Oftentimes it’s hard to stop what you’re doing and write down all the things you’ve noticed. Other times it feels like there’s so much to talk about that you simply must put them into words. This week alone a few things came to mind. If you know us personally, you know we’re still dealing with the aftermath of the winter storms in Texas that halted our home and office remodel. If I’m being frank, it didn’t just halt process, it set us back to the starting line.But, I couldn’t skip over these musings because they’ve been running rampant in my mind.
International Women’s Day
Oprah’s Interview with Meghan and Harry
Living through the age of influencers during a pandemic
President Biden’s rhetoric
I could fill pages on the merits and implications of all four topics, but for the sake of Monday morning, I’ll be brief.
____
International Women’s Day was last week. As a woman, it is always a powerful reminder of the progress we’ve made in the workplace and the progress yet to come. It also reminded me about how much more we need awareness for minority groups around the world. These groups shouldn’t just be celebrated once a year, but at a minimum we should make a more concerted effort to use that observance day as an update on progress, year after year.
Instead of flashing photos of strong women on International Women’s Day, wouldn’t it be nice if we saw statistics and infographics from businesses about how they’re working to achieve true equality? The same goes with any observance day, rather than cheer for the faces, I think we ought to educate ourselves on the facts. If you are a business owner looking to create transparency with your audiences, I hope you’ll consider the implications of how you highlight special days of observance, I can’t tell you how different it feels to see a woman’s photo while also learning a business has hired ___% women, that pay is 100% equal at every level of employment regardless of gender, and that women receive ___ benefits in regards to gender specific issues like pregnancy, loss or postpartum maternity leave. Tell us how you treat women in the workplace and then let us all celebrate.
——-
Oprah’s interview with Meghan and Harry was eye opening in some ways, for many, and a reminder for others that in this world things are mostly not what they seem. The thing I appreciated from Oprah was her strong ethics pitch at the head of the interview. She shared what many people would have used against them if they didn’t know the truth. She reminded audiences that they weren’t getting paid for the interview and that they didn’t have the questions ahead of time. This was a true news segment, not an advertisement for the couple. I think that’s a real asset, setting expectations of your audience. The transparency was well noted and received here.
____
As a professional who’s been in PR for two decades, I know how daring this next stream of consciousness is, but I mean it with sincere care for the world we’re living in. I have a real concern about living through the age of influencers when we’re also battling a mental health crisis around the world and the threats of misinformation through social media.
How many times will we hear about mental health issues affecting kids because of something they’ve seen on a screen and then pick up our phones to be misguided about something ourselves? Are we forgetting we’re the same species and that if it’s affecting kids, it’s likely affecting us too? As a brand, is what you’re sharing real? Believable? Attainable in real life (and not just inside of a TikTok video)? Are you contributing to the crises we are in, or combating it with reality?
Does that mean I think we ought to scale back on social media and the spread of information? Absolutely not, but I believe that businesses need to constantly hone in on their messaging and their audiences before delivering content. I think we need to use the tools we’ve all discovered and the ways we’ve been taught to communicate in a way that’s not a continual smoke screen. This is likely an unpopular stance with some audiences, but many of the things we click on in the course of a day aren’t real. The perceived need for entertainment is crushing the real need for information. There’s a balance and it’s hard to achieve without professional content writers and planners.
I do believe there’s a balance and I’d love to talk to your brand about what that looks like. Fresh content, that’s believable, allows people to see things in a different light and helps them make good decisions on what they purchase and support. Content changes the world, make sure your messaging is changing it for the better.
——
President Biden has been in office less than 100 days and already his rhetoric should be applauded. He is doing the work he said he’d do and clearly sharing progress along the way. In his last speech he called on Americans to do the right thing, he didn’t call anyone names, he gave us hope. He spoke about marginalized people groups with care and concern, speaking up for those that have had to navigate the pandemic with racism because of the name calling of his predecessor. I watched Van Jones give an interview on patriotism and gamut of cheap patriotism and deep patriotism. Joe Biden practices deep patriotism, the kind that works for the country and as simply as it sounds, I believe it starts with the words he chooses to use.
——
Moreover, words matter, use them wisely. Think about what you’re sharing this week. Write and speak about things that matter, for yourself and for your brands. Hopefully we can make a difference, even if we’re a minority at times.