The Cluetrain Manifesto? The web had changed everything: markets were once again conversations between buyers and sellers (or, perhaps more importantly, buyers and buyers), and you’d better get involved or get left behind.

The message has reached businesses, no doubt: try to find a company now without a blog, Twitter stream, and/or Facebook page. Companies touting their social and environmental responsibility have flocked to the web to get the message out and engage with potential customers.

Is it working? Yes… and no.

According to the newly-released 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study, consumers do feel empowered by companies use of social media to talk about CSR. They want to find out about product materials and manufacturing processes. They make buying decisions (or boycotting decisions) based on information they find online. They feel like they have a voice to express their concerns about corporate responsibility.

By and large, however, they’re not using that voice.

The survey revealed that, though consumers like social media, they’re not participating in the conversation as much as we might think. When asked where they received their information about CSR online, nearly half responded with decidedly Web 1.0 technologies such as traditional web pages and email. Only 15% use social networks for this purpose; blogs garnered an 11% response. And the Twitter stream: 2% say they’re following micro-blogs to find out about environmental and social performance.

So, is the big investment in social media a waste? No… obviously some consumers are using this technology, and we may still be seeing these uses taking hold mostly among early adopters (and perhaps influencers) at this point. Plus, there are tactics companies can use to encourage customers to join the conversation: Jonathan Yohannan, senior vice president of corporate responsibility at Cone, notes that you can leverage the channels consumers are using to get them to participate in dialogue. He observes “The value of engaging consumers and broader stakeholders in this way is to enhance reputation, build loyalty and even lead to business innovation.”

How’s the engagement with consumers on CSR issues through social media going with your company? Finding it hard to get the conversation going? Let us know in the comments…