Is Posting Your Community Involvement Bragging or Marketing?

Stoney Creek Social Media Founder Dawn Renshaw defines community-led growth as showing up for the people around us and letting that goodwill shape our brand over time. 

This time on The Kindness Marketing Podcast, we dig into how to share community support on social media with honesty, protect trust, and stay clear about what we stand for. 

Episode Resources

Stoney Creek Social Media

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Transcript

Welcome And What Community-Led Growth Means

Richard Piet 0:07

I'm Richard Piet. Welcome to the Kindness Marketing Podcast. Dawn Renshaw, founder of Stoney Creek Social Media, is our expert about social media and the whole kindness component. Hello, Dawn.

Dawn Renshaw 0:22

Hello, Richard.

Volunteering As A Business Obligation

Richard Piet 0:24

So today we're talking about what you might call community-led growth. By that we mean exactly what?

Dawn Renshaw 0:34

Community involvement. I feel some ways like volunteering is just your obligation for taking up space on the planet. You know, I have young men in my business that go to the guys who give, and uh we support um Big Brothers, Big Sisters. I just really think that it's important that you that you support your community. You know, I remember a couple years ago when the tornadoes went through and the community, you know, rallied. And it's just what I feel like we do.

Sharing Service Without Sounding Like Bragging

Richard Piet 1:01

Aaron Powell Supporting your community means something different to different people. And this is the evaluating you have to do as an entity and saying, what do I want to show my support for in my community? Right. How do you balance the publicity about that? That is to say, if you're going to do this uh and you talked about it, taking pictures uh of your team as part of whatever that community event might have been. How do you uh is it a tightrope walk uh to to try and we're not bragging, but we want you to know we feel something for this organization. Here's what we did. I mean, is that tough?

Dawn Renshaw 1:43

Yeah, we have. I just had that or wrestled that that um discussion with a client not too long ago because they're like, we don't really want to brag. And it's like it's not bragging. I truly believe that it also brings awareness to that organization. And that's the way I look at it. You know, because I've had people that have come up to me and said, Hey, you know, I didn't realize that, you know, I talked about like big brothers, big sisters. I mean, it's like a few hours a month. It's not like this giant commitment. And the same thing that I do like with Youth for Christ or, you know, the Boys and Girls Club. It's it just brings awareness because it takes all of your audience and puts their platform in front of them. And also it it kind of encourages other people, like, hey, they volunteered, you know, we should volunteer.

Richard Piet 2:29

So I was going to bring that up. The idea that uh someone who might be a follower of yours sees something that you've done, a community-led effort that you may wish to align with, that may resonate like a testimonial or something.

Dawn Renshaw 2:46

Right. Right. To me, it's just a really neat thing to do is to be able to to help an organization. Um, like I said, we've been big supporters of guys who give. They were talking about like one of the organizations that they donated to, like their donation was like their entire annual budget.

Richard Piet 3:04

Oh my.

Dawn Renshaw 3:05

Yeah.

Richard Piet 3:06

Wow.

Dawn Renshaw 3:06

So um, you know, it it everyone gives a little bit and it winds up being a lot.

Richard Piet 3:12

Right. Uh power in numbers, as they say. If we're worried about the bragging part, uh do we only post it once? Is it different than maybe other posts or is it the same?

Dawn Renshaw 3:24

I don't look at it as bragging. I look at it as, you know, hey, we're supporting this company, this organization, you know, come and join us or or find one of your own. I mean, not everyone's gonna align with what I align with. Um, there's gonna be other organizations, other um concerns and campaigns, and and that's fine.

Richard Piet 3:44

Now,

Values, Faith, And Losing Clients

Richard Piet 3:45

there could be some landmines in this, right? Uh you know, somebody who's your client doesn't particularly align with maybe the organization you've aligned with. Is that risky? Is that common? What's the thought on that?

Dawn Renshaw 4:00

Interesting that you say that. Um, on my um LinkedIn profile, it says that I'm a Christian. And I had a gentleman reach out to me on LinkedIn in a direct message and says, Aren't you afraid that that's that you're gonna lose clients over that statement? And I said, You are absolutely right. It could deter pe some people from wanting to do business with me, and that's fine.

Richard Piet 4:25

But you have to decide that for yourself that you're okay with that.

Dawn Renshaw 4:28

Right, right. And it's it's interesting because I I have wrestled with it before. You know, some people will put, you know, all over their website the little fish and you know, and things like that. And it's like I I want to be careful and strategic with it because I don't want people to think that I'm using that to get business. So it's a fine line. So, you know, you have to you have to make a stance on what you're what you're willing to put out there.

Revisiting Causes And Where Money Goes

Richard Piet 4:54

So you've talked about uh a certain event that you'd contributed to in one year and you did it again the following year. Should should we change these things up? Is there advantage to spreading the wealth and and uh by extension uh connecting with your community differently? Or do you just stick with the ones that you really align with and say, this is good?

Dawn Renshaw 5:17

One of my first jobs, they had, you know, the United Way. And so the United Way would come in and say, we give to all of these organizations. And um, you know, if you have this payroll deduction, we will give to the United Way and then the United Way will donate your money. And I thought that was really good for a few years. And then I realized that no, I I want to decide where my money goes. And I I do think that it's good to at least review them and say, okay, you know, do we still align, or is there is there another nonprofit or organization that that could use our help?

Richard Piet 5:51

Yeah, I I do think uh since well, in in more recent years, I think the United Way has allowed you to designate where you want your money to go among their uh benefactors. So I think you have some choice there, at least with some of them. But

Goodwill, Referrals, And Long-Term Relationships

Richard Piet 6:05

uh community-led growth is potentially, I suppose, a certain level of goodwill and uh good public relations, right? This is part of your persona, your company persona.

Dawn Renshaw 6:24

Yeah, yeah. And I know that we try not to look at it like, you know, like I will support you and you support me, but I've actually had some of those nonprofits CEOs that I've that I've supported and said, hey, um, you know, I'm looking at doing business with so-and-so, and I see that you have a relationship with them. Could you put in a good word for me? And, you know, and part of it is then they're able to put in the good word because they know that they've worked with me for, you know, five or six years.

Richard Piet 6:51

You reminded

Followers, Reciprocity, And Non-Follower Views

Richard Piet 6:52

me when you said, I'll help you, you help me. That took me to the whole followers thing. I didn't know this in the beginning of of uh uh having a business on social media, but sometimes people will follow you and they expect a reciprocation. Is that right?

Dawn Renshaw 7:10

Yes, yes. Uh it it some people are definitely that way, but it isn't as bad right now. But it was like people would follow you, like an Instagram or or Twitter. It'll always be Twitter to me. They would follow you, and then if you didn't follow them back in so many days, they would unfollow you again.

Richard Piet 7:30

Mm-hmm. I see.

Dawn Renshaw 7:31

I just we just don't play that way. And you know, the truth be known, I've done a lot of research in the last few months, and um a lot of views on our our social media have been from non-followers.

Richard Piet 7:44

That's interesting because you would you'd want to know that are these our most engaged people? You presume if they follow you, they're among the most engaged. That may not be true.

Dawn Renshaw 7:54

Right. Exactly.

Wrap-Up And How To Reach Don

Richard Piet 7:56

I think we've landed on a couple of other subjects for future episodes, Dawn. Yes. All right, so community-led growth. Think about what that means to you and what that might mean in your community, and how much you want to talk about it. And if you have questions, Dawn can answer them. Contact information in the show notes for this episode of the Kindness Marketing Podcast. Dawn Renshaw, founder of Stoney Creek Social Media. We'll be back soon, Dawn.