What’s Social Responsibility Doing Here?

Much of recent buzz in the advertising industry has been focused around social media, Google vs. Microsoft (and it’s 100-million-dollar campaign), etc. But so much has been lost in the hype and discovery of Twitter and Facebook that only a few companies have recognized the real function of social media (duh! it’s a conversation between the company and its consumer). As it turns out, corporate conversations may be a trait of something less familiar.

I immediately recognized the social media “conversation” as a trait of the corporate social responsibility platform. Why would a corporation pay attention to its stakeholders? It’s about good business, and a conversation is a part of maintaining communication with the people involved with your organization.

What’s Social Responsibility doing here on a marketing blog? ACG is an integrated model of marketing communications, and sustainability, social responsibility, and environmentalism are an important audience of corporations, too. Unfortunately, these concepts are indirect stakeholders and are difficult to quantify in dollar amounts. But nonetheless, the “mother earth” and “goodwill” will affect customers no matter what.

Any seemingly unnecessary social media conversation is also a part of “goodwill”, and psychologically adds a powerful effect on customers. For some, being recognized by a big corporation leaves a positive psychological impact. This impact changes the audience’s perception, and through positive feedback creates positive buzz around an organization.

The next time you decide to decide to revamp your company’s marketing strategy, remember to consider the indirect effects of a socially responsible business.