I’m going to skip the basic tips and tools because there’s an abundance of information on them. The ways I engage aren’t very technical – anyone can follow my footsteps easily. However, there’s definitely some skill, common sense, and technique involved to get the best outcome.

•  The first, and probably the most basic tip, is to have a personal account on social networks. It’s important to separate yourself from a business profile for several reasons. It highlights your skills, where a business profile may not even let others know who you are. You can discuss your personal views, though I sincerely recommend being careful with what you post. Finally, it helps you connect with other professionals on a more personable level. After all, you’re supposed to be social.
• I’ve seen lots of very smart people say it’s bad to connect your social profiles but I disagree. You don’t inundate your followers with Facebook status updates or post the exact same message across the board. However, when done correctly, it’s a huge time saver. Personally, I use HootSuite to connect with most of my social profiles. I can tailor messages to fit each platform but quickly post to a bunch of locations.
• Another important piece to connecting on social media is to get involved. I don’t mean re-tweeting a couple things every so often. Dive in head first! Comment on blog posts if you plan to RT them. Add your thoughts to tweets or respond to someone directly to engage in conversation. I’ve noticed that an enormous amount of resources are posted for others to use as a template or create something unique. The more you engage, the better information you’ll find.
• If you take anything from this post, this is the gem. There are some excellent and simple ways to meet other brilliant minds. Twitter chats are a great way to learn about new and updated topics while meeting like-minded pros. For example, I attend #CSRchat whenever I can. It’s hosted by Susan McPherson (@susanmcp1) and features guests that are innovators in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). On Facebook and LinkedIn, you can join groups that focus on a specific topic. These are great places to share and receive information, as well as meet some of your peers. Again, these tools are worthless if you don’t engage within them. Don’t be afraid to give your opinion, no matter whether it’s good or bad.
• The last piece of information is a personal strategy that I’ve found to be helpful. IT MAY NOT BE FOR EVERYONE. After I meet someone via social networking, I like to acknowledge them and thank them for connecting with me. As time rolls by, things tend to become less formal and more friendly. I think using a bit of humor or casual discussion is important to connecting. We’re not robots. Being casual doesn’t mean you aren’t professional, either. Obviously I don’t recommend using a business profile to “let your hair down” so this is just another reason to have a personal profile.

These are the ways I’ve made connections with some of the smartest, most innovative, and funny people. I will continue to tweak my technique as time moves on, as you should too. Social media can be like quicksand – if you stay stagnant for too long you’ll be pulled under. Get involved! Show an interest in what you do and those around the world with the same interests.

It’s not that the companies I have worked for don’t do great things. I’m proud of each program that I’ve been involved with but there’s a nagging curiosity of what it’s like to be part of something big. If I can’t know the feeling first-hand (yet) then I have to live vicariously from those who’ve been there.

I want you all to think hard, dig deep, and find that one thing you’re the most proud of. Explain why it means so much and how it impacted you. Spare no details! This your chance to brag and self-promote…for a good reason.

When all is said and done, I’ll feature the work I find to be the most inspiring. So, tell me why I should pick you.

Related articles

• 14 Excellent CSR Resources (prscoup.com)
• Is CSR A Superhero? (prscoup.com)
• 5 CSR Executive Trends (triplepundit.com)
• 5 Ways to Get Your CSR Efforts Recognized (prnewsonline.com)

I recently watched the movie “Hancock” on TV and saw something interesting. The movie used a superhero as a metaphor for big corporations and their responsibility to give back.

Granted, it’s not a new movie, I think it’s still relevant. The basic plot focuses on a drunk, crass, and lazy superhero with a bad temper. Where most superheroes would be praised for their crime fighting, Hancock has no interest in helping the mortals around him. When he does make an effort, it tends to do more harm than good thus people see his actions as selfish and devoid of responsibility for any collateral damage he may cause.

Along comes a soft-spoken PR strategist with big ideas, unfortunately nobody listens to what he is proposing. What’s his big idea? Corporations should give things away for free to those who need it, show the world that even the biggest corporations have a responsibility to help the little guy. He’s pitching CSR and gets laughed at. “Are you high, son?” one of the executives asks.

Eventually, our PR pro haphazardly crosses paths with Hancock and sees his true potential. What if this dirty, angry superhero changed his image? Would people find respect for the once hated hero if he started giving back to the community instead of damaging it?

At this point, the parallel between our superhero and giant corporations should be pretty obvious. What I found interesting was the fact that a superhero and a corporation could even be compared. When thinking about big businesses, I never envision a superhero with enormous power, flying above the city skylines. Yet, in an abstract way, they do have something in common: the power and means to help.

I suppose the sentiment comes down to one important thought. Whether you’re a caped hero or a multi-national conglomeration, if you have the capacity to “save the world” it becomes your responsibility to do so. If you had super-human powers, your destiny would be to put them to use helping others. The same goes for corporations and their abilities.

What do you think of this comparison? Should corporations take a page from comic books?

