How can PR professionals keep up with the latest trends and innovations in social media and CSR?

Social media and CSR (corporate social responsibility) are two dynamic and influential fields that shape the reputation and impact of any organization. As a PR professional, you need to stay on top of the latest trends and innovations in these areas to create effective and engaging strategies for your clients or employers. Here are some tips on how to do that.

1 Follow the leaders

One of the best ways to learn from the best practices and examples of social media and CSR is to follow the leaders in these fields. Whether they are industry experts, influencers, journalists, or activists, you can gain valuable insights and inspiration from their content, campaigns, and conversations. You can also interact with them, ask questions, share feedback, and build relationships that can benefit your PR work.

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Matt Dusenbury

Founder of Smoke & Felt. Helping progressive campaigns, communities, and non-profits build their movements. Award-winning writer, designer & raconteur. Let's have coffee ☕️
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Once you identify the industry leaders and how they communicate their own campaigns and initiatives, go one step further: reach out to a select few directly and begin building your network of social media and CSR contacts. Developing direct relationship with the leaders you follow, admire, and wish to learn from will let you sharpen your focus and zero in on the steps you can take for your own future campaigns.

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2 Monitor the metrics

Another way to keep up with the trends and innovations in social media and CSR is to monitor the metrics that measure their performance and impact. You can use various tools and platforms to track and analyze data such as reach, engagement, sentiment, conversions, and ROI. You can also compare and benchmark your results with those of your competitors, peers, or industry standards. By doing so, you can identify what works and what doesn't, and optimize your strategies accordingly.

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3 Explore new platforms

Social media is constantly evolving and introducing new platforms, features, and formats that can offer new opportunities and challenges for PR professionals. You should be open to exploring and experimenting with these new options, such as live streaming, podcasts, stories, reels, or clubhouse. You should also be aware of the different audiences, preferences, and behaviors of each platform, and tailor your content and messages accordingly.

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4 Align with the values

CSR is not just about doing good deeds or complying with regulations. It is also about aligning your organization's values, mission, and vision with those of your stakeholders, especially your customers, employees, and communities. You should be able to communicate and demonstrate how your organization is contributing to the social and environmental causes that matter to them, and how you are addressing the challenges and risks that affect them. You should also be transparent, authentic, and accountable for your actions and impacts.

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Matt Dusenbury

Founder of Smoke & Felt. Helping progressive campaigns, communities, and non-profits build their movements. Award-winning writer, designer & raconteur. Let's have coffee ☕️
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All too often, an organization's mission, vision, and value statements get shifted down the list of priorities in favour of more pressing day-to-day operations. While understandable, these moves are shortsighted. Corporate social responsibility is no longer an add-on; it's a crucial element of any organization, and one that customers increasingly care about. Companies need to weave their CSR values into their culture, and use the latest social media tools to express them consistently and confidently to their client base and the public.

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5 Collaborate with partners

One of the most effective ways to amplify your social media and CSR efforts is to collaborate with partners who share your goals and values. These can be other organizations, NGOs, media outlets, or influencers who can help you reach new audiences, create more impact, and generate more trust and credibility. You should look for partners who can complement your strengths, add value to your message, and create synergy and mutual benefits.

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6 Learn from feedback

Finally, you should always be ready to learn from the feedback that you receive from your social media and CSR activities. You should listen to what your stakeholders are saying, asking, or suggesting, and respond to them in a timely and respectful manner. You should also evaluate the outcomes and impacts of your actions, and learn from your successes and failures. You should use feedback as an opportunity to improve your PR skills, strategies, and results.

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Kate Bitely

Caffeine Consumer | Results Producer
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Feedback is critical for understanding what content interests your audiences. Look at the data and figure out when your followers are most engaged, what posts increased engagement rate and try to grow ideas from there. Not all content is going to be outstanding, but feedback can help deduce critical aspects of social media like content formats, topics and tone. Lean into the data and if you aren’t a data-literate person, that’s ok! There are tons of courses that can help, and depending on your organization, this could be a key opportunity yo collaborate with a subject matter experts. Social media managers are increasingly expected to know everything, so when possible, collaborate with corporate partners to increase impact.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can PR professionals keep up with the latest trends and innovations in social media and CSR?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Follow the leaders

2 Monitor the metrics

3 Explore new platforms

4 Align with the values

5 Collaborate with partners

6 Learn from feedback

7 Here’s what else to consider

Public Relations

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How can PR professionals keep up with the latest trends and innovations in social media and CSR?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Follow the leaders

2 Monitor the metrics

3 Explore new platforms

4 Align with the values

5 Collaborate with partners

6 Learn from feedback

7 Here’s what else to consider

Public Relations

Rate this article

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