{"id":4932,"date":"2013-04-22T06:45:15","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T10:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/?p=4932"},"modified":"2019-06-07T13:39:31","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:39:31","slug":"marketing-monday-when-should-your-business-express-an-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.communify.me\/newvinegrowing\/marketing-monday-when-should-your-business-express-an-opinion\/","title":{"rendered":"Marketing Monday: When should your business express an opinion?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I held off on Marketing Monday last week — it just didn’t feel right to talk about increasing your business when we were still learning the extent of injuries in Boston.
\nDeciding if, or how, your business should respond to current events can be tricky business.
\nMaybe it seems straight forward to post an expression of grief about the Boston Marathon on your business Facebook page.
\nBut what if one of your customers responds with a mention of how many civilians the U.S. has killed in the Middle East since 9\/11, and a political debate about American international policy erupts? How would you respond?
\nThis is not to suggest that the Boston attack was justified or that businesses are wrong to offer public condolences. Instead, it’s suggesting that when you wade into responding to tragedy or passionate issues, it might not be as simple as following your heart.
\nOn the flip side, what if you *don’t* respond and continue business as usual? Is that inappropriate?
\nThis post doesn’t offer clear direction but instead I offer questions you might ask yourself:
\n1. What topics or issues will our business address?<\/strong>
\n

\"Convince<\/a>
Convince and Convert called this Smirnoff ad about gay marriage its social media image of the week.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nIf your business isn’t generally political — you aren’t an advocacy organization, you just sell your goods or services — are there causes or times that would make you take a position?
\nWhen hurricane Sandy hits, does your business respond in some way? Does it matter if you’re geographically close enough to feel its effects?
\nThen if you take up a collection for Sandy victims, what if one of your employees asks you to do the same for the American Cancer Society? Does it matter if the cause is AIDS or mental illness instead?
\nWhat if one of your team members feels strongly about gun control or abortion and wants the business to publicly support that cause?
\nConvince and Convert, a marketing firm, hailed a Smirnoff ad that supported gay marriage. <\/a>
\nDepending on the business and its philosophy, it can be a valid decision to stay neutral on every topic or to be passionately vocal on divisive issues — but wherever you are on that spectrum, you should probably think through a consistent approach and philosophy.
\n2. What tone will we take?<\/strong>
\nIf your usual marketing tone is light hearted, do you get somber for something serious or try to pull off being playful? Is it better to have a consistent voice or switch it up if you might offend?
\nIt’s pretty typical to see critiques of businesses’ response to tragedy on social media, so much as I would hate to find myself in Glamour magazine’s fashion don’ts photo roundup, I’d hate to end up being a model for what not to do in a tragedy. For example:<\/p>\n