Related articles

• 14 Excellent CSR Resources(prscoup.com)

  ---

• 5 Ways to Get Your CSR Efforts Recognized(prnewsonline.com)

  ---

• Finding What Matters in CSR: A Long Way From Milton Friedman(emanatepr.com)

  ---

GoodB: One of the best CSR & Sustainable business news sources. They inspire businesses to be a forces for good. They’re constantly distributing new data, releases and news.

Companies For Good: This group covers the spectrum of CSR-related issues (cause marketing, social giving, employee engagement & corporate philanthropy). They focus on the social issues and have a great combination of business and social engagement. @Companies4good

Allison McGuire: One of my all-time favorite CSR and cause marketing thought leaders. She works with Companies For Good, but her extensive background experience gives her a unique and insightful point of view. @CaliMcG

Company2keep Inc.: An on-line destination directory and interactive platform where responsible businesses engage stakeholders to advance sustainable best-practices. A very solid group who strives to get all sides to collaborate towards making business more socially and environmentally responsible. @company2keep

Celesa Horvath: Celesa is a corporate sustainability and responsibility consultant, blogger, and speaker. She posts very thought provoking and current articles. With experience in Canada and abroad, Celesa brings something truly special to the table. @Celesahorvath

Susan McPherson: Susan is the Senior Vice President/Director of Global Marketing at Fenton. She’s passionate  about global innovation, social entrepreneurship, CSR, cause marketing, fundraising, and engagement strategies. Though “passionate” hardly begins to describe her. Susan hosts #CSRChat, which is one of the top Twitter chats and always brings an excellent crowd. @Susanmcp1

3BLMedia: This company promotes CSR via press releases, videos, blogs, and more. 3BL is the leading distributor of CSR & sustainability news and content across the social web. They have a great recap of each week and use all types of media to spread their work. @3BLMedia

David Connor: David is the founder of Coethica. He has knowledge of CSR, sustainability, social enterprise, and small business. David is the type to pose such interesting thoughts and/or questions that they tend to go viral. A brilliant mind. @Davidcoethica

Leon Kaye: Pushes the business case for CSR & sustainability. He writes for @GuardianSustbiz, @TriplePundit, and  @Inhabitat. He’s also the editor of GreenGoPost. Clearly, the demand for Leon’s ideas prove he’s a necessity in the CSR field. @LeonKaye

CSRwire: Full Disclosure – I have an affiliation with CSRwire. CSRwire is the most trusted source of corporate social responsibility & sustainability news, reports & information. They’re constantly hosting seminars, webinars, and tweetchats. It’s an outstanding resource for notification of upcoming events and current news. @CSRwire

Aman Singh: Aman is an editor at CSRwire and one of the most experienced journalists, communicators, and CSR & Sustainable business strategists. She is an IEMA-certified CSR Practitioner and a brilliant social media strategist. Her work speaks for itself. If you don’t know her yet, do it immediately. @AmanSinghCSR

Triple Pundit: Triple Pundit is an innovative new-media company for the business community that cultivates awareness and understanding of the triple bottom line. Though they can fly under the radar, their information is undoubtedly worth a look. @Triplepundit

CSR Leaders: This is a venue for CSR Leaders to network and share best CSR and Sustainability practices. One of the best features of social media is the ability to network with like-minded thinkers. Sharing notes is crucial to understand what works well and what fails miserably. @CSR_Leaders

Elaine Cohen: Elaine is the manager of BeyondBusiness. She’s a CSR consultant, sustainability reporter, and human resources pro. Elaine even authored CSR for HR. However, Elaine really shines as a leader in CSR when she’s speaking as part of a panel or writing articles on current sustainability issues. I would classify her as an expert. @Elainecohen

These are some of the resources that I’ve found to be at the core of CSR today. Who would you add to this list?

Marietje Schaake @ State of Social Media Summit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I spend a majority of my day utilizing different social media related tools, platforms, and news. My job is the role of a consultant for clients looking to build an online presence, engage with customers and stakeholders, etc. Recently, I’ve been working with two separate clients with ve

ry different strategies regarding social media. While conducting research, I noticed there was an influx in certification programs being offered for social media consultants. Here are a few examples:

• Develop and Implement an Integrative Approach to Social Media from the IABC
•  Social Media and New Media PR Bootcamps offered by the PRSA
• Social Media Week will start social media courses and accreditation in 2013

In a recent article from SpinSucks, guest writer Martin Waxman discusses the issue at hand.

In social media, anyone can try the platforms, learn enough to be dangerous and, with a few clicks, become a video producer, community manager, content curator, published writer, or any combination of the above. [...] But as social media moves into the mainstream, a more formalized type of social media education is beginning to emerge; one that provides instruction in a classroom setting and grants accreditation, certificates, or degrees.

According to Mr. Waxman, social media has been mainly a DIY education process. We learn as we go and gain our knowledge through participating instead of learning in a more academic process. In my personal experience, that’s how I learned the best practices and platforms offered through social media.

The questions I pose to you are whether being certified in social media makes a difference. Would you hire a certified consultant over a non-certified one? Does having certification suggest an expertise? If you’re a social media consultant/strategist, would you get certified?

Related articles

• Top 10 Reasons Why Social Media Should Be Part Of Every Business…(prweb.com)

  ---

• Institute Develops the First Standards for Social Media Education(nismonline.org)

  ---