Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Media: The Next Frontier in Public Relations 2.0

Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility with Social Media Tools

I’ve been doing in depth research into corporate social responsibility (CSR), because its something thats personally interesting to me. I also, firmly believe that CSR offers companies a fantastic way to give back to the communities that they grow up in.

Likewise, I believe social media offers a great way for companies to explain to the public what they are doing in terms of corporate social responsibility. In this way it offers a low cost PR 2.0 for your corporate responsibility efforts. Starbucks for one has done a great job of this and consequently has added brand value and marketing, as they show up second in Google for “corporate social responsibility”.

So what is the business case for corporate social responsibility and social media?

1) Target Audience. The online audience is particularly compelled by messages which communicate corporate social responsibility and environmental awareness. In fact, they are probably the most susceptible to such a campaign and they can be uniquely micro-targeted online based on environmental or human rights issue..

2) Dual Use Marketing. A corporate social responsibility social media campaign can serve internal communication roles as well, so that minimal expenditures in terms of money and resources are needed.

3) Blue Ocean Strategy Being first to market gives you a significant edge on the competition. In a technology market that moves so quickly, this window of opportunity is quickly closing.

4) Social ROI Online awareness of corporate social responsibility can drive sales, employee morale, and public relations.

5) Marketing Synergy Its easy to integrate ongoing online PR campaigns in a way that benefit SEO, marketing, and branding goals. Thus its win/win/win for all corporate departments and your bottom line.

So what is the business case for social media and corporate social responsibility?