There’s a fine line between supporting a worthy cause and jumping on a bandwagon for good publicity. Online audiences are increasingly aware of this and do not fear calling out brands for trivializing or over-commercializing Pride on social media.
Despite the risk of being called out for “rainbow washing” (when companies signal support for the LGBTQ+ community without actually doing the work that helps members of the community), only 22% of companies are even considering changing their Pride strategy this year. While there’s no simple formula for authentic content, one of the shortest paths to appearing out-of-touch and irrelevant is treating Pride and the community it represents as an unchanging monolith.
Many companies genuinely want to do better and publish content that is relevant to the lives of their customers, employees, and associates. To avoid sounding disingenuous, following best practices and learning from other companies’ successes or mistakes is essential.
Why Your Company Should be Vocal about Supporting Pride Month
Showing corporate support for the LGBTQ+ is, quite simply, the right thing to do. But moral matters aside, there’s a strong business case for supporting Pride, too. From a business standpoint, this decision touches on several important considerations:
- Corporate Social Responsibility is a business model based on good corporate citizenship, accountability, and awareness of one’s social and environmental impact. Raising the visibility of historically underrepresented groups is essential to fulfilling one’s obligations under this model.
- Supporting causes that matter showcases your corporate values and lets your crucial customer demographics know that you stand with them on the issues they care about.
- Emphasizing your company’s actions to provide an inclusive, equitable work environment can attract more talent.
- Lastly, it’s beneficial for growing your business. More than seven percent of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ+, more than double the percentage reported just a decade ago. For Generation Z members, the identification rate is over 19%. Building familiarity and trust with this up-and-coming demographic could significantly impact business growth and support your demand-generation efforts.
What to Avoid in Pride Month Posts
Before considering how to put together the perfect Pride post, let’s discuss what not to do. There are a few common pitfalls that marketers sometimes fall into; being aware of them makes them easier to avoid. When in doubt, you can also contact marketing agencies for support.
Too much selling, not enough support
If your Pride post looks like an excuse to sell rainbow-themed products, it creates the impression that your “support” for Pride is driven entirely by financial self-interest.
Caricatures and stereotypes
Good intentions won’t save you if you misrepresent the community you honor with clichés and stereotypical depictions. When you post, think about the LGBTQ+ members of your organization and whether or not they’d be proud to share the post and identify with its content. Better yet, create opportunities to consult and collaborate with them.
Unequal representation
People will notice if your Pride Month posts conspicuously elevate some of the identities represented in the LGBTQ+ acronym but not others. Inclusive, balanced content is a must. Social listening can help you understand the LGBTQ+ audience better and how LGBTQ+ members prefer to be portrayed.
Forgetting about Pride as soon as June is over
If July 1st rolls around and you go back to not mentioning the LGBTQ+ community for the next eleven months, you’re sending a clear signal about how committed you are to being an ally. Look for ways to affirm your support and platform LGBTQ+ voices throughout the year.
So, What Should Your Pride Month Posts Look Like?
Remember, fun and creativity are very much in the spirit of Pride. The possibilities for creating exciting and engaging content far outweigh the hazards that must be avoided, so let’s review some of the best practices to follow.
Showcase LGBTQ+ stories and voices.
Instead of just speaking on behalf of the community in the voice of a magnanimously inclusive corporation, provide opportunities for members to speak for themselves and create content that truly represents them.
Provide receipts for your efforts
Don’t be shy about proving that your support isn’t just lip service. Suppose you’ve started offering LGBTQ+-friendly benefits, donated or volunteered for related causes, advocating for legislative change, or done anything else that shows real commitment to fighting for inclusivity and equality. In that case, this is the time to highlight it.
Get your employees on board
Employee advocacy initiatives managed by specialized solutions like Oktopost are an excellent framework for generating organic, authentic content from the people who know your organization better than anyone else—its employees. Just keep in mind that everybody has a different level of comfort about discussing their gender and sexuality on social media.
