Read full CorpGov article by John JannaroneÂ
LinkedIn? How to Be a Top Corporate Social Responsibility Influencer – Assent Compliance
Q:Â What is the key to being an effective CSR influencer?
A:  In my experience, there are a number of factors that factor into becoming an effective CSR influencer including how active one is at industry events, conferences, webinars and consultation sessions; and whether the individual raises awareness of corporate social responsibility issues, such as sustainability and human trafficking, both within their organization and abroad. I’ve found that one of the best ways to get involved in these types of initiatives is to have an active presence on social media, and the two most important aspects of being an effective CSR influencer online are content and reach.
Publishing CSR content can be a little tricky though. The media plays a key role in deciding what’s trending and what people want to hear, and there’s usually an overabundance of news items on only a few topics — for example, climate change. This is why it’s important to increase the range of issues you want to address. Since most CSR activities are focused on trade-offs (such as increasing solar power will lead to a decrease in CO2 by X amount, but will increase capital spending by Y percent and use of land area by Z percent), effective CSR content should reflect this. Having said that, your content does not have to be entirely unbiased — present the other’s side’s arguments but also share your opinion on the topic. This helps readers to understand both sides of the story and enables them to draw their own conclusions on the issue.
The other part of the equation is your reach, or audience, which refers to the total number of active followers you have on social media, and those attending the activities you participate in such as industry groups and trade shows. The most engaged audience is one that’s grown organically and the biggest trick to accomplishing that is to share engaging and relevant content. So my advice to those who want to become online influencers is to focus on creating great content first and you’ll find the audience you’re looking for will seek you out naturally.
