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It’s more rewarding to work at a company that does its part to make the world better. You can do it without pushing an overly-political agenda or getting ultra-hippie; here are three ideas to get you started inspiring people:
1> To help local communities
2> To be eco-friendly
3> To do awesome things
4> Check it out: Oddly Specific
1> To help their communities
Give your customers a little incentive to help their communities. At the local level, it can be an opportunity for you to connect with customers by asking them to help volunteer at charitable events. On a larger scale, think like Disney, who is partnering with charities across the country for “Give a Day. Get a Disney Day.” The program promises a free one-day admission for people who volunteer for a day of service with a participating organization in their community.
The Lesson: You don’t have to donate big money to make big differences in lots of communities. Think about the creative ways you can encourage customers to give smaller charities the one thing they often need most: volunteers.
2> To be eco-friendly
Encourage your customers to be a little greener with a perk or two for those who practice Earth-friendly habits. After watching cars idle in line at a neighboring fast-food outlet, Evan Dohrmann, owner of Portland’s Little Red Bike Cafe, started a bike-thru lane for cyclists and pedestrians. Evan also gives these customers a special 50-cent discount and free use of a tire pump. It’s not a huge giveaway or something he has to put big money into — it’s just a nice gesture that brings in new customers and maybe even encourages a few existing ones to practice healthier, greener habits.
The Lesson: Being eco-friendly isn’t a passing fad, it’s something more and more of your customers are beginning to think about in everything they do — so it can’t hurt to start building greener options into your business.
Learn More: R&I
3> To do awesome things
Inspire your fans to do great things for themselves, their companies, or their world. If you empower them with some great advice or amazing ideas, they’ll share it, remember it, and find ways to return the favor. A lot of companies do this by giving away ideas through blogs and newsletters. Our friends at Brains on Fire took it a step further with their Tequila Shots Manifesto. Tequila Shots — a reference to their celebration when they reach an internal goal — is 67 pages of inspiring ideas on how to stay focused, how to do work that truly matters, and how to remember to have fun. It’s rules they live by, but presented in such a way that lots of people have taken bits of it and made it their own.
The Lesson: Inspire people to do great things by sharing your ideas, your beliefs, and the lessons you’ve learned.
Learn More: Brains on Fire
4> Check it out: Oddly Specific
Check out this home of “peculiarly exacting signs” — they’ve got tons of examples of postings, street signs, and advertisements that are, well, oddly specific.
Check it out: OddlySpecific.com
Clorox: Using gaming strategies to grow community
BlogWell: How Big Brands Use Social Media