Engage with your audience
Polls, games, contests, and invitations to share stories and artwork are just a few things you can do to turn your Pride posts into lively conversations, not just static announcements. Being active on social media during Pride (and beyond) will also help you come across as genuine instead of opportunistic.
Partner with LGBTQ+ organizations or influencers
Pride Month is the perfect time to build bridges with LGBTQ+ content creators, business owners, and advocacy groups. Whether you’re sharing affiliate links or hiring guest bloggers, expanding your network in this way can help you connect with new audiences and win their trust.
Be consistent with your scheduling
Social media scheduling tools, another feature offered by Oktopost, allow you to plan out the entire month’s worth of posts. By optimizing post timing and balancing Pride-themed posts with your other content, you can maximize brand visibility.
7 Examples of Well Done Pride Month Posts on Social Media
1. Infosys, “Embrace with Love“
With this highly shareable video from 2023, Infosys plays to the emotions of its audience by telling a charmingly animated story about a person trying to fit in and find a heart-to-heart human connection as they grow into adulthood. The story is relatable to anyone, but it’s told from an explicitly LGBTQ+ perspective, ending with the slogan “Embrace with Pride.”
2. Accenture, “Pride at Accenture“
Accenture acknowledged Pride Month with a social media video that highlighted the benefits it offers its LGBTQ+ employees, its involvement in various initiatives, and the recognition it has received for its efforts toward equality. Instead of making an emotional appeal, this company emphasizes the plain facts of its longtime commitment to the values of Pride.
3. Microsoft, “Radical Joy“
Microsoft celebrates Pride Month with an engaging campaign that centers on employees sharing their own stories about what brings joy to their lives and what they’re doing to make their employer a more inclusive and supportive environment. The voices are authentic, the messaging is positive, and it makes a convincing impression that LGBTQ+ employees are visible and valued at Microsoft.
4. Amazon, “Glamazon”
Amazon advertising campaigns are always high-impact, and there’s a lot of Pride content to be shared across the various Amazon teams worldwide. Amazon is notoriously known for supporting Pride all year round, hosting its “Glamazon” events, and enabling employees to participate in Amazon-sponsors boats in Pride marches. So, for this Pride Month, instead of an elaborate marketing campaign, Amazon is showing us the various ways it supports the LGBTQ+ community.
5. Google, “Finding Pride“
For this year’s Pride Month, Google is helping users “find Pride” through curated LGBTQ+ media and games, Pride-themed digital design resources, and LGBTQ+ content creators. One notable feature they’re promoting is the inclusion of attributes for LGBTQ+-friendly businesses to display on Google Maps and Search.
6. Lego, “Everyone is Awesome“
When you’ve got an iconic and adaptable flagship product like Lego, the opportunity for Pride-themed promotions is endless. Lego struck the perfect tone with a line of mini-figures in the colors of the Progressive Pride flag. Simple but visually striking, these figures were a hit on social media and inspired a lot of organic content.
7. Dr. Martens, “Pride Then. Now. Always.”
This footwear company’s Pride posts direct visitors to a landing page that spotlights its long history as a brand favored by activists, radicals, and the LGBTQ+ community. The company also talks about its work to support Pride-related causes throughout the year, mainly through the charitable D.M. Foundation.
Putting the Focus on Pride
Hard-fought victories won by LGBTQ+ groups are still facing legislative challenges, and the ideals of inclusivity and positivity so often highlighted on social media still feel out of reach to many. When LGBTQ+ audiences see what you’re posting during Pride Month, you don’t want them to feel like it’s just an excuse to go all-in on marketing to them—or worse, that you’re overlooking them completely. This is the time to be vocal and authentic about supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
Social media marketing solutions like Oktopost can help you stay laser-focused on creating the best messaging and content by automating the processes of scheduling posts and managing them across multiple platforms. Oktopost also offers employee advocacy tools, giving you even more options for creating unique Pride-specific campaigns.
Book a demo today to find out what Oktopost can do to expand the reach and impact of your digital marketing efforts.
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