The Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility Communication in the Age of Social Media

16th International Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, March 6-10, 2013

16 Pages Posted: 8 Jul 2013

Date Written: March 9, 2013

Abstract

The practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) places opportunities for companies to rethink how everyday management decisions can affect society and environment. Today, companies use different avenues to communicate CSR practices. For instance, social media is currently one of the most important and powerful communication channels, providing great opportunities to interact with stakeholders and maintain permanent relationships. This paper focuses on analyzing how companies are using social media platforms for CSR communication. First, a content analysis was conducted to the Facebook and Twitter profiles of 50 companies. A total of 2412 posts on Facebook and 12543 tweets on Twitter were encountered. Second, based on the analysis of the messages, a conceptual framework for CSR communication through social media was developed. Three main features were established as important resources for CSR communication on social media profiles: presentation, content, and interactivity. Findings pointed out that social media sites (in spite of its interactive characteristic), were used as another one-way communication channel for communicating CSR, failing to promote feedback and stakeholder participation and engagement.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, social media, Facebook, Twitter, stakeholder

Suggested Citation

Gomez, Lina M. and Chalmeta, Ricardo, The Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility Communication in the Age of Social Media (March 9, 2013). 16th International Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, March 6-10, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2290793

Lina M. Gomez (Contact Author)

Jaume I University ( email )

Castellon
E-12071 Castello de la Plana, Castellón de la Plana 12071
Spain

Ricardo Chalmeta

Jaume I University ( email )

Castellon
E-12071 Castello de la Plana, Castellón de la Plana 12071
Spain

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