BLM & You
It's so exciting to be an active part of history; fighting for reform and justice. It's around this part now where people get burned out or just don't know what's next. I was inspired by Cam Alejandra on instagram to compile some ways to incorporate Black Lives Matter in your Instagram feed. We all use social media but there's more we can do with our post feeds rather than just our stories.
1. With our Insta stories, you can save them in highlights (the icon circles). I have my highlights organized by travel, memories, fashion aesthetics etc. Recently, I've created a Black Lives Matter highlight. You've been posting and spreading the word so publicly save your activism. Let people know what you stand for and see what all you've done and are doing. Your past stories are archived so you can go back and create a highlight that represents you/your brand.
2. The main excuse I see is advocating posts will "mess" up my feed. No it won't. Look at Fenty Beauty's page and Cam Alejandra for example. You can match like colors with things you've already posted. Their pages are beautiful and nothing is competing. You already use VSCO, Facetune, Photoshop or whatever so edit the text to match your branding. If you don't use words, then put the information in your caption. You know how to get creative and get the message across.
3. This next couple tips are more for brands rather than a personal pages. We are going to keep saying this until it's implemented. USE MORE BLACK MODELS!!! And I'm not talking about light skin Black women with 3C curls and light eyes that y'all love to use for inclusivity. I'm demanding modeling gigs for my brown and dark skin queens. We come in all shades and sizes. Use us! *Disclaimer: I'm not saying don't hire light skin women.*
Collaborate with Black creatives. Heavy emphasis on the word collaborate because if they came up with all the ideas and execution, but you stuck your name on it then it's no longer a collaboration.
4. Today is 4th of July. An American holiday signifying the freedom of some. Big brands love to use times like these to promote sales and discounts. Cool! What's the discount code for Juneteenth? Pride month is full of sales. Make discounts for Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian Pacific Islander Month. It's not a competition, but be inclusive to all.
If you're a smaller company and can't afford discounts or it's your personal page, take each cultural month or celebration to educate. Create posts telling of the significance and why we remember. Acknowledge the privilege you have regarding that holiday. There's opportunity for us to open the conversation.
5. Give credit where credit is due. I'll never forget when Silvia Ulson copied BFyne's whole swimwear collection. Ulson copied it to a T as there was not a single differentiation. I was so upset because Black creators and designer's work are constantly stolen and white people just get to say they were "inspired". Inspiration is not replication. If you are inspired by something (especially a black/POC creator), post their work right next to yours. It better not look the exact same either. Tag the other creator so your followers can check them out too.
I hope y'all find these tips useful! Here is Cam Alejandra's post regarding Black Lives Matter and Instagram. Again, she inspired my post and Cam has different tips that you can find useful too. Continue to learn, grow and be a better ally for all.
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