Three ways to optimize CSR communication

In recent years, multiple studies have examined the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of organizations. The results from those studies show the positive effects that CSR can have for organizations. CSR can enhance the corporate reputation, it can positively influence brand evaluations, brand choice, customer loyalty and satisfaction, and customers’ purchase intention. CSR is also important to build relationships between an organization and its stakeholders. The positive effects of CSR led to CSR gaining an important position within organizations. However, the communication of CSR activities can be considered to be at least as important as the CSR activities itself. Customers are often not aware of the CSR activities in which organizations engage. Therefore, CSR communication is important to inform and create awareness among stakeholders (Robinson & Eilert, 2018). Here are three things to keep in mind when communicating CSR activities.

Use Twitter

Communication technologies have grown immensely over the past decades, and especially social media are in the centre of attention the last few years, which affected the field of public relations (PR) and CSR communication. The characteristics of social media changed the way in which organizations communicate to and with their stakeholders. A social media platform that can create interactive relationships with stakeholders is Twitter. Twitter can, among other things, reach and engage with stakeholders, and facilitate dialogue between organizations and their stakeholders. The dialogic and interactive aspect of Twitter stimulates the participation and the involvement of stakeholders, which can increase the effectiveness of CSR activities (Uzunoğlu, Türkel, & Akyar, 2017). Therefore, Twitter is considered to be the preferred social media platform for CSR communication.

                                        

Be sincere and credible 

When CSR activities are communicated through Twitter, the formulation of the message is quite important. A PR professional should not only consider what to say, but also how to say it. The way in which CSR activities are communicated through social media can have effect on the attitude and behaviour of customers, such as the purchase intention and engagement of customers. The main take away point for PR professionals that communicate CSR activities through social media is that the message should be sincere and credible. When the message is considered to be sincere and credible by stakeholders, the efforts of the organization will be appreciated, which results in positive effects on the attitude and behaviour of stakeholders. In modern society, it is more important than ever for organizations to be perceived as responsible, sincere and credible.  

Use a specific message strategy 

A factor that influences the credibility and sincerity of CSR communication is the content of a message. Organizations can adopt different message strategies in order to communicate their CSR activities. When an organization uses a general message strategy, it focuses on the overall issue supported and not on the specific causes. On the contrary, when an organization adopts a specific message strategy, it focuses on the specific cause(s) supported. For example: “We support War Child”. A specific message is more attractive, easier to process, and keeps the attention of consumers longer than a general message. Specific messages are perceived as more verifiable since it provides more detailed information and are more effective in terms of producing positive evaluations. Furthermore, organizations that adopt specific CSR message strategies are perceived as more trustworthy, which can enhance their CSR reputation.

So, do you want to optimize your CSR communication as PR professional? Use Twitter, be sincere and credible, and use a specific message strategy!

About the author:

Kim van Loon is a Corporate Communication master’s student at the University of Amsterdam. She works at her own company ‘Van Loon Communicatie’ as a Dutch linguistic, corrector and translator. Topics of interest are: Dutch language, PR, crisis communication.  

Academic sources:

Robinson, S., & Eilert, M. (2018). The role of message specificity in corporate social responsibility communication. Journal of Business Research, 90, 260-268.

Uzunoğlu, E., Türkel, S., & Akyar, B. Y. (2017). Engaging consumers through corporate social responsibility messages on social media: An experimental study. Public Relations Review, 43(5), 989-997.