The public believes businesses are just as responsible as governments for driving positive social change.公众认为商业应该和政府一样，具有推动社会向积极变化的责任。
In a just-released global survey by Havas Worldwide, nearly two-thirds (60%) of the 10,000 respondents would like their favorite brands to help their local communities, while 68% believe businesses are as responsible as governments for driving positive social change.
The agency’s “Communities and Citizenship” study also found that the single greatest societal change agent is “people empowered by social media,” a finding that puts communications pros in the thick of CSR responsibilities, given they are often responsible for social media activities.
The study found that 88% use social media at least once a day, and 45% say it has made them more politically aware or active. For millennials those numbers increased to 54%, compared to 24% among older respondents (age 55-plus).
More than 40% said they expect to use social media in the future to promote worthy causes.
What does this mean for communications executives? A greater focus on CSR initiatives and the PR around them—both internally and externally. And the more focus, the greater communications’ standing will be within the organization.
At the PRSA Conference in October, Biz Stone of Twitter said in his keynote speech that altruism is becoming the norm and will be one of the pillars of business. It looks like Stone’s prediction is spot on.