Real Estate in Review: Corporate Social Responsibility Can Be Lucrative
1 April 2021
Steve Osborn
Managing Director, Identity Marketing
Ever met someone who talks a big game under the guise of endorsing someone or something else? You know the one, the person who talks over everyone about how late they stayed up and how busy they are because they’ve taken on some minor volunteer work.
It’s not only people who do this, brands do it too. The latest example that has caught my attention centres around Apple’s new IOS update which provides users with more control over the data they share with Facebook. This update results in the restriction of Facebook ads and Facebook will end up losing a pretty penny in ad revenue. Because of this, Facebook responded by running full-page ads in The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal to pressure Apple over the update while boldly declaring that Facebook is standing up for small business.
To me, this smells wrong from a mile away. Facebook is still the same company that started charging small businesses in 2016 to send updates to their own followers, an example of the many instances of Facebook as a brand not caring about small business unless it serves them in the process.
In my opinion, Facebook is picking a fight with Apple because they’re standing up for their own interests, not the interests of small business.
It’s obvious that their actions align with their bottom line – but don’t get me wrong, I’m 100% for turning a healthy profit, however, I’m not okay with their message because they’re talking a big game under the guise of a worthy cause.
Back to you and your real estate business, what does this mean to you?
Be transparent. If you’re in real estate to make a lot of profit and don’t want to be a socially responsible brand that’s fine, just don’t talk about how you give back when you’re doing the bare minimum. Yes, Corporate Social Responsibility can be lucrative and it’s something that I heavily endorse, however it’s more than sporadically giving cash and then bragging about it. Your choice is simple, either stop talking shop or get out there and mean what you say.
