Giving Tuesday (11/29) is right around the corner and thanks to social media, it has become a global movement for charitable giving. Consumers feel more driven to contribute to a charitable cause during the holidays, and non-profit organizations are acting on this fact to help boost their efforts around Giving Tuesday. Companies are also finding this to be a perfect opportunity to campaign for their partner non-profit organizations. 

Some benefits of taking part in Giving Tuesday as a company:

• Boost employee morale.
• Connect with your customers.
• Help fulfill your corporate social responsibility goals.

Some ways your company can participate in Giving Tuesday:

• Create a fundraiser and commit to gift matching.
• Set up a volunteer day for you and your company.
• Donate a portion of sales to a charitable organization.
• Sponsor or help organize a fundraising event. 

If your company or team is already participating in Giving Tuesday, make sure you’re maximizing the following opportunities to run a successful, consumer-facing Giving Tuesday campaign:

Promote in advance: This may sound like a given, but we’ve found that in some cases, companies fall short in leveraging their communication tools or in timing their messaging appropriately. Make sure to vocalize your campaign and its goals, and detail how others can participate, allowing plenty of  time in advance. Strategize creative ways to implement the message into your consumer-facing communications, including newsletters, social media, email and on your website. 

Get creative: There will be a lot of competing campaigns during this period of time. While people would love to give to many causes, they will likely commit to one or two. Make sure your campaign’s creative and messaging stands out and share why this cause matters to you and your audience. Some great ways to do this are to share real stories, show the impact of the cause, or share visually powerful images.

Be active on social: Social media will play a central role in your Giving Tuesday campaign. Make sure you’ve planned how to promote your campaign on social and that you’re capitalizing on the following actions 

• Tagging. Tag the partners, vendors, organizations, and key figures; all of whom are participating to help cross-market your campaign.
• Use appropriate hashtags. Don’t forget to include #GivingTuesday and research the relevant and popular hashtags to use for the cause and organization you’re supporting. 

Consider Paid Media: If you’re investing in the aforementioned steps, you should consider allocating a budget to promote your campaign. This may mean boosting your social posts or creating a paid digital campaign to ensure that your messaging reaches your target audience. The early bird does get the worm and you’ll want to be strategic in getting your campaign in front of your audience ahead of other brands. 

Promote your success: Just because your fundraiser or efforts are over doesn’t mean your campaign should be. Plan how to share your success with your employees, target audiences, and your stakeholders. Share via blog posts, social media, and newsletters, and don’t forget to thank those who participated in your campaign. Doing so will captivate the interest of your audience, make them feel close to your efforts, deepen their trust in your brand, and may even encourage them to take action beyond your campaign. 

If you’ll miss out on participating in Giving Tuesday this year, it’s alright, it falls at the same time each year so your brand has time to prepare a strategic campaign in advance.

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