Friday, November 21, 2008

Tech Citizenship

Tell about your giving with social media

Today in this column, where I usually write about the business, technology and uses of video, I write to offer a suggestion that may help some businesses improve their marketing during the economic crisis: Tell the story of how your company and employees are helping your customers during their time of need. Allow your audience to participate in that story as it unfolds in online social networks.

In this age of social media, acts of kindness give you a story that can spread and last for a long time. They also give you an opportunity to bring your employees and customers together on the Internet’s social platforms, where good deeds can increase your presence and standing in an online community just as they do in your physical community.

If you have started an online social network to support your marketing, you know it can be a challenge. You can’t simply promote your products directly. Online communities don’t form around products per se; they form around people and common interests. A corporate philanthropy program can make it easy for employees and customers to have an open, online conversation and share it with their personal and professional networks. Participants will never forget your company’s campaign; nor will the Internet — where the web activity will increase your search engine rankings and attract visitors long after the campaign has ended.

Historian and Catalogue for Philanthropy founder George McCully defines philanthropy not just as rich people helping poor people, but in the classical sense as “private initiatives, for the public good, focused on quality of life.” According to McCully, many milestones in our nation’s history, such as our first schools, hospitals, libraries, and roads began with philanthropists — Americans who took the initiative to act and solve their own problems. McCully now believes this quintessentially American “we can do anything” spirit is poised for revival, fueled by the severity of the problems we face today and a hunger for values. If this is true, business leaders may be able to motivate their employees to create new programs that help their company and community.

Today, business leaders are asking, “What are the things we should be doing with our company and employees during these difficult times? How do we inspire ‘shared ownership’ so that employees remain involved during a crisis?” For some companies, a creative approach to corporate philanthropy, powered by social tools, may be an interesting solution.

 

Denise de Murcie is a media specialist and director of brand management for Liberty Medical Supply Inc. She can be reached at ddemurcie@gmail.com.