The Balance of Business Activism, Brand Identity, and Social Media
Today's newsletter is a guest post from my good friend, Jade Shebelski, who will share her expertise on social media activism with our community!
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We live in a time when social media constantly blurs the line between personal beliefs and brand identity. It is a time when businesses often feel pressured to align themselves with various social justice issues. Yet, it's essential to understand how it can appear weird on social media when your business takes a stand for every social justice issue and finds ways to navigate corporate activism effectively.
I have been working in the social media industry since Netflix sent out queued DVDs in the mail. Do you remember those days? And in that amount of time, a shift has come about in the realm of social media where when something happens in the news cycle, it's almost expected that every business needs to make a statement and take a stand on every one of those issues almost instantaneously.
I want to talk to you today about why your business does not have to take a stand for everything all at once- keep reading to learn more about how your business can meaningfully participate in societal conversations while maintaining authenticity and credibility.
These days, striking the right balance between corporate activism and brand identity is crucial for businesses that aim to support social justice issues without compromising their image.
Each business has a business plan; most of the time, a part of that business plan is your business mission and values statement. If you haven't taken the time to decide and write yours out, I encourage you to because, like everything in business, when it's written out, it helps in understanding your company's core values and beliefs. This is essential to ensure that any social or political stance your business decides to comment on aligns with these principles. This is vital because it maintains your message by taking a stand on only the issues that genuinely resonate with your brand identity.
When supporting a particular cause or movement, transparency is critical in maintaining trust with consumers and employees. Be clear about why you have chosen a specific issue to get involved in, how it relates to the company's mission, and what the business is doing to create impact.
My professional opinion is to support causes that are in alignment with your business or brand and stick to those because once you begin to jump all over and make a statement about everything in the news- every time something comes up in the news cycle, your community will be looking for your thoughts on the issue. And when I say support- I mean actively doing something of impact, volunteering, raising money, something that is not only words on a screen to obtain likes.
Which leads me into…
The Role of Social Media in Advancing Business Social Advocacy
Social media has become essential for businesses to engage with customers, promote products and services, and establish their brand identity. Love it or hate social media these days; if you have a business, it is a necessary place to be taking up space.
However, its ubiquitous presence also means that any stance taken on social issues can quickly become amplified positively and negatively.
In this context, businesses must be mindful of utilizing social media platforms when advancing their corporate social advocacy efforts- when in doubt, go back to your vision and mission statement.
The key factor in successful business activism on social media is authenticity. Suppose your business genuinely cares about a particular issue or cause. In that case, it will resonate more with your audience than if you jump onto the bandwagon of every trending topic without a solid connection to the company's values or objectives.
For the sake of this article, I will use the Breast Cancer Awareness Month of October and personal examples of opportunities for business activism gone right versus appearing like virtue signaling for profit.
Much like when the holiday season approaches and the calendar flips to November, all things gifts are announced; when the calendar flips to October 1, pink, any, and everything appears in the store advertising "proceeds of purchase going to this foundation."
Like clockwork, posts begin to surface every first week of October about breast cancer statistics, stories are shared about cancer survival, and foundations are linked to where proceeds from the month will be sent for research. Pink is all over the place, but there are crickets the rest of the year. The other 11 months out of the year, there is no mention of the foundations your business is sending proceeds to, almost as if the foundation is a pop-up shop that only exists for 31 days of the year because, on November 1, your social media feed will drift over to holiday or some other issue that EVERYONE else is posting about.
Toward the end of October, a client wanted to create a product for breast cancer survivors; they had said they intended to have the product available on October 1, but they had run out of time. They were getting to it 20 days into the month. My advice was at that point in the month, posting something of that nature looked as if the business was desperate for sales and utilizing the cover of October to get them. Primarily because on social media, there had never been content discussing Breast Cancer, and there was not a plan to give a donation or proceeds of the sale of this particular item to a specific organization.
With this example in mind, to maintain credibility in the eyes of your followers, share content related to causes aligned with your brand's mission and beliefs throughout the year to avoid those that could come across as superficial or opportunistic.
Which segways into the other important aspect- consistency. Social justice business involvement should be treated as something other than a one-time event but rather as an ongoing commitment woven into the fabric of your company culture.
By demonstrating sustained interest and engagement in these matters through regular social media posting on relevant topics – as well as participating in discussions around them – you'll reinforce trust between your audience members who care about these issues while also driving home a positive message for potential clients evaluating whether they want to do business with you based upon shared values.
Remember that impact matters too: When choosing which causes to support publicly via social channels, consider what aligns best with your branding and where there may be opportunities for meaningful change by leveraging resources (e.g., expertise within an industry niche). This approach ensures actions taken have tangible results beyond merely generating buzz online— potentially leading towards long-lasting improvements society-wide and boosting overall company reputation among consumers who appreciate such dedication towards making the world a better place.
Business activism and brand identity require self-awareness regarding their core beliefs and careful consideration when choosing which issues to support. By being transparent about reasons for involvement in specific causes—without attempting engagement on every front—companies can successfully participate in ongoing conversations surrounding social justice while preserving credibility within their target audience.
Remember that Authenticity, Consistency, Transparency, and Impact are the four ingredients to balance your brand identity with business activism in the ever-changing social media landscape.
If your business is in need of how to execute this on social media platforms specifically, feel free to reach out.
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Jade Shebelski of Maven & Muse Media is a seasoned social media strategist and content creator for product and service-based businesses. Her organic and authentic approach is proven to create the most brand awareness, engagement, and transactions.
