Building strategic partnerships in your business is a powerful tool and can significantly boost your bottom line. I’ve experienced it with Rebel Office, and have talked with many other entrepreneurs about the benefits of collaborating. Not only can joining forces with other businesses or brands increase your reach, but it also:

• introduces you to new people
• pushes you outside of your comfort zone, and
• can create new opportunities beyond the current partnership.

Here are some ways you can use strategic partnerships to boost your bottom line:

Social Media Giveaways

You’re probably not new to these ones. Most people have at least participated in one if they haven’t hosted one themselves. Collaborating with 1-5 other businesses and brands to create a compelling package that encourages participants to follow everyone involved is a great way to boost followers, increase reach and engagement. Not only that, but it also helps others learn about your products and services by seeing what you’ve contributed to the giveaway!

How to do this:

Try posting in a Facebook group or in any other community to see if anyone (in a specific industry, offering specific products, etc. – make sure it’s aligned!) is interested in collaborating on a giveaway. Or – if you have some people in mind – reach out directly!

Joint Webinars / Trainings

No matter what kind of marketing you do, what your messaging is or where you spread it, all of it comes back to you establishing yourself as the pro, the go-to on a specific topic/service or for a specific product. Collaborating with another brand or expert to host a joint training (in person or online) can expose you to another audience and establish yourself as a pro in front of a new group of people.

How to do this:

reach out to someone that you follow and that would compliment your message (ie. has a different but aligned perspective on a topic) and pitch it!

Support a Non-Profit / Charity

I’m all about doing good, especially when we have the power as business owners to incorporate giving back and doing right simply by running an intentional business. A great way to create awareness not only for a good cause but also for your brand is to partner with a non-profit or charity. This could be a local group or a larger one, and strategic partnerships could look very different depending on your business. I recently wrote a blog about how to use your business model to do good, which could be a great read if this is something you’re thinking of doing.

How to do this:

First, decide what you want it to look like, whether it’s a portion of your profits going to them, your employees volunteering with them, or running a campaign to support a specific cause. Prepare your proposal to the organization, and remember to make it about how your business can help THEM.

At the end of the day, any time you try something new in your business, reach out to other entrepreneurs and are focused on creating more awareness and exposure for your brand, you’re doing the right thing. Leverage other people’s audiences, strengths and skills. Go make connections.