CSR Minute: Doral Bank’s CSR Makeover; Fresh Harvest’s Wing of Nature Brand

Corporate Social Responsibility News: Doral Bank’s CSR Makeover; Fresh Harvest Launches Wings of Nature Brand in Cleveland

The ‘Real-Time’ Of Social Media

Few things have changed faster than the way we communicate. Coupled with the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or green movement, there has been an explosion of information available about how and what companies and organizations are doing to improve society and the environment.

During the past year, at least three major events have influenced how communications relate to CSR:

1) The new administration in Washington is focused on volunteerism, green-collar jobs, alternative energy and other CSR issues.

2) Bernie Madoff and the “collapse” of Wall Street spotlighted (once again) the need for greater transparency and corporate governance.

3) Consumers are demanding information about what the companies from which we buy our goods and services are doing to have a positive impact on society, improve the environment, and in general “save the world.” Companies are finally starting to be held accountable and responsible for the impact and influence they can have to affect change, and they realize the need to communicate it. From a media and PR perspective, this presents both opportunities and challenges.

Any company can issue a press release talking about all the good they’re doing, and consequently greenwashing — and a lack of authenticity has become almost epidemic. It seems every brand wants to capture the green consumer.

The media challenge: To communicate effectively in ways that a growing, “green-focused” audience, consisting of varied demographics, is responsive to and can trust. Authenticity must absolutely be obvious. The age-old, traditional press release isn’t what it used to be. Yes, there’s still a place for it in modern communications, but it’s become widely accepted that its impact is diminished.

Enter blogs and bloggers, videos, podcasts, and various commentaries … all new and different ways to reach an audience no longer receptive to traditional methods such as press releases. Combine this with issues that people are passionate about, that affect their lives and their children’s lives, such as corporate responsibility and sustainability … and that’s the mix that must be communicated. To address that, successful organizations have begun to realize that the value of delivering their messages, consistently in all different media formats, engages a passionate audience.

A paradigm shift has occurred, and we have evolved into new vehicles that embrace social media and technology. Leading organizations have finally realized that the idea of dragging viewers to a Web site to read carefully formulated, single point-of-view, “we really don’t mean to engage with you on this” pronouncements is over.

The obvious answer, as how to reach and influence the most people around a topic or issue, (get the news out, if you will) is to engage them using a media format to which they are most receptive. So, give it to them. And, do so where they’re already spending Web time; online communities, social networks, video channels, iTunes, blog sites and so on.

Forget about the destination Web site. Game over. Every day there are communities of individuals organizing around issues they are passionate about, hungry for information and knowledge about these issues. Whether it’s corporate responsibility, socially responsible investing, human rights, fair trade, the environment or transparency, people have a greater opportunity to engage on each of these issues through new media.

As media professionals, we must help our clients reach and engage with these communities, where they live. And we need to do this using every media format at our disposal to influence and be influenced by the professionals, the consumers and the media points that interact with their brands.

When it comes to issues as important as CSR and green business, leveraging new media to effect change is a must.

 

Prior to founding 3BL Media, Greg Schneider was the COO of a news distribution service focused on corporate responsibility. In recognition of the obvious evolution of communications technologies and the expanding global interest in CSR and sustainability, Greg, along with some friends and colleagues left their jobs to start 3BL Media. Reach him here.

Trust Agents: Bestseller Good Fit for Nonprofit

In the index to Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s new book, Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust, the words charity, nonprofit, and fundraising do not show up. I looked.

But still, Beth Kanter’s name is there. Through her blog (number one on the List of Change), Kanter has made a trickle of conversation about using social media for good causes into a river, the currents of which most of us now happily paddle.She has been a game changer, and is certainly a trust agent.

Kanter’s story shows up in Trust Agents within the context of “community.” For that is the subject of Trust Agents. Not how to make money, not how to sell shoes, not how to raise funds, but how to build communities.

Trust agents, for Brogan and Smith, are the glue that hold communities together. They are the pioneers of the social web, digital natives who have learned to communicate with (not to) people.

Brogan and Smith say trust agents exhibit these characteristics:

• Trust agents make their own game. They are comfortable enough to experiment, break the rules, and to fail.
• Trust agents are one of us. They act like us, talk like us, and are straight with us.
• Trust Agents know the secret to leverage. They build networks out of groups and markets out of niches.
• Trust agents are networkers. They know more people, can open more doors, and know exactly where the resources are.
• Trust agents are masters of soft skills. They work well with others, are empowering, and revel in social interaction.
• Trust agents know they can’t do it alone. They build armies to move mountains and motivate people to achieve together what couldn’t be done alone.

Brogan and Smith provide dozens of examples of trust agents, such as Oprah Winfrey, Robert Scoble, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Trust agents also sound suspiciously like change agents, social entrepreneurs, and a growing number of people who are transforming their nonprofits.

Trust Agents isn’t just for the business minded. Community is a universal concept, and one that is particularly applicable to social change.

At the end of their book, Brogan and Smith name six “games” that anyone can still create. One of those is: Master leverage and use it for good. Their example? Beth Kanter, their “patron saint of nonprofits and technology.”

Chris Brogan’s blog. Julien Smith’s website. Other reviews include those by Kivi Miller Leroux, and Frank Barry.

Joanne Fritz has worked in the nonprofit world for most of her 30-year career beginning with teaching at the secondary, college, and university levels. Fritz has served on numerous nonprofit boards and was chosen to participate in leadership programs in two cities. Joanne Fritz writes for Non-Profit Blog

via 3blmedia.com