Crafting the Message in CSR Programs

Crafting the Message in Corporate Social Responsibility Communications

By Kristie Byrum, Ph.D., APR

            The imperative to accurately and effectively communicate is born from the moment the corporate social responsibility program is established. Communicating the effort, both internally among key stakeholders and externally outside the walls of the corporation to the myriad of those external audiences that can make the program a success or failure, deserves both attention to detail and an allocation of financial resources in the CSR program budget. 

            Through effective communication, the corporate communicator can develop meaningful relationships with stakeholders. However, the pitfalls of claims of “self-promotion,” untimely messages or “off-target” communications indicate ongoing threats in the formulation of a CSR stakeholder ecosystem.

• Research First, Communicate Second: Savvy communicators avoid a common mistake: communicating without the benefit of research. To analyze this equation, consider: For whom is the program? What is the social, political or economic situation that they are facing? How will this corporate program address this issue? How is this CSR program different from others that exist?
      
• Understand the Stakeholders (and how they prefer to receive information): By understanding the habits and attitudes of CSR stakeholders, you will glean valuable information about how to communicate with them, when to communicate with them and what messages will mean the most for them. For example, a cause marketing program benefitting cancer research has an immediate group of stakeholders, including patients, hospital staff, physicians and families. However, don’t forget that each of these audiences consume media in a different way. To effectively communicate with them, we must first understand, through research, their communication habits.   
   
• Articulate What Matters: Once the CSR campaign is established and operating in the marketplace, the temptation to report ancillary fun facts or contiguous comments becomes tempting. Always consider the strategic message and how to effectively communicate that message. By reporting specific outcomes of the effort, the impact may be “shown” and not simply “told.” Further, consider first-person stories and testimonials from the campaign itself. By attaching faces to a campaign, the CSR moves from beyond a corporate initiative to a human one. 
   
• Avoid Self-Serving Language While Still Emphasizing Corporate Participation:  Corporations that undertake CSR initiatives deserve an opportunity to convey their roles in the specific campaign. Company spokespersons, trained in the key messages of the campaign, should actively articulate various aspects in the program across all media outlets. While some critics chastise businesses for “self-serving” promotion, language designed to focus on the CSR program outcomes and the beneficiaries can help to minimize this criticism. 
   
• Manage Your Feedback: A mature CSR communications program will yield something even more valuable than the results themselves: A CSR program will enable the corporation to reach key stakeholders in a meaningful way and establish two-way communication information loops. Communicators must actively monitor this feedback and determine the best ways to return messages and facilitate meaningful dialogue.  

            The strategic creation of a CSR message must not be an “afterthought” in the executive decision-making process. By aligning the CSR program objectives with communication objectives, the foundation of an integrated communications program may be formulated. With appropriate budget, staff and participation in the senior-leadership of CSR decision-making, the individuals who craft the CSR message will dramatically contribute to the ultimate success for the CSR program.    

http://www.csrwire.com/blog/posts/1612-crafting-the-message-in-corporate-social-responsibility-communications

Communicating the CSR Message

The Role of the Public Relations Professional in Corporate Social Responsibility Communication

By Kristie Byrum, Ph.D., APR

            Corporate CEOs and governing boards grapple with accurate communication of corporate social responsibility initiatives and increasingly with the role of the public relations executive in CSR communication. Yet, questions arise over who is best positioned to communicate a CSR program and what is the best method of conveying company CSR communications.

            Some traditional executives may claim the involvement of the corporate communications or public relations department will simply broadcast to the marketplace that the company is blatantly self-promotional and “greenwashing” a specific issue. Other executives, who may have had strategic communications courses in their MBA curriculum, assert that these same departments are most adept at handling the complex communication of corporate social responsibility programs. Let’s examine the arguments for the involvement of the public relations professional in the corporate social responsibility communication algorithm:  

• Public Relations Professional as Strategic Communicator: While the history of public relations may include facets of “publicity” and “press agentry,” the public relations profession has matured beyond these narrow, tactical functions, rising to accepted positioning as  strategic communications. The public relations professional now serves a role as “prescriber” of recommended communications strategies to advance the essential mission of the enterprise. Public relations professionals with access to the CSR decision-making table offer great insights into devising and deploying a corporate social responsibility program that will resonate credibly with key stakeholders.
   
• A Keen Understanding of Internal and External Stakeholders: The public relations professional resides in a unique position characterized by rich knowledge of the variable needs of stakeholders involved in a corporate social responsibility program. With the benefit of sound research principles and practices, the public relations professional serves as pivotal source for information about how and what to communicate to investors, the marketplace, employees, and other key stakeholders in a corporate social responsibility program.
   
• Mastering Digital Communication for Maximum Impact: With the 24/7 information hum of social media, the online blogosphere, demands of corporate websites, and the compelling mandate for social reporting, the public relations professional is steeped in rich knowledge and experiences with technologies and dialogic communication.  These professionals can deliver valuable strategic insights and practical resources for executives seeking to inform and enfranchise stakeholders.
• Standards of a Professional Ethics Code: Contemporary public relations professionals operate in a complex and sometimes cluttered communications environment that may perilously lure unsophisticated communicators. Engaged professionals abide not only by internal corporate codes of conduct but also by external, professional ethics standards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).  The contemplation and adherence to these codes ultimately raises CSR communications to a higher ethical plane that can formidably withstand external scrutiny.
   
• Transparency and Corporate Social Reporting: If CSR is truly embedded into corporate communications strategy, public relations professionals provide a responsive platform to frequent inquiries about corporate mission through consistent communications. The Barcelona Principles provide uniform reporting standards that gauge corporate communications performance and enable valid comparisons with other institutional programs. 
   

            Considering these factors, no other executive in a corporation is as solidly positioned 24x7 for global CSR communications as a public relations professional. Executives charged with implementing corporate social responsibility programs should invite the public relations team to the decision-making table to discern appropriate approaches for CSR and the subsequent communication to various stakeholders.

About Kristie Byrum, Ph.D., APR:  Byrum is an assistant professor of Mass Communications at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches courses on public relations and media law. Dr. Byrum is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America. A public relations executive and entrepreneur, she has achieved national recognition for her work on communications programs for global CSR initiatives.  

http://www.csrwire.com/blog/posts/1599-the-role-of-the-public-relations-professional-in-corporate-social-responsibility-communication