You may have come across a scandal with a brand in the news. Whether it be a data breach or unethical conduct, no brand is immune to the potential public backlash when they act irresponsibly. But, as time goes on, sins are often forgotten. Why do people forget and forgive? Many experts point to social media and corporate responsibility. Our AI technology agrees. Using hundreds of thousands of social media data points, Nichefire discovered that social media posts covering corporate responsibility can boost engagement, followers, and positive audience sentiment faster than any other category (including: entertainment, product and thought leadership posts).
Why should you incorporate corporate responsibility posts into your social media strategy? Here are three things you should consider.
1. Authentic Posts Boost Engagement Rates
In a recent Nichefire case study, social media posts about corporate responsibility drove 40% more engagement than the average post. But authenticity is the key to your success. And it’s all centered around telling a story. If you pat yourself on the back, your audience will quickly sniff it out and you’ll end up wasting a lot of time and money – only to hit poor engagement rates.
So, how can you come off as more authentic? Let’s look at a high performing post from U.S. Bank:
What did they do right? For starters, this post doesn’t mention U.S. Bank once. It’s entirely about supporting children and girls who want to code.
What would have ruined this awesome content? A caption like this:
[BANK NAME] is proud to host classes at our Cyber Defense Center in Cincinnati.
Are you sinking in your chair a little because you’ve used a similar caption before? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. When you’re developing social media content around corporate responsibility, keep away from braggadocios captions. Instead, talk about why you’re donating your time and effort to support the cause. Better yet, talk about the positive outcomes that will arise from your corporate responsibility and tell their story (not yours). In today’s environment, your audience doesn’t just care that you give back. They want to believe you decided to give back because it’s the right thing to do.
Pro Tip: Link up with your PR team to see what corporate responsibility content may be in the pipeline.
2. Build Your Defense Shield
Sprout Social reports that 86% of Americans say transparency from businesses is a vital differentiator. That’s why social media is such an important tool for your business. It’s a fast and effective way to reach your audience. And during times of crisis, it’s the best way to gauge your consumers’ sentiment. But social media is also a preventative tool. By leveraging your corporate responsibility and highlighting your brand values on social media, you can build a stronger brand perception. If you start posting about your values and community involvement only after a scandal, people will think you’re trying to buy back their good graces.
3. Immediately Impact Your Brand Perception
Your brand is more than a logo, and it’s so much more than a cover photo. A brand is how you make your customers feel and it’s built by constant interactions through mediums like social media. So, when you’re building your social media calendar for the month, don’t just think about active corporate responsibility campaigns. Take the time to highlight your brand values.
Here are a few ways you can get started:
- Highlight/celebrate employees (Not just for professional achievements but for personal and social too).
- Use social media to interact with clients/prospects/local businesses on a regular basis (this will show your audience that you care about more than making a profit).
- Take inspiration from your competitors. What kind of corporate responsibility posts work best for them?
- Re-share content that you think your audience will resonate with.
- In 2018, the Governance & Accountability Institute found that 86% of companies in the S&P 500 Index published a sustainability or corporate responsibility report. If your company has one, this will be a goldmine for content.
Nichefire Can Help
Our AI technology is the simple, smart, effective way to increase the performance of your social media content. Discover which posts spark the most engagement with bank customers. Tap into powerful, real-time analytics to see how your content is performing compared to your competitors.
Our expertise goes far beyond building a great tool. We provide monthly consulting reports that break down your social performance across all social platforms and offer suggestions based on data to improve metrics like your engagement rate and follower count. Partnering with Nichefire is like hiring a team of social media content gurus, at a fraction of the cost.