Karam foundation publishes news about the organization on its website highlighting its latest projects and accomplishments. The foundation concentrates its charitable work in the middle east region and lately targeting the Syrian conflict and refugee resettlement. Karam gathers all its media and news under one tab on their website, this facilitates visitor experience and ease of gathering data and information about the work of the organization. The key to an effective visit to the media site is to earn visitor trust and excites interest. Karam uses news articles, videos testimonials as well as action pictures portraying the origination's work in the heart of the conflict.
Karam uses social media to display its greatest accomplishments and biggest announcements. On Facebook, the organization showed its gratitude for its partners for helping with the Seeds program, which provides sustainable nutrition of the displaced refugees. In addition, Karam announces important dates, new programs and posts all call for actions on they social media. Donors are pleased with such posts as it is important they are kept up to date with how their support impacts recipients.
According to Argenti's book on marketing and social media, it is also important to ensure an seamless and pleasant design for the organization's online newsroom. This he asserts isn't the only challenge, the difficulty lies in quality of content and its relativity to the organization's most recent activities.
In conducting an experiment on the foundation and its google ranking, It was astonishing to see that the first 3 results included the organization's website, Facebook page and Twitter accounts. This confirms they have a strong SEO and social media team that ensures the most relevant information is generated after a google search. Their mission is so important, they ensure all interested enough to google the organization receives all relevant information in one click. The social media search results are followed by media articles about the organization. Public opinion serves as an important tool for potential donors to filter out unreliable and unworthy causes seeking help.
Lisa Bytner discussed in her lecture the importance in earning trust in the work of public relations. She highly emphasized to keep your word once a promise is made. Karam foundation has a heavy burden to do that every time they receive $1 from a donor. The donor expects their aid will reach the appropriate recipient in the very particular situation described by the foundation. This proves especially difficult today, specifically because of the location of the conflict. The middle east has been a vulnerable target for corruption and terrorism. Donor money reaching its true and promised aid recipient is not only necessary for business but a dangerous and important social responsibility.
Karam would benefit from a closer relationship with local media. Being based in Washington DC, they have an advantage of reaching local media in many places around the country. Being actively present in local media not only highlights the organization's successful corporate social responsibility. accruing to Argenti, "pressures to have a positive impact on communities, employees, consumer and investors mounted, and simply doing good had far less impact than communicating the good that was being done." (Argenti, 43).
Lastly, having met Lisa Bytner and received her first hand industry advice, it will forever resinate with me as a junior Public Relations apprentice, that honesty is the most important tool. Building reputation in the PR field is building business, without one the other can't blossom.
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