At Smith Kroeger, we strive to accelerate our clients by accomplishing their marketing goals, but as a company we don’t stop there. Smith Kroeger has been building successful brands locally, regionally and nationally since 1962 in Omaha, Nebraska, and we know the importance of a strong and involved community.
If you’re a small-business owner looking for ways to make authentic connections in the community while simultaneously improving your brand reputation and public awareness, consider some different ways you and your employees can get involved.
5 ways a business can get involved in its community:
1. Shop and Partner Local
Shopping locally makes an investment back into your community. For every $100 spent in your area, around $68 returns back into your local community, while only around $43 stays when you shop at a chain store.
Area businesses can support each other by partnering to cater lunches from local restaurants, printing branded merchandise at an in-town shop, ordering office supplies in-store rather than online, featuring neighborhood businesses on your social media and so much more. Being mindful is the key to shopping local.
2. Promote Volunteering
In every community there are many opportunities for people to get involved with nonprofits, but a big reason people don’t volunteer is they don’t have the time. Encouraging employees to take PTO to volunteer or scheduling opportunities during office hours not only gives them a chance to make time for giving back, it helps employees feel more connected to the company and the leadership teams they’re working for.
3. Donate to a Local Cause
Same as donating your valuable time volunteering, donating financially to an area cause or nonprofit organization is invaluable as well, and can open the doors for additional volunteering opportunities in the future. Can’t swing a financial contribution this year? Consider donating your business’s services at a discounted rate. Donating your time, money or event space makes a big impact within a local organization.
4. Become a Mentor
A mentorship can be between colleagues, a professional and a student, or business owner to business owner. Learn and grow from each other. A mentorship program within a business’s organization builds employee engagement, increases employee retention and improves productivity. Also, getting involved in mentorship helps fuel success within a community’s youth. How can you share what you know to grow people around you?
5. Start an Internship Program
An internship program increases the local workforce in a community by retaining young workers. Interns can bring energy and a positive work ethic, which can improve a business’s work culture. Interns are generally eager to learn more and easily accept any undertakings.
There are many ways to get involved in the neighborhood and it’s important to make your presence known. Getting involved shows the community that you care, but it also builds relationships and generates trust with your customers that can lead to even more business down the road.
A community is only as strong as the people who decide to get involved. Reveal the human side of your business and get out there!
