From National Siblings Day to Pride Month, social media loves to celebrate a cause. Influencers and social media users have created a culture in which these celebrations create a sense of connection for those who jump in and show support. That is, at least, what the founders of various social media platforms built their networks for – to create a community for everyone.
There is also an allure for businesses to show their support and join in to connect with their fans and potential customers. However, it has become apparent that some businesses are using cause celebrations to gain influence or simply increase their follower count.
So, when is it appropriate for a business to celebrate or show support for a cause on social media?
Before you change your logo to the color of the month or start filling your feed with related inspirational quotes, ask yourself the following questions.
Is it relevant to your work? Does the month relate to what you do or the product you sell? #TacoTuesday is a great promotion for Taco Bell, but does it make sense for Nike?
Is it relevant to your audience? As a business or organization, your audience is your number one priority. If you don’t know whether the cause is important to them you have some work to do. It is important that whatever you are posting is relevant to your audience first and foremost.
Is it relevant to you? Have you had a personal journey with the cause, or publicly shared about a close family member that relates to the particular cause? If you or someone in your family is adopted and you have shared that with your followers publicly or are willing to share moving forward, National Adoption Month is relevant to you.
Do you support the cause in other ways or year-round? This is the one that tends to occasionally get businesses and organizations in hot water. Celebrating Pride Month is important and we think everyone should jump on board, but are you really making a difference in the community or the community’s advocacy efforts year-round? Are you talking about inclusion and human rights more than just during June? Would you post a pride flag on your page or in your business during another month? If the answer is no to any of those questions then you need to think about what else you can do to support the cause before posting your logo in rainbow.
If you were able to successfully answer all of the above questions, congrats! It may be appropriate for you to post in support of a cause on social media.
The next question — how should you go about doing that? A few tips for supporting a cause on social media include:
- Tie the cause back to your mission. If you found the cause was relevant to you or your business this should be an easy one. How does this cause relate to what you do?
- Don’t overdo it. You don’t need to change your entire profile branding to support a cause, although by all means if you feel it is appropriate, you can do that. You can, however, post a couple of times throughout the designated month or 1-2 times if it takes place during a single day.
- Post something useful. Just posting “I support” doesn’t quite cut it these days. Share something impactful or useful for your audience that is related to the cause and may help educate them. Link back to a blog post on your page, a product you designed to support the effort or another nonprofit or advocacy organization doing the work. Be relevant and useful.
Posting on your business or organization’s social media feeds to show support of a cause or celebration is a notable endeavor. However, check your motives and ensure you are making the right decision before you speak publicly, and most importantly, make sure it is relevant to you, your brand and your audience.
You can join the North ladies for #TacoTuesday and other causes we love by following our social media accounts @northmediaco on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
