Hello again, it’s Katie, your public relations–obsessed friend here at GCM. In last month’s blog article, PR 101, I did a deep-dive into defining PR and describing many of the ways it’s used in a professional setting. Today, I want to bring it home and detail how cause marketing and PR work together in beautiful harmony.

Cause Marketing & PR: A Match Made in Business Heaven

We’ve explored exactly WHAT PR is and HOW it works, but now it’s time to learn WHY your organization’s cause marketing efforts need a complimentary public relations strategy.

• To Create Awareness: Before you ask: no, there is nothing wrong with wanting to share all of the goodness you’re doing in the community with the people who live in and do business in that community. Creating awareness can help bring other organizations and individual supporters to the cause, growing community ownership. By advocating for a cause or demonstrating social responsibility, your organization is setting a powerful example and sharing its platform in a beneficial way. And when it comes to telling that story, no one else is going to communicate your community work better or more passionately than you and your nonprofit partners (or your team at Good Cause Marketing). Don’t hesitate to let everyone know what you’re up to. People want to know that the businesses they patronize are focused on more than just making money, which leads me to my next point…
• To Build Trust: The cause-related efforts that your company makes are known to you and your team, but without sharing this good work, how will the public know how invested you are in giving back? Believe it or not, not every business owner cares about the community they are part of. Many businesses are only looking out for their bottom lines. You’re different: you stand for something and you’re making a positive change in the world. Letting the public know about your organization’s values will build trust and loyalty among your current and future customers for years to come.
• To Boost Attendance and Participation: There’s nothing worse than hosting a community event, fundraiser, or collection drive only to have low attendance or participation. How awful would you feel if the cause that was so close to your heart was ultimately not helped by you and your business? With a strategically timed press release and persuasive nudging, Good Cause Marketing can help generate buzz, bump up those RSVPs, or increase donations to make your efforts a true success.

Final Thoughts

A strong public relations strategy will help your company make the biggest possible impact through its cause marketing initiatives. Let’s talk about how Good Cause Marketing can implement a customized, coordinated plan for your organization’s marketing and PR efforts.