Interactive Social Media in CSR Communications: Best Practices

Introduction and Overview

One of the most significant new marketing platforms to emerge in recent years has been social media in general and, more recently, interactive social media. According to Chao and Parker (2014), social media are broadly defined as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content" (p. 323). By extension, interactive social media are those platforms that feature ways for consumers to directly respond to web-based content in the form of feedback, comments, testimonials, reviews, or other online exchanges (Chao & Parker, 2014). The overarching focus of this proposed study concerns the role of interactive social media in corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications — a focus that has assumed new importance as growing numbers of companies of all sizes and types have incorporated interactive social media into their CSR communications strategies.

This research proposal describes the conceptual framework that will guide the study, including a description of the problem of interest and the specific aim of the research process. A discussion of the proposed study's theoretical framework and guiding research question is followed by a description of the research method that will be used to formulate a timely and informed answer to that question. Finally, an analysis of the scientific and societal relevance of the proposed study concludes this research proposal.

Conceptual Framework and Problem Description

The problem of interest to the proposed study concerns the growing need to identify optimal communication strategies for interactive social media communications. Although all organizations are unique in some fashion, they all share the need to communicate effectively with their stakeholders — most especially their customers. While interactive social media platforms offer a wide array of benefits and advantages for businesses, there are also a number of challenges and constraints involved in their deployment and administration that must be taken into account to achieve optimal outcomes. In this regard, Castillo and McCallister (2012) emphasize that "[corporate social responsibility] programs need to be well run and strategic in scope in order to have an impact; however, to communicate the range and importance of CSR activities, companies must navigate a complex web of diverse stakeholder groups with different needs and motivations" (p. 33).

Therefore, the aim of the proposed study is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the role of interactive social media in CSR communications — identifying best practices, opportunities for improvement, and directions for future research — based on the theoretical framework described below.

Theoretical Framework

A study's theoretical framework is comprised of a general set of statements concerning how the world works and how given research approaches conform to these stated realities (Grinnell & Unrau, 2009). The first constituent statement for the proposed study's theoretical framework concerns the reality of social media communication growth in recent years, to the point where the vast majority of companies are now using these resources for marketing purposes (Bennett, 2014). A second statement about the current business environment concerns the increased importance of CSR initiatives from the perspective of consumers, who view these efforts as part of a company's brand and a measure of its trustworthiness (Lee, Oh & Kim, 2013). A final general statement addresses an increasingly competitive and globalized marketplace that demands continuous innovation, the elimination of waste, and a commitment to high-quality customer service.

These general statements are supported by a growing body of evidence documenting the use of social media by companies of all sizes and types. Given that the vast majority of businesses in the United States are already using social media platforms for marketing purposes (Bennett, 2014), it is reasonable to posit that these trends will continue well into the foreseeable future. Some indication of future applications of social media for CSR initiatives can be discerned from an analysis of their current uses. For example, a survey by eMarketer of organizations with 100 or more employees identified the following social media uses that involved marketing in some fashion:

• Social networks
• Social games
• Blogs
• Microblogging (e.g., Twitter)
• Photograph and video sharing
• Podcasting
• Ratings and reviews
• Virtual worlds
• Widgets
• Apps (Bennett, 2014)

Current projections indicate that these applications will continue to expand in coming years, making the need to identify optimal strategies for using these cost-effective resources to communicate CSR initiatives to all stakeholders especially urgent. Although there is a certain altruistic quality to engaging in otherwise costly CSR initiatives, it makes good business sense to also communicate these efforts to an enterprise's stakeholders — particularly its current and potential consumers. Lee et al. (2013) emphasize that "the instrumental benefits of a firm's CSR activities are contingent upon the stakeholders' awareness and favorable attribution" (p. 792).

Although social media has the potential to create a framework in which companies can generate favorable awareness of their CSR activities through a network of stakeholder relationships, it is important to keep in mind that such opportunities are not evenly distributed among all businesses (Lee et al., 2013). For instance, in their study of Twitter use by Fortune 500 companies, Lee and his associates (2013) found that first movers enjoyed significantly higher CSR ratings compared to companies that entered the platform later. First movers also enjoyed larger numbers of online followers and higher levels of interactivity in the form of feedback and retweets.

