How To Talk About Social Issues Without Looking Like A Bandwagon Jumper

So many business owners who are reluctant to talk about important social issues ask “how do I do this without looking like a bandwagon jumper?” Nobody wants to look like a jerk who is just following the crowd and doesn’t really care. Here’s what you need:

✅ Clarity. Why does it matter to you? What do you care about? How do people know?

You could buy a template and copy and paste it or link to something that somebody else wrote, but if you can actually explain the things that you say you care about, that goes so much further.

✅ Consistency. Plan these conversations as part of your content plan so you’re not only talking about Black people during Black history month and the LGBTQ community during Pride. If it matters to you it should be a thing all the time.

Think about it like Mother’s Day. If you only buy her a nice present once a year and ignore her the rest of the time, she’s going to wonder how genuine that is. Show up for the people you say you care about year round. Plan for it.

✅ Cohesion. Your words need to match the brand experience. I can teach you to say the right things but if you don’t actually include people in your business and you have not prepared your space (and yourself!) to welcome people who are different than you, then you have more than a messaging problem and you’re going to repel the people you wanted to attract because it’s a bait and switch.

My entry point is in communication but the conversations that we have are going to be about every facet of your business that a customer experiences because the architecture needs to match the outside for it to hold together. The shifts you make inside will contribute and guide the messaging you present outside.

Doing this work gets you ready to invite in more customers, to recruit AND RETAIN more diverse staff and to reflect your values in the words you choose. If you want to get started by checking out how inclusive your website is, download your inclusion checklist here.