January is National Mentoring Month, an excellent opportunity to connect with your clients and highlight the value of mentorship.

SCORE HQ will celebrate this special month by launching a three-pronged marketing campaign that:

• pairs aspiring entrepreneurs with experienced mentors, helping them overcome challenges and achieve their business goals. A special emphasis is placed on how mentorship plays a crucial role in the success of small business owners, offering guidance, support, and knowledge that can make all the difference in navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship.
• encourage clients to express their gratitude to their current SCORE mentors, recognizing the invaluable impact these relationships have had on their business journey.
• invite clients to consider paying it forward by becoming a SCORE mentor themselves in the new year. By doing so, they can help shape the future of other small business owners in their communities, creating a ripple effect of success and growth.

January is not only a month dedicated to the broader call for mentoring, but it also highlights specific days that celebrate different aspects of mentoring:

• January 7: I Am A Mentor Day
• January 14: Thank Your Mentor Day 
• January 17: International Mentoring Day
• January 20: Martin Luther King Day of Service
• January 27: Thank Your Mentee Day

These special days provide unique opportunities to reflect on, honor, and engage with the mentoring community throughout the month. 

Chapter Toolkit

To support your chapter’s efforts, we’ve prepared resources for local promotions, including branded Mentoring Month graphics to help you spread the word. 

Within this toolkit you will find: 

• Constant Contact Email 
• Social Media Posts 
• Press Release

Constant Contact Email Draft 

A Constant Contact email template will be loaded into all chapter Constant Contact accounts on December 20, 2024. This template is meant to assist in driving local mentoring requests during National Mentoring Month. You can send this template as is or add chapter-specific content and imagery for a more local feel. 

To find this template:

1. Log in to Constant Contact
2. Click ‘Campaigns’ in the top menu
3. Click ‘Status’ in the menu on the left to expand the Status options. Select ‘Draft’. 
4. Find the email listed on this page. It will be titled: National Mentoring Month - Jan 2025 | Chapter Template
5. Make changes to the sender and/or logo as desired. 
6. Send the email to your list.

Social Media Posts

This National Mentoring Month, we are sharing resources and tools to help you celebrate your amazing chapter mentors and generate new mentoring clients to utilize SCORE services. We are providing the following assets, templates and social media posts for Social Media Chairs to help celebrate this observance in their local online communities.

Organic Posts on Social Media

We have created a library of content within SOCi for you to use as organic social media posts! Instructions on how to access the library are below, but feel free to customize the copy and add a local touch. 

View the SOCi Knowledge Base guide here OR follow these instructions:

1. Login to SOCi at https://app.meetsoci.com/
2. Navigate to Social > Libraries > "National Mentoring Month”
3. Choose a message you want to schedule.
4. Click the calendar icon next to the message. The message selected will then open as a pop-up for you to make any final edits.
5. Scroll down and click the check box next to “Schedule” in order to add this message for a future date on your Scheduler.
6. Then, choose the date and timing that you want your message to be published and click “Schedule Post” to add this message to your calendar.

Paid Posts on Social Media

SCORE’s trusted partner, Hiper, offers optional turn-key social media advertising campaigns to garner further engagement on your social media posts. 

Choose your own media budget and opt-in anytime. Package details, lead times and opt-in processes can be found at the link below!

View the most recent opt-in digital ad campaign packages here.

Do you have questions about social media advertising for your chapter? New in FY24, we invite you to join us for monthly office hours dedicated to answering chapter questions related to optional social media ad packages. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or new to the world of social advertising, the team at Hiper is ready to answer your questions and guide you through the campaign offerings.

Register for Hiper's Monthly Office Hours here.

Send a Press Release

Consider distributing a local press release about National Mentoring Month to your local media and community partners. This National Mentoring Month press release template highlights the benefits of working with a SCORE mentor, includes some famous SCORE clients through the years and recognizes SCORE’s 60th anniversary.

All you need to do it update the template with your chapter’s name, a quote from a local mentor, and your chapter’s contact information and send it to your local contact list. It is recommended that you also include a photo with any press releases that you send out and include in the caption who is pictured. This is a great opportunity to feature a photo of a chapter mentor and client together.

SCORE's public relations team has also created a customizable media pitch template for National Mentoring Month to support your chapter's media outreach efforts. The template includes fillable blanks to include chapter-specific information before sending as an email to your local media outlets.

For more information on how to create a local media list, build your chapter’s media relations strategy and more, visit the Public Relations resources in the Support Center.