10 Jun Executives Supporting Pride Month On Social Media
The month of June is LGBTQ Pride Month in the United States, Canada, and some European countries. Pride Month is a way of honoring the 1969 Stonewall riots, a turning point for the LGBTQ2S+ community as it led to the modern gay rights movement. Throughout June, celebrations, and festivals take place in major cities throughout the countries that celebrate with community members and allies working together to enact positive change.
Pride Month is a time for companies and executives to show their support, celebrate the LGBTQ2S+ community, and work together towards a more inclusive society. Unfortunately, some companies use Pride Month as a way to tap into marketing trends, rather than making an authentic statement of support.
One way to authentically show support for Pride Month is for executives to post and engage on social media alongside their company’s messages. This article outlines some effective examples of executives who discuss Pride on their accounts and whose companies have productive and influential Pride campaigns. Keep reading to learn how your executives can support Pride this month and throughout the year.
Marc Metrick’s Ongoing Contributions
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As shown in the post above, Saks Fifth Avenue CEO Marc Metrick is an example of an executive who uses his LinkedIn platform to show his ongoing support for the LGBTQ2S+ community.
One way companies and executives can create an authentic campaign is to show continuous support for Pride Month year after year. Metrick does this by highlighting the continued partnership with the Stonewall Inn Initiative, which Saks has been engaged with for four years. His post goes beyond using a simple rainbow filter or a hashtag like #Pride and instead, illustrates direct action and contributions.
When posting about an important social issue, it can be more effective at times to post an original message rather than reposting from the company’s page. With Metrick’s original post, he has shared a third-party article that features his company, which is an effective way to promote the campaign.
Tim Cook, An Inspiration for LGBTQ2S+ Executives
This year’s Apple Watch Pride Edition bands once again celebrate the great diversity of LGBTQ+ people around the world. We’re proud to continue supporting nonprofits doing tremendous work to advance equality and justice. We are stronger together! https://t.co/oaPVB3JEfe
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 24, 2022
In 2014, Apple CEO Tim Cook became the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to come out publicly as gay. He has continued to use his social media platforms to advocate for the LGBTQ2S+ community. Cook is a positive example for other executives who want to use their platform for change, whether they identify as LGBTQ2S+ or as an ally of the community.
This year for Pride Month, Cook announced the annual Pride edition of Apple Watch bands that celebrate diversity and the LGBTQ2S+ community. He celebrates the work his company is engaged in as they continue to support non-profit organizations. Rather than focusing on the product, most of the content is about taking actions that lead toward real change and improving equality.
By posting an inspirational message about Pride Month, executives are also representing their work environment. An authentic message shows an inclusive and equal work culture that the executive has created.
Renate Nyborg Fighting for Policy Change
Join our fight to help end the FDA’s discriminatory blood policy toward gay and bisexual men in the US.
As Tinder CEO, it confounds me that people who desire to help those in need are held back by prejudiced policies.
Read my Op-Ed in Fortune:https://t.co/2ftBpFcOwY
— Renate Nyborg (@renate) June 1, 2022
Renate Nyborg, the first female CEO of Tinder, used her Twitter platform to share an op-ed she wrote in Fortune magazine about the FDA’s discriminatory blood donation policy. This post is an excellent example of how an executive can use their platform to discuss Pride by sharing thought leadership content. She states in her article that she wants to use her platform as the CEO of a large global company to help create change.
This Tweet positions Nyborg as an LGBTQ2S+ ally and advocate. She states her personal reasons for choosing to advocate for an updated blood donor policy and asks others to join the fight. This is an effective way to create an authentic social media message and encourage change that goes beyond liking or retweeting.
For executives who are not on Twitter but are on LinkedIn instead, using LinkedIn’s article feature is an effective way to share long-form content, such as thought leadership articles.
Executives Supporting Pride Month Authentically
All three executives we highlighted spoke authentically about Pride Month and were effective in getting their message across. Interestingly, all three utilized different strategies. Marc Metrick focused on the continuous actions he and his company are taking. Tim Cook weaved in an Apple product yet still maintained an aspirational emphasis in speaking about the topic and non-profit organizations. Finally, Renate Nyborg shared her perspective on a very specific topic that impacts the LGBTQ2S+ community.
For those who want to show their support during Pride Month, executives can look to these posts for inspiration on creating their own social media messages. While we’ve highlighted three examples of executives supporting Pride Month on social media, there are many others who are using their online platforms to support the LGBTQ2S+ community.
As leaders of large companies, executives have the opportunity to use their platforms to bring awareness to campaigns that are important to them. Our recommendation is to speak authentically no matter what the topic is. Continuous action and messaging can show audiences that this topic is important to a leader and their company beyond Pride Month.
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