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By: Sophie McAuley

We want to be remembered for doing good, right? Nowadays, socially conscious activity by a business is an investment and a contribution to the greater good for all companies. But businesses have to be smart when showcasing their pledge of “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) to the masses.

Here are five tips to demonstrating CSR for you and/or your company:

1. Be Balanced

This is an opportunity to let your audience, employers, clients (and even competitors) know how much emphasis you place on CSR in the workplace. That said, businesses shouldn’t give into bragging. Instead, they can talk about their contributions in balanced and meaningful content, subtly in press releases, editorial and social media.

2. Educate and Elevate

Want to see the next generation of storytellers, producers, writers and editors excel? Meet the students of a local school and pass on your experience. Better yet, issue some press around their responses; kids do say the funniest things! These types of features are well received by journalists and readers alike.

3. Support Local

Does your staff eat lunch at the independent eatery next door, or do you order catering for meetings from the local deli? Are one of your employees running in a nearby 10k for a charitable cause? Shout about it! You don’t have to make grand gestures, but the community wants to see you shop, dine and work with local employers. You could even potentially coordinate local initiatives with these businesses. When it comes to showcasing your CSR activity, nothing works better than ‘partnered’ promotion.

4. Hire the honest and honorable

Is there a question in your interview process about ethical decision-making and good practice? Including this kind of inquiry not only sifts out the more virtuous candidate from those who are less so, but shows potential employees that you care about the integrity of staff, work practices and the content you produce.

5. Finally….celebrate it!

Audiences and potential clients want to engage with companies that are reputable, trustworthy and have a sense of purpose. There are some excellent awards out there such as “PR Daily’s Corporate Social Responsibility Awards,” which commends businesses and studios of all shapes and sizes for their CSR activity. Public commendations go a long way toward cementing a businesses’ reputation as a CSR leader.

Audience engagement and feedback has never been more prevalent or accessible. Thus the list of ways a company can highlight its CSR activities will only get longer over time. Meanwhile, we are reminded that part of a company’s cornerstone should be their positive impact on society.