Social responsibility in business has undergone a drastic change during the last decade, and as another catastrophic storm barrels towards Florida I want to take this opportunity to talk about what role business plays in the community. Businesses create culture and community around common organizational goals, and since the rise of social entrepreneurship we’ve seen the positive effects that socially driven businesses have on their greater communities.
Are social driven businesses a new concept?
The simple answer is no. Although, this drives a more compelling discussion on the role of social media in today’s sharing economy. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the American people have witnessed everything that is great about this country. Business owners like Mattress Mack, who opened their doors to those in need are true hero’s and should be recognized. This type of interaction with business and community is what we have grown accustom to, but what happens when you don’t open those doors?
The term social suicide comes to mind… Joel Osteen was put on blast throughout mainstream social media networks for his slow response opening his church during Hurricane Harvey. He immediately responded to these claims, but the damage was already done. This is a great example of how harmful viral media can be to a brand. Whether your intentions were right doesn’t matter, the damage is done, and now the rebuild will ultimately be far more difficult to recover from.
How does social entrepreneurship and social media interact?
Social media has given social entrepreneurship a platform to expand through the viral effect. You can no longer just offer a product or service…you must drive some type of positive change to captivate today’s consumers. In the social media age the free flow of user generated content dominates the market, but when properly executed businesses can acquire these captive audiences through clever marketing tactics. Social business is here to stay, and thanks to social media consumers can and will hold you accountable for what comes next.
What happens when businesses exploit the socially driven business model?
Unfortunately, some people will always try to find new areas to exploit for profits. In this case, it might not necessarily be a bad thing…if the new norm for business continues to be community focused these businesses will be forced to become more aware. Sure, it would be great if all businesses willingly gave back, but that’s not a reasonable notion to expect. Outside pressures have an interesting way of turning into inside issues, and if these pressures are in the direction of social good we will be far better off.