How can social media be used to build trust and credibility around your company's CSR efforts?

Authenticity is key and builds trust, using social media to tell compelling stories about your CSR projects including sharing success stories, testimonials, and the positive impact your initiatives have on communities coupled with consistent messaging on social will show your audience your commitment while also being open to feedback and the opportunity to improve.

There is an intrinsic link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and a firm's competitive advantage. While not mandatory, CSR should be a voluntary effort for firms to manage operations in a sustainable and socially responsible manner, maintaining credibility with stakeholders. This, in turn, enhances reputation by showcasing their commitment to CSR activities. Social media's rapid connectivity enables swift, two-way symmetrical communication between firms and stakeholders, fostering better understanding and engagement.

If you see a glossy ad showcasing a brand / organisation's CSR, the perception might be that this is a bit of greenwashey corporate guff and therefore quickly dismissed. The opportunity with social media is to showcase *genuine* action in near real-time from 100% real humans making positive change. Maybe a bit rough, raw, and a wee bit unpolished. What matters is authenticity. There's no point "faking" positive change for image: that's opportunistic, cynical, and little more than moral fancy dress. Using social media is a great opportunity to peel away and dispel the sense that you're all about image, lifting the curtain to showcase something that *isn't* strategic but is, instead, a true commitment in all its lovely imperfecttion.

With over 1 billion people globally up on Facebook alone, it’s the numbers on the platform that can be leveraged as point number one to showcase the company’s work on social media. Number 2 is that with work done honestly and put out with measured results it’s often always a great validity from audiences there on social media. While there is engagement on the content it creates more discussion around the work done/ causes accomplished. Often then we’ve seen celebrities/ influencers then even endorse the CSR work on social platforms it’s often a route that also works, but then choosing the influencer who actually fits the CSR campaign or the brand is important to make it more believable and for audiences for that 3X Engagement

Let's make this super clear. SOCIAL MEDIA can't be used to build trust and credibility. It's just a medium, like a megaphone. Your actions and behaviour over time build trust and credibility. Social media is just a way of communicating it.

There's a very carefully made formula in the world of communications. And when moulded for story-lining CSR activities, it goes like: (Problem Statement)+(Who & how it affects)+(Action Taken)+(Results)+(Future Plans) Yet again, make sure to add a pinch of empathy, leadership & connect it with your brand's mission & vision statements.

Crafting a compelling CSR story involves authentic alignment with values, showcasing impactful moments, and engaging audiences. Leveraging video content is the game-changer. With my expertise in video production, I can visually narrate our CSR journey, bringing authenticity and emotion to our initiatives. Videos humanize our efforts, highlighting employee involvement and community impact. Visual storytelling transcends words, creating a lasting impression. Through video, we invite our audience into the heart of our CSR narrative, fostering connection and inspiring collective action. This dynamic approach transforms our CSR story into a powerful catalyst for positive change.

I think using social media to build trust about your CSR effort is a good strategy, but the intention is what we need to be sure really adds value to the receiving community. To effectively build trust, what you intend to do must add value to the community in question, and your ability to give them a perception of how it will turn out before it’s done and if it comes out that way will raise your trust level in a great way. The company can create videos of before the project was embarked on and after implementation to help people see the level of work done. That way, it is genuine, and people can relate to it.

Today CSR is becoming a very intrinsic part of what companies do as part of their culture/ vision for the organisation. While there are various different causes that many companies are supporting these days, it’s very important to put out the message of what you’re doing through story telling format across social media. This way of story telling works with a large number of people if this story telling is done with also putting out some of the objectives accomplished. A recent example of this could be seen in the Astral Pipes CSR of creating for a greener planet by growing more trees and more importantly the video emphasising the girl child and stopping female infanticide and more. It puts the CSR work out to a larger audience

Keep it real inside your company. Make doing good part of your company's vibe. Get your team on board, align your values with your goals, and let everyone know you're here for more than just making money. If you're gonna make a difference, understand what's going on. Whether it's saving the planet, helping communities, or fighting for justice, knowledge is power. It makes your efforts count and turns your team into real advocates. Being real in your business do-goodery starts from the inside out. Get down and dirty, know the issues, and have a solid plan on what you'd like to change in the world and how.

It's not just about announcing what we're doing; it's about showing the why and the how, bringing our audience into the story. We'd use social media to highlight the human element of our CSR initiatives, showcasing real stories of impact and change

In times of social media today, with companies doing their various CSR initiatives, it’s not just about showcasing the work being done but it’s more about putting the results out there. Showcasing results in the form of charts, illustrations with the impact had created is an art too. Use the right tools for putting out the results. In fact if one can create a video like a showreel that would be more interesting than plain flat charts and illustrations. The power of video and story telling should be leveraged well. Invest in a good agency for the creative or then put some good interns to work for the same and let the CSR and showcased through show and tell

Use data, facts, and figures to provide measurable evidence of your impact, and complement this with compelling stories, testimonials, and case studies that humanize your activities. Balance the presentation of outcomes (long-term effects) and outputs (immediate results), ensuring transparency about your challenges and limitations. Avoid overstating your impact to maintain credibility and avoid accusations of greenwashing. This approach will resonate with your audience, showing tangible, relatable, and honest impacts of your CSR initiatives.

Start with “why”. As Simon Sinek explains in his Golden Circle- the audience wants the value first. How and what are secondary to telling a great story and resonating with your audience on an emotional level.

Advocates may have been the generic word before, though today having social media influencers to showcase the work done for your brand/ organisation is critical. We’ve seen some of greatest like Roger Federer, Mr Bachchan lend themselves the showcase the work that some companies add doing, be it for education awareness, for the girl child and more these world faces add that additional layer of credibility to the CSR. The trick is about which celebrity/ influencer to use and not just randomly over say a Twitter post but also if he/ she is part of the campaign it can work wonders. We’ve seen a couple of interesting faces support the work of Bill Gates Foundation on social media and it’s a good example to look at

Keep it real.... Companies often reduce CSRs down to mere checklists and marketing tools. Be strategic and empathetic about the impact by involving the right people in the company. And then document the works and impacts instead of posing for some group photos....