While more research in this area is needed, these findings underscore the growing importance of establishing a social media presence at the earliest opportunity and using these resources to create a favorable corporate image. Lee et al. (2013) conclude that "our findings also suggest that socially responsible firms can harvest proactive stakeholders' participation (user-driven communication) without investing more resources (firm-driven communication). As the first study that conceptualizes social media as a proponent of CSR, this paper contends that being socially responsible makes more practical sense for firms with the rise of social media" (p. 792).

These pragmatic considerations are especially important for companies competing in controversial industries such as oil and gas, where environmental pressure groups such as Friends of the Earth are actively campaigning against high profits and destructive practices used for exploration and extraction. A seminal study by Du and Vieira (2012) used a case study methodology to evaluate the CSR communications strategies of six major oil companies. Analysis of these companies' web site content from 2011 through 2012 showed that all six companies used their web content to communicate CSR activities to a wide range of stakeholders, with a specific focus on how those activities addressed stakeholder needs (Du & Vieira, 2012).

One of the more interesting findings from the Du and Vieira (2012) study was the importance of interactivity in making web content more effective at communicating the relationship between CSR activities and the benefits they provided stakeholders. Du and Vieira (2012) report that "CSR information on these Web sites often involved the use of multimedia technologies and social media platforms [which] utilized a variety of tactics such as factual arguments and two-sided messages" (p. 414). These findings indicate that the extent to which interactivity is included in social media offerings correlates with higher levels of return on investments in CSR initiatives.

Finally, a study by Rim and Song (2016) examined the effectiveness of CSR-related social media campaigns by comparing the extent to which interactivity affected stakeholder perception of these activities. The results provided additional evidence in support of this study's theoretical framework. Rim and Song found that their results "revealed that two-sided CSR responses are more effective than one-sided responses in enhancing altruistic motives for CSR, reducing perceived negativity in the public's comments, and eliciting favorable attitudes, especially when comments were negative" (p. 476). This growing body of evidence provides significant support for the theoretical framework and underscores the need for additional research.

Conclusion

Both social media and the manner in which they are used carry a high degree of societal relevance today. The findings of this proposed study are intended to help practitioners identify best practices for maximizing the impact of interactive social media in CSR communications, contributing to both the scholarly literature and the practical needs of organizations seeking to engage stakeholders authentically and effectively.

References

Bennett, S. (2014, October 20). 88% of companies are using social media for marketing. Ad Week. Retrieved from http://www.adweek.com/digital/social-media-companies/

Castillo, S. & McCalister, I. L. (2012, October). When CSR clicks: In a new IABC Research Foundation study, stakeholders rate how well companies communicate their CSR activities online. Communication World, 29(5), 32–36.

Chao, J. T., Parker, K. R. & Fontana, A. (2014). Developing an interactive social media based learning environment. Issues in Informing Science & Information Technology, 8, 323–327.

Du, S., & Vieira, E. T., Jr. (2012). Striving for legitimacy through corporate social responsibility: Insights from oil companies. Journal of Business Ethics, 110(4), 413–427.

Eberle, D., Berens, G., & Li, T. (2013). The impact of interactive corporate social responsibility communication on corporate reputation. Journal of Business Ethics, 118(4), 731–746.

Grinnell, R. M. & Unrau, Y. A. (2009). Social work research and evaluation: Quantitative and qualitative approaches. New York: Oxford University Press.

Lee, K., Oh, W.-Y., & Kim, N. (2013). Social media for socially responsible firms: Analysis of Fortune 500's Twitter profiles and their CSR/CSIR ratings. Journal of Business Ethics, 118(4), 791–806.

Rim, H., & Song, D. (2016). 'How negative becomes less negative': Understanding the effects of comment valence and response sidedness in social media. Journal of Communication, 66(3), 475–495.

Social media profile. (2018). Statista. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/273476/percentage-of-us-population-with-a-social-network-profile/