Jan. 2023
Tips for Promoting Your Auction Donations
The National Steering Committee of the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program appreciates your support of the CIM Auction. 
 
We suggest you help promote the auction and get maximum value for the items. Now that you've made a donation, we need you to promote your item to your customers and prospects. We are requesting that all companies that have donated an auction item utilize their own internal marketing to help generate interest in the auction. 
 
First, it will help raise awareness and interest in the auction. Second, it will ensure that the item that you donated will generate a winning bid that is a fair value. Finally, this is an excellent way to have your customers recognize that your company is helping to support a very important program for the entire concrete industry.
  
This approach has proven to be very successful. The group of companies that put together some of their own marketing reported that their customers were pleased to learn about their support for the CIM program and glad to know about the auction.  
Tips for Success

  • Send an email blast to your customers and prospect base.
  • Send out a press release.
  • Add content to your website promoting the donation.
  • Inform your sales staff about the donation and ask them to tell your customers.
  • Have a sign promoting your donation in your WOC booth.
  • Personally invite customers to the Auction or to participate online
  • Tweet about your donation and/or retweet CIM's tweets using the hashtag #2023CIMAuction.
  • Post information about your donation on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and other social media sites.
  • Create a video about your donation.
  • Educate your WOC booth staff about the Auction and the item you donated.

These are just a few of the many ideas that can help you leverage your CIM donation and ensure that it goes for maximum value.
Best Practices: Social Media
Social media is an excellent forum to share information about your donation. This year, we developed a series of new social media graphics for you to share on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and other social media outlets. We strongly encourage you to post, like and share content on all of these outlets. 

Increase your exposure and reach a broader audience by using the hashtag #2023CIMAuction and tagging or retweeting @concretedegree, @worldofconcrete and @ritchiebros. Promote your donation on Facebook too! As with Twitter, use #2023CIMAuction as well as @CIM Program, @worldofconcreteshow and @ritchiebros on posts that reference the auction.
Best Practices: Video
Video is another effective tool to promote your donations. See this example below.
Best Practices: CIM Auction Resources
The CIM Marketing Committee also developed a series of ads, logos and graphics that can be used on your website or in company newsletters, including:

Upcoming CIM Auction Promotions
The CIM Auction and Marketing Committees have been hard at work soliciting items and promoting the Auction. We have been working with trade organizations, trade publications and others to help spread the word about the Auction.
 
During the upcoming weeks, we will continue our efforts to promote the Auction. Some of our activities will include:

  • Press releases
  • Social media promotion (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook)
  • Hashtags (Please use #2023CIMAuction)
  • Signs at WOC booths
  • Signs, banners and announcements at the WOC
  • Ads in trade magazines
  • Web ads on industry websites
  • Promotional flyers
  • Ritchie Bros. auction catalog
  • Auction cards
  • eMail blasts to our CIM database
  • Promotions by our Trade Association Partners
  • Promotions by our CIM Patron's Groups and University programs

We owe a special thanks to our friends at Informa, World of Concrete and Ritchie Bros. for their efforts in promoting the auction. Without their support, the Auction would not be possible.