Heather Satterfield

1 of the all-time ways to raise coin for your business or organization is by getting corporate sponsors. Many large corporations are seeking smaller businesses, non-profits and organizations to invest in. They may desire to do this for a variety of reasons. If it's a charity or cause, provides the corporation with expert publicity. If it'due south a business, information technology lets them arrive on the ground floor of potentially profitable try.

If y'all want to attract corporate sponsors, social media provides you lot with many useful tools for doing and so. Twitter and LinkedIn are specially useful for this purpose. Let's see how yous can use these and other social media sites in your quest for sponsors.

Develop Your Ain Platforms

Before you tin can even begin to attract corporate sponsors, you should make sure you're ready. In improver to having a great proposal, you too need your own potent online presence, especially on social media platforms. When you contact potential sponsors, one of the offset things they're going to do is look up your website and social media pages. If yous've contacted someone on Twitter and you only have 20 Twitter followers, you aren't going to make the best impression.

You lot want to build a growing and organic social media presence on your chosen platforms. The way you do this will depend on the nature of your business organization and industry. If video is one of your specialties, it's always impressive to have a pop YouTube channel. Having lots of engaged followers on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn besides helps. It's about more than numbers, though. Everyone knows nowadays that anyone can buy Twitter followers or Facebook likes. You lot demand to make the endeavour to attract engaged, long-term social media followers. This volition put you in a much more than powerful position when it comes to getting sponsors.

Locating Potential Sponsors

Most of your potential sponsors will be on multiple social networks. It'due south therefore best to connect with them in as many ways every bit possible. There'due south no ane "best" site for connecting, as information technology really depends on the habits and preferences of the people with whom your trying to connect. Some people are more active on Twitter, others on Facebook or LinkedIn.

You need to connect with individuals, not but businesses. It's therefore not enough to similar or follow the business pages of companies. Subsequently identifying as many companies in your niche as possible, y'all'll want to identify specific people in that organisation. This includes not only the owner, CEO or CFO of a company, but any influential people with whom you might connect.

Since information technology doesn't take any fourth dimension or coin to follow people, you lot should seek to connect with as many people in a company that interests you as possible. All you need is to develop a relationship with ane key person in the company. And developing relationships is the crucial concept here.

Focus on Developing Relationships

Sending someone y'all just met a message such equally "please sponsor my business" is most likely not going to work. You need to develop relationships with people. This may sound similar a long and drawn out process, but go on in mind that the earth of social media operates at lightening speed. You lot can exchange multiple letters with someone over the course of a few days.

Here are a few tips for developing relationships with central people in corporations.

  • Show a genuine interest in their activities. When you message someone, it's good to refer to an article, blog mail service, video or talk they've given. Refer to something specific so they know you're paying attention.
  • Share their content. This includes retweeting, sharing Facebook posts and otherwise linking to their content. You can practice this on your own social media pages, your blog or anywhere yous're agile online.
  • Connect with as many influencers in your manufacture as possible. This goes beyond companies you think might sponsor you. The more relationships you have, the better your chances of finding the right sponsor. Having strategic alliances enhances your status and it too gives you access to people who know people in the companies yous do want to approach.

How to Asking Sponsorships

If yous're confident yous accept a neat proposal, y'all can contact people yous've only met online. The to a higher place proposition to first plant some kind of human relationship is usually best to follow, though. Either way, you have to exist careful how y'all discussion your request.

  • Ask for a meeting, phone call or Skype session. Yous aren't going to secure a sponsorship via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn message or email. Your goal using such platforms is to open the door to a real conversation. You should create a compelling pitch that makes them curious plenty to at least listen to your proposal.
  • Make sure you emphasize the benefit to their company. information technology'due south obvious that you're going to be getting something from this partnership. But information technology'due south up to you to show them how it volition benefit them.
  • Contact lots of people. Don't get overly attached to the idea of getting a particular sponsor. You lot may have to contact hundreds or fifty-fifty thousands of people in many companies earlier you find the right match.
  • Send a powerful sponsorship letter. This is a alphabetic character that outlines the benefits to both you and your sponsor. You tin can start with a template and suit information technology to specific companies. It'southward best to send this letter in one case you have an existing relationship with the prospect.

Using social media to attract corporate sponsors is a powerful strategy. You don't have to limit yourself to social media. You should besides utilize e-mail and offline tactics. With so many business owners and executives active on social media, however, you should definitely non overlook this method of finding sponsors.