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Many companies striving to be good corporate citizens today face an internal tug of war between giving attention to community initiatives that address social problems and the growing demand to make environmental issues paramount.
2010 Conference: Keeping Pace with Ever-Changing and Expanding Ways to Communicate
![0412101148[1]](http://blogs.bcccc.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/04121011481-300x225.jpg "0412101148[1]")
How should a company effectively approach the bevy of social media options out there? This morning’s breakout session, Keeping Pace with Ever-Changing and Expanding Ways to Communicate, buzzed with energy and discussion about these new communication options. Tom Murphy of Microsoft, along with Dianna O’Neill of FedEx and Jennifer Tower of Ernst & Young, discussed both the challenges and the advantages of these communication innovations.
The three panelists provided some key points to consider when engaging with social media, as well as some insight into the unique challenges different industries pose when approaching these new channels. Jennifer Tower spoke of the difficulty in turning “accountants into bloggers”, while Dianna and Tom focused on the authenticity challenge. Our panelists gave their individual perspectives, along with some general guidelines to follow when engaging with social media.
- Put CSR-focused social media engagements in the hands of those who are ‘on the ground’. It lends your message authenticity and separates it from all of the internet noise.
- Twitter is incredibly useful in tracking trends and driving traffic. Don’t be afraid to point your customers back to your website or blog post to get more information.
- Don’t forget about internal communication! Social media is a great tool with which to engage your employees. To keep this from being intimidating, make it short and accessible. Pose ‘thought starter’ questions or ask for a poll response to ease them into the social media sphere.
Overall, Tom Murphy summed it up best when he said, “Get clear on your objectives and then jump in. Social media is nothing to be scared of.” Traditional media is still a viable option, but these new channels are a valuable way to explore new possibilities of engaging with stakeholders. CSR professionals have a great new opportunity to spread the word of their good deeds, and social media is the tool to help them do so.
April 22nd, 2010 at 6:53 PM
[...] It was great to get insight into how Fedex and Ernst & Young are thinking about social media, but as usual at these events, the real highlight was the lively discussion and Q&A. (You can find a summary of the session by Meghan Baldelli here.) [...]