! Promote!
Remember to keep continually updating your event online on the days, weeks, months
leading to the offline experience. Prior preparation and building the buzz will lend to a very
successful offline event.
Don’t forget—People are perpetual sharers. They love to broadcast what they are doing.
Make it easier on them and help them engage in your event while they are there!
Consider the way that you can use social media to connect your guests around the
experience you’ve created for them:
live photo submissions, checkins, QR codes are a good place to start.
Advertise your twitter hashtags, FB page and other digital opportunities on non-digital
materials like flyers, signs, and even the stage. Arm your supporters with the right
information and watch your event market itself!
12. 3. Business check-ins
Check-in for Good also offers you the opportunity to reach out to businesses
and get them to shoulder your cause.
How does this work?
Easy!
Businesses register through Check-in for Good for free.
Each business determines a custom donation amount for each customer check-in.
Each time a customer checks-in at the supporting business, the business makes a
micro donation.
You get double promotion: via the business - their interest is to attract as many
customers as possible, and via your own campaign page - your interest is to send
your supporters to that specific business and have their check-ins translate into
donations for your cause.
13. Reaching Out To Businesses
Registering businesses may seem like a daunting task but with Check-in for Good’s pay-per-
visit model, businesses will be excited to hear how they can be more involved in the
community. Suggest a parent’s night out at a wine bar or a fun day for the kids playing laser
tag. The incentive for businesses to use Check-in for Good is to drive traffic into the store and
to support the community. Call, email or visit businesses and request to speak with the
General Manager. Tell them your story and explain how you can help them grow their
business!
14. Life is social!
See how we can help you take your campaign to the next level!
Online or offline, you can make a difference with Check-in for Good.
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