Should you post about Roe v. Wade?

Stick around for the Social Media News to Use below.

After the shocking, but not so shocking considering we saw this coming, news on Friday of SCOTUS' ruling, many took to social media. Some brands and individuals put out posts very quickly expressing their stance, others took some more time to work through what they wanted to say, and others were left wondering if they should say something at all and, if so, what?

I've helped brands navigate through every phase of social and political issues - both large and small. Here are the guidelines when working through whether you should post about timely news or not.

1. Does the issue touch your values as a brand? (and if you don't know your brand values, you should figure out what you stand for and put it on paper ASAP)
2. How does your leadership feel and if you are the head of your brand, whether that's a personal brand or company, check-in with yourself on how you personally feel?
3. Do not use this as a marketing opportunity so if that is a motive, please reassess. Even if you have in your post an ask for people to donate directly to an organization that's unrelated to you, you have to be very careful about the wording and how that might come off.
4. Your silence as a brand could be viewed as complicity. You might think you're avoiding something by not posting about it, but some might view that as just as loud of a position as any.
5. If you are an employee, please check your company's social media policy. Regardless of where you post about an issue - a private Facebook group, a niche Reddit thread - it can be screenshotted and sent to your HR. Being that I ran social media for a large healthcare system for five years, I have been on the receiving end of many screenshots related to employees' activities on the internet and have had to escalate to HR.
6. Have a plan, which includes a response, for backlash. Whether you say something or not, you could get backlash. In the world we live in today, you have to be prepared and okay with that so stand firm in your decision.

There is a multitude of ways to position a message around timely issues. You could state facts, you could inform your audience how this might change how you work, you could express your thoughts and offer support, you could tell a story, you could give resources, and more.

There are also numerous ways to share your message on social media. You could use an image of a quote from leadership or an employee. You could post a screenshot of an email or newsletter that you sent out. You could repost someone else's content (with permission) who is an authority in a certain space. You could record a video of you speaking your message.

I know there are a ton of factors and nuances that go into every one of these decisions on what to share and how. I'm a trusted resource for my clients as someone who has more than a decade of experience doing this exact kind of work. Send me a message and let me know if you need my consulting services to work with your team to build out your social media plan, (which includes crisis and response management) or if you need a coach for yourself. I'm here for you!

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I have so much to share related to my time at Social Fresh last week. Be sure you're following me on social media as I'll be posting more there. Here's a picture from the panel that I moderated How Brands Can Develop & Scale Short Form Video Skills with Nick Cicero, Tiffany Rivers, Michael Ibe, and Stephanie Ramirez.?

INSTAGRAM: Accessibility update and fun caption effects!

• Updates to Captions [@Creators Instagram]

Check it out in action in my Reel here:?

INSTAGRAM: The Zuck speaks again in his Instagram Stories. (Disregard my commentary in the tweet. The important thing is the screen record of Mark's IG Stories.)

• IG testing full screen [Zuckerberg IG]

FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM: The Zuck has spoken and doubled down on the creator economy.

• More money for creators [Mark Zuckerberg Facebook]

FACEBOOK: More Reels capabilities.

• You can now create Facebook REELS and STORIES on desktop in Creator Studio [Mari Smith Twitter]

FACEBOOK: Don't count Facebook out yet.

• FACEBOOK IS CHANGING ITS ALGORITHM TO TAKE ON TIKTOK, LEAKED MEMO REVEALS [The Verge]

LINKEDIN: LOLsssssss

• The Funny Reaction Is Here [My Instagram]

TWITTER: Blogging, but on Twitter?

• Introducing Notes [Twitter]

YOUTUBE: Shorts are NOT coming up short.

• YouTube Shorts tops 1.5B logged-in monthly users, touted as feeder to long-form content [TechCrunch]

TIKTOK: Replacing Facebook for some small business owners.

• 43% of SMBs are using TikTok to reach new audiences [Business of Apps]

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