Corporate Social Responsibility Communication of Banks in the First Days of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication and the waysthe pandemic changed CSR communication of banks on social media at the beginning of the COVID-19pandemic in Turkey. A content analysis was made on the Facebook accounts of the biggest public, private,and foreign-owned retail banks in Turkey. The findings have shown that banks have increased their overalland health-related CSR communication during the pandemic. Besides, it was found that each bank had itsunique CSR approach and shifted its CSR activities online. Messages with CSR content got a higher numberof consumer comments than non-CSR messages. Customer interaction levels differed significantly amongmessages that included different CSR content such as health and society. This study reflects Turkish banks’CSR communication on social media, presents comparative results for crisis and non-crisis periods, andprovides analysis results about CSR communication during the pandemic. Besides, it is among the firststudies that examine the financial institutions’ social media marketing communication related to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The findings of this study may help marketing managers in designing their marketingstrategies in crisis times.