Use Social Media to Give Back to Others

Social media has a wide range of uses for a wide variety of people.

When it comes to individuals, they oftentimes use social networking sites to let others (friends and strangers) know what they are up to, discuss an array of topics from politics to sports, and put social media to work to network about career and other life opportunities.

For the business man or woman, they will often turn to social sites in order to promote their brands, network with others in their respective industries, and look for new employees, new vendors, and new opportunities to grow their companies.

As you can see, there is a plethora of opportunities for both personal and professional advancement on social media.

The question then becomes, how are you using social networking to improve your life or the lives of others?

Social Networking Opens up New Doors

First take a look at how your business can use social media to help others who may not have all the opportunities that you have available to you when running a company.

For many businesses, it isn’t just about making as many dollars as possible, it is also the notion and the good feelings that come with helping those in the local community and even nationwide when possible.

When undertaking projects and programs to help those in need, social networking becomes a great tool with which to work with.

Whether you are well-known companies like Target, Nike, McDonald’s, Sands Las Vegas, Coke or any number of other famous brands, social media is a winning means to turn your focus to.

With social media, you can:

• Send out tweets, shares, pins and more about your latest philanthropy work and other such projects. Are you raising money to help a community or communities in need of help following a deadly storm or storms? Using social sites to promote the fundraising efforts can assist in bringing in much needed donations;
• Post about projects your team members are doing to help those in the local and perhaps even national communities. Maybe some of your staff will be running or walking in fundraisers to raise cash for a particular disease or illness, perhaps after a community has been devastated by severe weather etc. No matter the reasoning behind such fundraisers, social media is again a great vehicle to drive the message home to the public;
• Turn to sites like Instagram and Pinterest to show the public all of the different events your office is taking part in. While words are great, visuals oftentimes deliver more of an impact. The picture of one or more of your employees working with kids in the community on their day off is sure to elicit positive responses. You can also post videos (YouTube is great for this), wherein you show your company being active to help others. Even if you’re not physically out in the community, posting a video of team members packing stuff to send to troops serving abroad etc. is another positive vibe for your brand.

The Personal Touch

When it comes to the personal side of using social media to give back to others; there are just as many opportunities as businesses have, oftentimes more.

One way to go about this is by regularly posting to your social sites. In doing so, you build up your respective audiences instead of having minimal followers here and there.

Tweet, share, pin and more when you are doing volunteer work in the community.

This is especially a great opportunity for college students as they move closer to the job world and their career choices.

Having companies see via your social posts that you are volunteering for others is definitely a bonus for you. Not only does it show caring on your part, but it demonstrates an ability to work with others, something all companies have high on their list of job applicant qualifications.

You can also turn to social media in order to find civic groups, agencies, businesses and others who are looking for volunteers to help them with their respective causes.

Go to their Facebook or Twitter pages, look to see what they are in need of in terms of volunteer help, and then get involved.

When you stop and think about it, social media has many layers to it, one of which is giving back to others who need a helping hand.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

from Darlene Milligan http://ift.tt/1TWjK3O via transformational marketing
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